Film Review: Winchester vs. South Adams
This season, with all of the social media and internet streaming sites available, I have started reviewing games from earlier in the season, making notes on prospects and teams. One great resource right now is the partnership that IHSAA TV…
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Continue ReadingThis season, with all of the social media and internet streaming sites available, I have started reviewing games from earlier in the season, making notes on prospects and teams. One great resource right now is the partnership that IHSAA TV has formed with several statewide web streaming affiliates. You can go online, search the ihsaatv.com website, and typically find a game from most of your favorite high schools.
In this article, I wanted to focus on three players from each school who stood out to me for one reason or another. Winchester ended up winning the game, 87-44, but throughout most of the first half, the game was much more competitive than the final outcome might indicate. Below is a look at those six prospects.
Madeline Lawrence, 2020, 6-0 F, Winchester Community H.S.
Maddie already had quite the reputation headed into the season, but now she is 22 months removed from the knee injury she suffered in the 2018 Class 2A State Finals. She has gotten much stronger, she’s doing more inside of the paint, and she’s just a matchup nightmare at the high school level because she has a unique combination of size and perimeter skill. She still handles the ball frequently for the Golden Falcons, she creates off the bounce in the half-court, and she will shoot it around the arc. She still needs to work on her lateral quickness for defending away from the rim, but if she ends up playing more of a ‘4’ role in college, she should be fine as-is. Maddie signed with Indiana Wesleyan University recently, and she should do very well in the Crossroads League.
Becca Chamberlin, 2020, 5-5 G, Winchester Community H.S.
Becca is a tough-nosed, feisty little guard, who plays with a great motor and contagious energy. She has always been dangerous as a perimeter shooter, almost to the point where you have to deny her the ball. She’s okay off the bounce and doing a better job of getting to the free throw line, but it’s her ability to move without the ball, hide, and hunt jumpers that make her tough to defend. I do like what she does at times at the defensive end of the floor as well. Usually “shooters” don’t like to defend, but she often takes on the other team’s better perimeter players and uses her quickness to her advantage. She can guard the ball or pick up steals and deflections. If she could prove to be more of a point guard than a ‘2’, I think she could really be effective at the next level in a small college situation.
Caitlyn Campbell, 2023, 5-10 W, Winchester Community H.S.
This was my first time seeing Caitlyn, and I think she has a great deal of upside and could very well become the next Golden Falcon star once the above two Seniors graduate. Caitlyn is thin, but she’s long, fluid, smooth, and likely still-growing. She looks like she can maybe get to 6’0-6’1 in time. She handles the ball some in transition, can run offense like a point forward, and she slices through the defense, though she’ll need to learn how to absorb contact better. Defensively, she causes problems with her length, and as she gets stronger, I think she can be a versatile defender. I really like her potential as a wait-and-see kid.
Lydia Loshe, 2020, 5-6 W, South Adams H.S.
If anything has been consistent over the past 3 1/2 seasons, it’s Lydia in the lineup at South Adams. She is a smallish, but quick/fast and tough-nosed wing. She can play either the ‘2’ or the ‘3’, she has a great motor, good athleticism, and she is always on the go. She flies up and down the floor with the ball, looks to make plays every time she catches it, and she scores it reasonably well at all levels. I also like her feistiness at times at the defensive end of the floor. I would like to see her develop her handle a little more and cut down on turnovers some, but I do think she could make a really nice energy kid for some small college to bring off the bench.
Makayla Hamrick, 2022, 5-8 F/C, South Adams H.S.
When you first catch a glance of Makayla, she doesn’t necessarily look the part of a ballplayer…she’s just your average, run-of-the-mill teenager. But once you watch her play, she adds needed value to the lineup. On a team short on height, pun intended, Makayla is the lone front-liner they have and use. She plays with a great motor, she rim-runs well and often out-hustles her matchup to the other end of the floor. She’s seemingly always in the right place at the right time, and there’s something to be said about that. I think her intangible qualities as a “scraps” kid are perfect for this team the way it’s constructed. Does she need skill work? Certainly, but I think she is as important to this team as anyone.
Peyton Pries, 2023, 5-5 W, South Adams H.S.
Peyton has really come into her own as their leading scorer midway through the season. She is probably more of a wing than a guard right now, but at 5-5 she’ll likely be a true guard long-term. She has a great feel and understanding of the game, she’s strong for her age, tough-nosed, and she loves contact. She is more of a straight-line driver right now, she gets to the basket, finishes or draws fouls, plus she rebounds her position very well. The next step for her will be making her perimeter shooting more consistent. She has solid mechanics, so it’s just a matter of feeling comfortable out there in Varsity competition and getting more reps. I’d look for her to become one of the Starfires’ better players all-time if she continues on this trajectory.
The feature image is of Madeline Lawrence of Winchester Community High School. The image is courtesy of pressroompass.com.