July Day-5 Headlines
Once again I am playing a little catch-up here, but being in gyms nearly all day every day provides little opportunity to pump out reports. On Wednesday my July continued in Fishers, Indiana, at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale. Due to…
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Continue ReadingOnce again I am playing a little catch-up here, but being in gyms nearly all day every day provides little opportunity to pump out reports. On Wednesday my July continued in Fishers, Indiana, at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale. Due to other commitments I was only able to attend the first half of the day, so I obviously was not able to see each team in attendance, but I did manage to get a look at several really nice teams and prospects while I was there. Below is a look at four things that stood out to me from my Day-5 of July.
ELITE YOUNG BIGS
Whether it’s the Prime team or the Platinum team, the Indiana Elite program has about as nice of a collection of forwards and posts 6-0 and taller as anyone in 2021 and 2022. In the Class of 2021, 6-2 F Meg Newman (2021) of Indianapolis North Central has picked up a number of High-Major Division-I offers over the last couple of months, and that could continue throughout the remainder of the month and into August. Her combination of size, skill, and athleticism make her unique as either a big wing or a highly skilled face-up ‘4’. 6-0 F Katey Richason (2021) of Zionsville Community is always fun to watch, because she typically makes big plays down the stretch in games, and hustle plays at that. She is so tough, physical, and aggressive inside of 15-feet, but she has also really developed her perimeter shot. She is picking up a lot of MAC interest/offers right now. The one committed prospect of the group is 6-1 F/C Alex Richard (2021) of Avon. Alex has always been a strong-for-her-age prospect, but now she looks leaner and more explosive. She also plays with a great deal of toughness and physicality, but she has developed her face-up game as well. She is already committed to the Butler Bulldogs. 6-2 F/C Sydney Jaynes (2021) of Trinity Lutheran recently picked up her first Division-I offer. She is a highly skilled, face-up ‘4/5’ who can handle it a little when necessary, but she has good touch facing the basket, and she’s a really nice passer. 6-0 F Jade Nutley (2021) of Madison Consolidated recently returned from a nasty March injury. She is a strong, physical, but active and mobile perimeter power forward who has good skill facing the basket. 6-0 F/C Gigi Eldredge (2021) of Westfield is probably a little under-recruited right now, in my opinion, but she has missed some games. She is a strong, physical, assertive player on the interior, but she does some nice things in the mid-post as well. In the Class of 2022 you have both 6-3 F Lilly Stoddard (2022) of Crown Point and 6-1 F Alyssa Crockett (2022) of Westfield in the program. Stoddard has already drawn a couple of Big Ten offers because of her length, developing strength, and just how well she moves all around the floor at her size and such a young age. She can post inside and she tries to play with physicality, but she can also play facing the basket. Considering how much stronger she has gotten in the last year, I’m excited to see how she plays as a Junior and Senior. Crockett has a lot of similarities to Meg Newman (above). She moves similarly, has a similar skillset, and she can be a mismatch problem at times. For Alyssa, though, I think she just needs a little more strength to absorb contact better and to finish through defenders around the basket, but she’s really close to seeing the rewards.
ALWAYS CLICKING
I think they need to rebrand the Always 100 Elite team and rename them Always Clicking, because for whatever reason they play so well together and usually manage to pull out wins against teams who might have more talent “on paper”. The strength of this team is in the backcourt, and they are led by the shortest, youngest player on the team in 5-3 PG Olivia Smith (2022) of Fort Wayne South Side. Olivia is extremely quick and quick with the ball, she is tough, physical, and aggressive at both ends of the floor. In the game I watched Wednesday, she had a couple of and-1 finishes where she landed on her feet and two defenders on each score landed on their backsides. She has drawn a great deal of Division-I interest and recently picked up her first offer. From there, 5-7 G McKenzie Hudgen (2021) of Mishawaka Marian and 5-7 G Moira McGinley (2021) of Bishop Chatard have been consistent energy-givers. Both of them sacrifice their bodies for the good of the team on every possession, win or lose. Hudgen is a solid ball-handler, a good passer, and she can knock down open shots, plus she defends hard and physical. McGinley uses her length and speed to her advantage, driving the ball to the basket and affecting passing lanes at the defensive end of the floor. This Elite team also has 5-7 PG Emily Parrett (2021) of Fort Wayne Carroll and 5-7 G Leah Smith (2021) of Hamilton (OH) to add depth. Parrett is a long, fluid, and skilled point guard who was the main catalyst on Carroll’s Sectional Championship team this past season. Smith is a long and athletic slasher who can cause problems scrambling around at the defensive end of the floor. Up front, the combination of 5-11 F Lamiya Woodson (2021) of Fort Wayne South Side, 6-1 C Chanteese Craig (2021) of Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, 5-9 F TiAuna White (2021) of Fort Wayne Northrop, and 6-1 C Courtney Lee (2021) of Heritage Christian form a nice interior rotation. Woodson is a really nice athlete with strength. She has good hands, she’s bouncy, and she recently picked up her first Division-I offer. Craig is a strong, physical, traditional post player. She has some nice tools skillfully and physically, but she just needs to tie it all together. White is a strong and athletic combo forward. She can play inside and be a little physical, but she’s also comfortable around the perimeter. And Lee is sort of the unsung hero of this group. She has a solid frame, good size, and she plays with a nice motor. She also has some skill away from the basket, and she plays whatever role is needed for them to win.
