Grassroots Review: Team Indiana
The 2019 grassroots season has come and gone, and teams are already starting to take shape for 2020. But before that happens, I wanted to have a little fun and take the time to reflect on some of the notable…
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Continue ReadingThe 2019 grassroots season has come and gone, and teams are already starting to take shape for 2020. But before that happens, I wanted to have a little fun and take the time to reflect on some of the notable players from this past season. These aren’t necessarily the most talented prospects in their respective programs, as much as they are ladies who stood out for one reason or another because of their play. Also, there are likely a few players who could qualify for multiple categories, but I have decided to limit each person to just one accolade. Below is a look into some of the Team Indiana girls who stood out in 2019.
BIGGEST STOCK-RISER
Kiersten Poor, 2020, 5-11 W, Jeffersonville H.S., Team Indiana-Burton 17U
Kiersten has always been a skillful and talented player, but she has often been overlooked in the past due to other talented prospects at her high school, and older prospects in her grassroots program. This year, however, it was her turn to shine on the 17U stage. After a fairly uneventful Spring while dealing with a nagging injury, she was outstanding at our uncommitted showcase in mid-June, and then her inspired play carried over into July. By the end of the month, any and every small college in the Midwest was excited about her game, and her recruiting really took off. She is also a high-academic kid, which opens even more doors at that level, plus her combination of skill, strength, toughness, and athleticism at 5-11 make her a versatile prospect who can plug into most college systems almost immediately. I am anxious to see what kind of Senior season she puts together in 2019-2020.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER(S)
Alexandra “Lexie” Green, 2020, 5-8 PG, Southport H.S., Team Indiana-Burton 17U
Isabella “Bella” Green, 2020, 5-5 G, Southport H.S., Team Indiana Central 17U
The Team Indiana program honestly had a number of girls who have shown great improvement over the last calendar year, and I ended up going with these two sisters because I thought both collectively, and individually, have really improved. Lexie & Bella are 2/3 of a set of triplets (with a brother). They both have really good length, fluid athleticism, and they do a lot of different things on the floor. As it concerns Lexie, she has shown the most growth throughout her high school career, literally growing several inches, gaining strength, and really enhancing her all-around game. She has been outstanding all Spring & Summer, and the potential I saw out of her two years ago is starting to be fulfilled. Bella, on the other hand, has shown the most growth of the two over the last eight to ten months. She is much more engaged in the game, she is playing with a lot more confidence, and she is consistently making plays at both ends of the floor. Southport has struggled to just five wins each of the last two seasons, but I’d anticipate they’ll look at a double-digit win total this year, and a lot of it will be because of these two.
MOST INTANGIBLE PLAYER
Isabell Claywell, 2020, 5-5 PG, Eastern H.S. (Pekin), Team Indiana-Burton 17U
I wanted to issue this award instead of a most valuable player, because I feel like the kids who do a lot of the “blue-collared” work don’t get enough credit. Isabell is certainly someone who goes through games without getting much credit at all, because she doesn’t stand out size-wise, she isn’t at all demonstrative emotionally, and she isn’t going to get 30 points every game…or even get up enough shots to score 30 points. What she does, is she plays the role of a typical Southern Indiana point guard. She isn’t flashy, but she is quietly tough-nosed, she has a good basketball IQ, she competes hard, and she is very coachable. She takes care of the basketball, gets it where it needs to go, plus she is a willing and capable defender. She can absolutely knock down an open jumper or take it to the basket to keep defenses honest, but she rarely forces the action, and she just wants to do whatever it takes to help her team win.
MOST INTRIGUING YOUNGSTER
Preslee Michael, 2023, 5-6 G, Terre Haute North Vigo H.S., Team Indiana Red Storm-Parker 14U
For this category, I limited my choices to those young ladies who are in the classes of 2023 or 2024, and who displayed a nice combination of substance in their game, as well as the potential to really improve over the next few seasons. In fairness, I probably need to see Preslee a lot more soon, and I certainly want to, but from the brief opportunities I got to see her in May and July, she was quite impressive. She is a solidly built, athletic combo guard with some length. She plays with a motor and competes every possession. She is a good perimeter shooter, she can also score it going to the basket, and she handles and passes it well enough to play a true point guard role. I have a feeling you’re going to see her put up some numbers this year as a Freshman.
TOUGHEST PLAYER
Kyra Baker, 2021, 5-5 G, Franklin Community H.S., Team Indiana Rising Stars 16U
I first saw Kyra play in the Spring of 2018, and as that grassroots season went on, she really started to grow on me. Then, she unfortunately tore her ACL. After missing a lot of time last Summer and this past Winter, she returned to the court in the Spring. At first, she was still trying to find her way a little, regaining what made her successful piece by piece. But by the middle of the grassroots season, she seemed to have fought her way back, and she was really good the rest of the Summer. She is a strong, physical, quietly tough guard who just competes every possession at both ends of the floor. She handles the ball well and can run offense, she is a capable shooter/scorer from most spots on the floor, and she battles at the defensive end as well and is a willing rebounder. She just seems like one of those kids you win with, because she’s going to fight for it, no matter the odds.
BEST MOTOR
Brooklyn Stubblefield, 2021, 5-5 PG, Greenwood Community H.S., Team Indiana Rising Stars 16U
This is a very difficult award to hand out, because you can easily find a few players in each grassroots program worthy of this award. Brooklyn is an absolutely blur on the court, as she plays with good speed & quickness, plus I feel like she never stops moving. I wonder if she’s one of those kids off the court who always has to be doing something, moving around, and keeping busy. She has some length, good ball skill & understanding, and she does a nice job of balancing scoring with getting her teammates involved. But I circle back to the fact that her motor and energy somewhat define her game right now, and she makes a lot of plays because she is willing to go harder longer than most of her opponents. It also helps her defensively, as she scrambles around and frustrates opposing ball-handlers. I look for her to have a big year at Greenwood.