Nike TOC Iowa: Session 2 Recap
The Nike TOC Session 2 is officially over as all championship and consolation games have been completed. The Northwest Blazers sent two teams to the event with their Orange (17u) and Fierce (15u) groups competing against some of the best…
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Continue ReadingThe Nike TOC Session 2 is officially over as all championship and consolation games have been completed. The Northwest Blazers sent two teams to the event with their Orange (17u) and Fierce (15u) groups competing against some of the best clubs in the Midwest and beyond in some cases.
Northwest Blazers Orange:
Record: 4-4
Wins: North Tartan 17u Elite, FBC North 2021, Wheat State Elite, Next Level Eclipse 2021
Losses: Missouri Phenom, All Iowa Attack 11th, Cal Stars 17u Blue, All Iowa Attack 11th Carpenter
Notes: The Blazers started out 2-0 on day one, but struggled to find much of a rhythm on either side of the ball as the tourney went along. One major standout in their losses was the ability of opposing teams to move the ball side to side, inside and out and then hit the three at a high rate. The Blazers found some success at times in the post, but traded 2’s for 3’s with late or non aggressive closeouts.
Top Standout: 2022 6’1 PF Naya Ojukwu (Meridian HS/ID) proved her stock as a high major prospect. She is tough to handle inside with her mixture of strength, explosiveness and physicality around the basket. She most often utilizes a basic drop step to finish over either shoulder with the right hand, but she has the motor and athleticism to finish strong. Her top performance came against FBC North 2021 where she dropped 23 points on 8-11 shooting and 7-8 free throws. She was pretty consistent in each of the 8 games in scoring and rebounding, as well as efficient from the field. Ojukwu had already been a target for some Pac-12 schools, but she should be a priority for more HM schools.
Northwest Blazers Fierce:
Record: 6-1
Wins: All Iowa Attack 8th Red, All Iowa Attack 9th Black, All Iowa Attack 9th Red, North Tartan 15u, Missouri Phenom 15u, Nebraska Attack 15u UAA
Loss: SSA Elite 2023
Notes: The Blazers Fierce catapulted themselves into the conversation of being one of the top 15u teams in the country. Their schedule was no cake walk by any means and they stood up to every challenge before running out of steam in the title game against a very scrappy SSA Elite group.
Top Standout: 2024 5’7 PG Teagan Colvin (Liberty HS) put together a really strong string of games. Her craftiness off the bounce stands out and she has a good jumper as well as runner. Despite her thin frame, Colvin does a great job of rebounds and snagging 50/50 balls. Had multiple games with 20+ points!
Non-Northwest All Tourney Team
These are the top performers opposing the Northwest Blazers Orange Team-
1) 2021 6’2 W Kendall Coley (FBC North 2021) – Nebraska commit was dominant no matter who the Blazers put on her. Scored from all three levels finishing with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal. She did it all within the offense and never forced.
2) 2021 5’10 SG Maggie Phipps (All Iowa Attack 11th Carpenter) – The best shooter I saw in the event. The Drake University commit torched the Blazers Orange for 25 points, knocking down 7-14 threes to go along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds.
3) 2021 5’11 SG Sydney Afolter (All Iowa Attack 11th) – Iowa commit finished with a game high 14 points, while also stuffing the stat sheet with her hustle grabbing 8 boards and 3 steals and 3 assists.
4) 2021 5’10 SG Audrey Roden (Cal Stars 17u Blue) – The Northwest native (West Linn HS/OR) was good for 13 points on an efficient 5/7 shooting and she made timely baskets. She also had 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
5) 2023 5’7 PG Jada Williams (Missouri Phenom 17u) – Didn’t put up big numbers, but displayed big time confidence on both sides of the ball and ran the show for Phenom. She was tied for the leading scorer on the team for 7 points and was second in rebounds at 6 in her 5’7 frame.