YOUNGER THAN YOU’D THINK
All Spring, the numerous observers who watched the IGB-Morse Gold squad take the floor left with one impression…there’s no way this team is comprised of a 2022 prospect and the rest 2023 prospects. In just about every tournament, they faced off against 2020 and 2021 teams, and in just about every one of those games they either held their own for much of each game, or they have walked away with an “upset” win. 5-9 G Ashlynn Shade (2023) of Noblesville is probably leading the argument as the best incoming Freshman in Indiana, and with a Big Ten and Big East offer already in hand, she has proven her upside to college coaches already. She was really good in the game I saw at this event, but I was more impressed with how a few others stepped up with her against a solid Arkansas 2020 team. I really get excited about the future of 5-6 PG Olivia Brown (2023), who is headed to Hamilton Southeastern. She is long, athletic, and definitely has as much physical talent as any point guard prospect in Indiana’s 2023 class. But she’s also a skilled guard who can shoot/score from just about anywhere, and she’s quick to the rim. I think 5-9 F Asiah Baxter (2023) of Warren Central could be a real gem from this team. She is strong, physical and athletic, but each time I see her, she starts to show more and more skill away from the basket. If she can become a true wing, she’ll be a top prospect in this class. I also like the potential of 5-10 F/C Layla Gold (2023) of Indianapolis North Central. She is long, slender but fluid, and she looks like she still might grow a couple of inches. She moves around the floor well, she doesn’t mind contact, and she has some skill facing the basket as well. There are several other really nice basketball players on this team, and it should be a fun group to watch develop over the next four years.
NON-INDIANA HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY
From what I’ve seen so far this July, our neighbors to the East are loaded with talent. On this day it was the Cincinnati Angels Platinum Gauntlet team that stood out to me. This 17U squad has two extremely talented 2022s who help lead them, in 5-11 G K.K. Bransford of Mount Notre Dame (OH) and 6-2 F Alexia Mobley of Reynoldsburg (OH). Bransford is a strong, long, and very athletic combo guard who can flat out score the basketball at all levels. She is most explosive off the bounce, but she also has a nice pull-up game. She is a part of Team USA’s feeder system. Mobley might be the best Ohio prospect long-term in 2022, as she is an extremely long, fluid, and skilled forward who plays a lot around the perimeter. She buried a couple of jumpers, but she was also good off the dribble. Once she gets stronger, she could be scary for opponents. 5-9 PG Kylee Sheppard (2021) of Roger Bacon (OH) was also very good in the two games I saw. She is a nice athlete with some length, she seemed to have a high skill level and very good control of the position, and she knocked down shots consistently. Another standout from what I saw was 6-0 W Jordan Hobbs (2021) of Springboro (OH). Jordan is a very long, wiry strong, fluid, and smooth wing who glides around the floor with ease. She can shoot it from the perimeter, get to the basket in one dribble, and she plays with good effort and athleticism. This Angels team also has top national prospects in 6-3 C Clarissa Craig (2021) of Roger Bacon (OH) and 5-10 W Laila Phelia (2021) of Mount Notre Dame (OH) on its roster, as well as depth provided by several other really nice Division-I and Division-II prospects.
Feature image of Best Choice Fieldhouse in Fishers, Indiana. Image courtesy of visithamiltoncounty.com.