July 5th-12th Recap: Class of 2022
As we take a little time to relax between the two July “live” periods, I wanted to reflect upon a few prospects I saw July 5th through July 12th. While my focus is primarily Indiana, I saw several talented ladies…
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Continue ReadingAs we take a little time to relax between the two July “live” periods, I wanted to reflect upon a few prospects I saw July 5th through July 12th. While my focus is primarily Indiana, I saw several talented ladies from Ohio as well, as I attended the Run 4 Roses Classic, the USJN Premier Showcase, the Adidas Gauntlet Finale, and Under Armour’s Session II. Wrapping up the Ohio prospects I saw last week, below is a look at members of the Class of 2022 who I thought stood out when I was able to see them.
K.K. Bransford, 5-11 G, Mount Notre Dame H.S., Angels Basketball Club Platinum 17U
I had obviously heard a lot about K.K., especially with her being ranked by some national services and being a part of the USA Basketball program. She has really good length, wiry strength, and she’s a very athletic combo guard who can flat out score the basketball in a variety of ways. She has a real talent and smoothness to her game offensively, and she can get to the basket and finish just about anytime she wants. She has a solid perimeter shot, and consistency should improve as she gets older, but I also really liked her poise and patience offensively, as she has the ability to be a primary ball-handler and play efficiently within the confines of an offense.
Chance Gray, 5-9 G, Lakota West H.S., Sports City U 17U
Chance is another really nice combo guard in a talented 2022 class. She has really good length, speed & quickness, and she’s smooth but shifty with the basketball in her hands. She could definitely use a little strength right now, but she is playing 17U ball and has a frame that should take on good muscle-mass over time. Chance is another young guard who plays with good pace and doesn’t force the action. She is a very good perimeter shooter, but she doesn’t take many bad shots, and she can handle the ball and run offense for this SCU team. Defensively, she has quick hands and quick feet, and she can effectively defend a combination of point guards and wing guards.
Cotie McMahon, 5-10 W, Centerville H.S., Sports City U 17U
It’s very easy to watch Cotie for a mere five minutes and fall in love with her talent. She is a strong-for-her-age wing with elite athleticism. She runs the floor fast and aggressively, she has quick feet and good lateral movement, plus she’s very bouncy. She can sit down and defend/engulf small point guards, frustrating them with her quickness, size, and length. She is also a tough and physical wing who can take on undersized power forwards from time to time. Offensively, she’s best in transition right now, and she can really make plays when she’s on the move. But she will need to continue working on playing against set defenses, especially zones, and her jump-shot could use some work as well. If she can become a consistent perimeter shooter and add that to her arsenal of physical tools, she could be a National Top-25 prospect, if she isn’t there already.
Alexia Mobley, 6-2 F, Reynoldsburg H.S., Angels Basketball Club Platinum 17U
As talented as some of these other girls are in Ohio’s 2022 class, Alexia might end up being the best one of them all at the end of the day. She is incredibly long, fluid, and somewhat smooth at her size/age. She has some wiry strength, but that will be an area she should improve upon as she finishes growing. She runs the floor well, she can handle it in transition, and she has a nice looking jump-shot that is fairly consistent from 3-point range. As is the case with most taller girls, she will need to learn how to play lower to the ground, both defensively, but also when handling the ball. If she can do that, she can be a full-time wing in college. Alexia has an extremely high ceiling right now.
Imarianah Russell, 5-10 W, Dublin Coffman H.S., All-Ohio Lavender 16U EYBL
I went to watch this All-Ohio team to specifically see a couple of other prospects, and I came away as impressed with Imarianah as anyone on the team. She is a strong-for-her-age wing, a really nice athlete in all directions, and she plays with a great deal of toughness and physicality on the perimeter. She attacks the basket aggressively, and she can finish through contact or over taller defenders. I didn’t really see her shoot a lot of jumpers, so I would like to evaluate that part of her game another time, but I really liked her energy and attitude defensively, plus she’s deceptively quick, she anticipates well, and she can defend both guards and wings effectively.
Grace VanSlooten, 6-2 F, Toledo Notre Dame Academy, Sports City U 17U
When I saw Grace for the first time in the Spring, her offensive skill at her height really stood out to me. But after watching her a couple of more times last week, I think she’s much quicker and more athletic than she’s maybe given credit for. She is skilled like a small forward, she has a solid handle, and she has very good touch that extends to the perimeter. I’m sure somewhere along the line she has played in the post, but on this SCU team it isn’t necessary with their slew of sizeable players. What impressed me most last week, though, was how low and wide she gets defensively, and how she does a tremendous job of using her length to contain ball-handlers. I’m not saying she’ll ever be a guard, or even a pure wing defensively, but I do think she’s a much better defender than she’s given credit for.
Feature image is of K.K. Bransford of Mount Notre Dame High School. Image is courtesy of her own Twitter account.