Prospect Spotlight – Nevaeh Farmer (2023)
It’s an age old dilemna for coaches. Experience versus talent. Loyalty to the players who have years and a ton of sweat equity invested in the program versus loyalty to the current team to see that it reaches its utmost…
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Continue ReadingIt’s an age old dilemna for coaches. Experience versus talent. Loyalty to the players who have years and a ton of sweat equity invested in the program versus loyalty to the current team to see that it reaches its utmost potential. Coach Jennifer Baker has a great problem. She has two talented backcourt starters who most coaches in the state would be incredibly happy to send out for 25 to 30 minutes a game. 5’5″ Senior Point Guard Nye’mah Smith and 5’5″ Sophomore Taylor Dunn are both extremely talented players who are probably capable of leading a squad to a deep playoff run. However, make no mistake about it: the best backcourt player on North Mecklenburg not named Jessica Timmons is 5’4″ Freshman Guard Nevaeh Farmer.
Farmer has always been a talented offensive player. Full disclosure: I have seen this young lady play for the last 2 years as a member of the NC Lady Ballers AAU team. She was half of the starting backcourt along with my daughter Lili Booker (2024) for the Ballers. From the first time watching her, it was evident that she was a strong, explosive, skilled, offensive player who could get to the rim against anyone. However, her game has always been pretty one dimensional. She has been a minus defensive player with questionable shot selection who hasn’t always been a willing passer (though in fairness, she has been steadily improving in that area for over a year now). Yet, during this high school season she has transformed herself into a well rounded, versatile and highly effective player.
Nevaeh Farmer is playing lockdown defense. She appears to be in much better shape and is making a real commitment to guarding her opponent. As a result, she is no longer a liability on that end of the court, but an asset. This new found defensive pride was on display with 2:46 to go in the second quarter against Hopewell when she made a huge steal and capped it with an And 1 to give the Vikings a 33-18 lead. She also came up big in the fourth quarter. With Farmer on the bench, North had lost its lead and trailed 62-60 with 2:53 left. Immediately upon entering the game, she scored the go ahead bucket to give North a 64-62 lead. She followed that up with a big assist to fellow Freshman Guard 5’8″ Jael Poole. Farmer can now beat you with the 3 (which she is making at a 35 percent clip thus far this year), the drive, the drive and kick and her defense. She is playing so well right now off of Timmons because she is under control and not trying to do too much. Kudos to this fine player who has refined and redefined her game and is a key contributor for the deep and talented Vikings. When we revisit the player rankings for the Class of 2023, she will take her rightful place in the mix if she continues to play at such a high level.