Best of Summer: Part 2
I started the “Best of Summer” series of articles to reflect on some of the best players, teams and moments from the club season. In part one, Mason Asher and I laid out our opinion on the best two way…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingI started the “Best of Summer” series of articles to reflect on some of the best players, teams and moments from the club season. In part one, Mason Asher and I laid out our opinion on the best two way player in the country, best 17u team and best game we each witnessed in person. In part two, I will give my take on the best rebounder/defender in the country, the best live period event I experienced and I will highlight the best executing program I saw on the circuit.
Best Defender/Rebounder in the Country:
2020 5’11 G Jayda Noble (NW Blazers Orange)
It would be very easy to give this “award” to any of the trees across the country that block shots left and right and grab rebounds over smaller opponents, but what Jayda showed this summer was something different. When I think of a good defender, I immediately picture someone that can defend multiple positions, preferably inside and out. Jayda defended 5’5 point guards all the way to 6’2 forwards throughout the summer and made life difficult for everyone that she matched up with. She is one of the more explosive leapers in the country, allowing for her to get up with the best of them. Jayda also uses her great length by keeping high and active hands on and off the ball. Possessing a college-ready frame also helped her to defend taller players inside the paint. Now when it comes to rebounding, that may be her best contribution on the floor. One game I decided to count how many she grabbed, just for fun. With about 10 minutes left in the second half, I literally lost track at 20. A 5’11 GUARD. I could talk about technique all day, but that has nothing to do with that. She wants the ball and she goes and gets it by any means necessary. The University of Washington, in my opinion, is getting the best defender and rebounder in the 2020 class.
Best Live Period Event I Experienced:
I attended some of the best live period events in the country (not all) and I would have to go with John McGraw’s Insider Exposure: Hoosier Heat Event in Indiana. McGraw made a good amount of promises via twitter about this event and the turnout did not disappoint. Everyone goes to live period events to be seen by college coaches and this tournament absolutely provided that. Hundreds of college coaches and media members made their way to Pike High School and the D1 Factory. A monstrous 150 college coaches lined up for a single game and it made for quite the scene. Every court had a dozen or more colleges at the main two facilities, which was nice to see. A decent amount of coaches even made their way to the third facility, which is even more rare. At most showcases, college coaches sparingly show up to a second or third tier gym, but they lined up at every location pretty well. When SEC, ACC and Big East schools are on the baseline of a game at an offsite gym, then you know there is some talent in the building. The New York Gauchos, West Virginia Thunder, Northwest Blazers, Arkansas Banshees, FGB, Example Sports Wolfpack and numerous other top level programs squared off at the 15u-17u divisions. College coaches, media, national level talent and competitive games made the Hoosier Heat the best live period event of the summer!
Best Executing Program:
If you look up the word execution in the dictionary you will probably find a picture of the West Virginia Thunder’s logo in there. I had heard a lot of praise from across the country about Scott Johnson’s program, but they caught me off guard when I saw them in person. I honestly expected a team that would run and jump, press and out athlete opponents, but that was not the case at all. I saw their 2020, 2021 and 2022 teams live in action and every single one of them ran their offense to perfection, just picking apart the defense and waiting for a single fundamental mistake to attack. They were the only high level program I saw run some triangle action, chin series and pieces of the Princeton offense. Their players were well trained and very well coached. West Virginia Thunder has claimed online that they run their program like a college and that was apparent as all of their teams performed very well throughout the entire spring and summer. Hats off to them for collecting talent and getting them to buy into playing basketball the right way. I look forward to watching more of the Thunder for years to come.
Original Photo Credit: David Noble