July 5th-12th Recap: Classes of 2021 & 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 Illinois as well, as I attended the Run 4 Roses Classic, the USJN Premier Showcase, the Adidas Gauntlet Finale, and Under Armour’s Session II. Below is a look at members of the Classes of 2021 & 2022 who I thought stood out when I was able to see them.
Sydney Affolter, 2021, 5-11 W, Marist H.S., Illinois Elite 17U BlueStar
Sydney’s game has developed quite a bit since I saw her last Summer, but her recruitment has significantly increased as well. Sydney is a strong, powerful, physical wing who plays with one of the best motors I’ve seen on the grassroots circuit this Spring and Summer. When she gets a head of steam going to the rim, you just aren’t going to stop her. She has really worked to tighten her handle and make her jumper much more consistent, so now she plays with a great deal of versatility offensively. She is more than comfortable in transition and around the perimeter, but she’s athletic enough to work out of the mid-post, and she’s strong enough to take smaller defenders to the block and score with low-post moves. Sydney has all kinds of Big East and Big Ten interest/offers.
Kelby Bannerman, 2021, 6-1 F, Hampshire H.S., Midwest Elite 17U EYBL
Kelby was elevated from the 16U team to the 17U team for July, and she has responded with solid play each time out. Kelby has a great frame with length, wiry strength, and she runs the floor very well and plays with a great motor. She has good size and will get stronger, but she moves so well that she often beats opponents to loose balls and rebounds. She’s not really a back-to-the-basket kid, and she’s probably most effective attacking from the mid-post, but she’s such a good rebounder and hard worker, that you want to make sure she’s always in a position to rebound. She has good hands, touch around the basket, and she has a developing face-up game. I was really impressed with her overall potential.
Kate Dennis, 2021, 6-0 G, Rockford Guilford H.S., Illinois Elite 17U BlueStar
Kate has a great frame and just looks like a basketball player. She is long, strong, and is a very nice athlete. She actually looks more like a small forward, but once you’ve watched her play for a bit, you realize she is skilled like a guard. She has a solid handle and changes directions well, she has a nice-looking jump-shot and can make shots at all levels, and she does a good job of sitting down and defending the ball on the perimeter. I think she can continue to get stronger while maintaining her skill and athleticism, so she can play a ‘3’ and maybe even an undersized ‘4’ in small lineups during her college career. I really like where she is right now, but there is still plenty of room for her to grow at the next level.
Annaliese Griffin, 2021, 6-0 F, Plainfield Central H.S., Example Sports 17U UAA
I saw this Example Sports team back in the Spring, but I don’t believe Annaliese was in attendance at that time. She is a high-level prospect who is drawing a lot of Division-I interest right now. She has a strong frame, she’s tough and physical, and she’s a solid athlete. She isn’t the fastest prospect, but she has good body control and a little bounce to her. She has great hands, she can handle the ball in transition and start the offense, and she plays like a wing who can hit shots from the perimeter or attack the basket off the dribble. She rebounds her position very well, and she works hard at the defensive end of the floor, though they usually need her to match up with power forwards and posts because of her size and strength. I’ll be real curious to see how her recruiting shakes out over the next couple of seasons.
Grace Hall, 2021, 6-1 F/C, Homewood-Flossmoor H.S., Example Sports 17U UAA
I think Grace is one of those kids who is all upside and talent right now, and she’s probably more of a nice athlete than a pure basketball player at the moment. Grace has solid strength, very good length, and she’s a really bouncy kid who moves around the floor extremely well. She has improved some skillfully since I saw her in the Spring, but she’s probably still limited to about 15-feet and in right now. If she’s allowed to catch it in her comfort zone, she is trouble 1-on-1 because she can just use her athleticism to explode to the rim and finish. Once she polishes her offensive skillset a bit, I think she can be even more productive than she already is right now, and she can develop into a real mismatch all over the floor.
Erin Houpt, 2021, 5-5 PG, Danville H.S., Midwest Elite EYBL
Erin is one of the most deceiving prospects in this class, because she’s not very big, she’s slight of frame, but she can really play. She might be the toughest pound-for-pound kid in the class, she takes contact well, she’s quick/fast, and she’s very feisty. She has a nice handle and uses it to get by defenders and to create space to get her shot away. And she is a consistent perimeter shooter. She has had a really nice Summer, including some impressive performances at college elite camps. If schools can look past her size and see the ballplayer that she is, I think she can be a very impactful college guard who absolutely frustrates opponents.
Greta Kampschroeder, 2021, 6-0 G, Naperville North H.S., Midwest Elite 17U EYBL
When you watch Greta, it doesn’t take long to understand why she’s a top National prospect. She has a strong frame, good size, and she’s tremendously skilled with the ball. She is built more like a forward, but she handles it like a point guard and shoots it like a 2-guard, with range well beyond the 3-point line. She had moments a couple of weekends ago when she took over games, but I also felt like there were instances where she was almost too unselfish and tried to find teammates when she had scoring opportunities herself. Either way, she has a great overall feel for the game, she rarely turns it over, and she plays with a very good motor. There are many things to love about her game.
Grace LaBarge, 2021, 6-1 F, William Fremd H.S., All In-Truding 17U
I watched this All In team a couple of times last week at the Adidas Gauntlet event, and Grace caught my attention and was really good down the stretch. She is a very long, wiry strong, and fluidly athletic frontline prospect. She could definitely stand to add some strength to her somewhat slender frame, but she tries to play physical, she plays with a very good motor, and she moves well in all directions. She has a soft lefty touch, but I saw her mostly shoot mid-range jumpers and didn’t see her shoot it outside. I would like to eventually see if she has that kind of range. She’s also on a grassroots team with some dynamic wings and guards, so I’d like to see if she’s a more aggressive scorer in her high school setting. But I think Grace had a well-rounded skillset and plenty of talent to draw the interest of a variety of Division-I schools.
Taylor Charles, 2022, 6-1 F, Montini Catholic H.S., Midwest Elite 16U EYBL
When you see Taylor for the first time, she immediately stands out. She has great size, a wiry strong frame, and she’s a solid athlete who moves well in all directions. She has a ton of versatility for such a young prospect, as she can handle the ball in transition and initiate the offense, she can play comfortably around the perimeter, and she’s highly effective in the mid-post. If she wanted to, she could probably take smaller defenders to the block and score in the low-post. I think she plays hard, but like most younger prospects, I would like to see her play with more of a sense of urgency every possession. It’s easy to see why she’s a top prospect in Illinois’ 2022 class.
Feature image is of Greta Kampschroeder (left) of Naperville North High School and Annaliese Griffin (right) of Plainfield Central High School. Image is courtesy of Brad Kampschroeder’s Twitter account.