Shutdown Showcase: All-Showcase Team
Next Play 360 hosted their Shutdown Showcase this week. The showcase featured several teams across the state of Georgia ranging 15U to 17U. The event spanned three days and I was able to check out days one and two. Here are my selections for the all showcase team for those days showing the top performers at each position.
MVP:
Kayla McPherson Kayla McPherson 5'7" | CG Madison County | 2021 State #13 Nation GA | 5’7″ | Team Elite Hubbard | 2021 | #3 PGH (Featured Image) – The scoring machine was stood out every second on the court. She has a motor that is never off and is involved in a lot of positive plays for her team on both ends. She is lighting quick with advanced ball-handling and has a high understanding of the game. She is a true three-level scorer and a leader at the point guard position. In addition to scoring the ball in exciting ways, she also gets teammates involved with great vision and passing ability. She did it all and was the best player in the gym.
1st Team:
Jamiah Gregory Jamiah Gregory 5'9" | CG Kell | 2023 State GA | 5’9 | PG | Celtics-Henderson | 2023 – Gregory is a prospect with quickly rising stock. She continued to show that she knows how to use her athleticism to create scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates. She showed a more consistent jumper this weekend knocking in a couple of threes and mid-range jumpers in the games I watched. Her strength is in her expertise of putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim and finding open shooters around the perimeter, As she continues to develop her finishing repertoire to compliment her leaping ability, she will be even tougher to stop from scoring.
Kaleigh Addie Kaleigh Addie 5'7" | PG Greater Atlanta Christian School | 2022 State #66 Nation GA | 5’6″ | CG | Team Elite Hubbard | 2022 | #2 – Another high functioning point guard for Coach Hubbard. She showed how effective she is when playing off the ball. She has the great scoring ability and was efficient with her attempts. When playing in the lead guard spot she effortlessly flipped to a creator for her teammates with good passes. She is a threat to score or create each possession of transition offense. Her versatility at the guard position keeps defenders guessing at the best way to defend.
Claire Davis Claire Davis 6'1" | SF Cass | 2022 State GA | 6’1″ | SF | Justus League | 2022 | #37 PGH – The versatile forward showed that she could do it all against D1 talent. She showcased a complete offensive game, scoring from several spots on the floor. She was impressive rebounding as well and used her boards to initiate her scoring opportunities taking it to coast to coast on several occasions. She picked up a double-double in points and rebounds and added several assists with some good passing and awareness. She is having
Olivia Hutcherson Olivia Hutcherson 6'0" | PF Holy Innocents' | 2023 State GA | 6’0″ | PF | Team Elite Hubbard | 2022 | #10 PGH – A coach of Hutcherson’s described her as a slashing-forward and I could not agree more. She does not have a deep range on her jumper just yet but when around the perimeter she can take defenders off the bounce using strength and quickness or make aggressive cuts in the lane with great acceleration. She is a strong finisher and is often at the foul line for one more because she converts through contact frequently. A tenacious rebounder, she grabs boards seeming at times before other players can get off the floor. A versatile player for inside and outside play.
Ashlee Locke Ashlee Locke 6'3" | PF Flowery Branch | 2021 State GA | 6’3″ | C | EOTO-Black | 2021 | #14 PGH – The Mercer commit was a dominant post defensively. She helped her team keep control of the game while also proving to be a consistent scoring threat in the paint using post moves or nice catch and shoot jumpers. She shot-blocking ability using her long arms to get pieces of attempts in the paint and around the perimeter when closing out. She was also very good on the glass grabbing anything that bound in her direction.
2nd Team:
Mataya Gayle Mataya Gayle 5'7" | PG River Ridge | 2023 State GA | 5’6″ | FBC Blitz | 2023 – The young point guard is a high-level prospect. She has a great bounce to her game and checks all the boxes for a floor leader. She showed an all-around game on both ends of the floor. Offensively she can score it many ways using a good understanding of tempo and dribble moves to create space for her own shots. When facilitating found teammates in transition and the halfcourt often while weaving through defenders or taking on heavy ball pressure.
Crystal Henderson Crystal Henderson 5'6" | PG Kell | 2023 State GA | 5’6″ | CG | Celtics-Henderson | 2023 | #4 PGH – A natural scorer, defenders found it hard to keep Henderson from putting the ball in the basket. Defenses were locked in on Henderson every game and she showed that she could still be just as effective for her team even when targeted. She drew box-and-one defenses and forced teams out of zones with her natural scoring talent. Advanced ball-handling paired with a good read and react understanding, makes it tough for just one defender to contain her. If help is late or early she can score it herself or hit an open teammate anywhere on the floor.
Brooke Suttle | 6’0″ | SF | Team Elite JD | 2024 – A long and skilled prospect that passes the eye test in every way. She can handle the ball well which allows her to play multiple positions. She scored, defended, and rebounded well playing up two divisions. She is a double-digit scorer, but she consistently found ways to make winning plays that did not involve scoring. Her size allows her to defend bigger players and caused challenges for smaller defenders looking to defend her on the perimeter. She is a top player in her class.
Kharyssa Richardson Kharyssa Richardson 6'2" | SF New Manchester | 2022 State GA on | 6’2 | PF | Hoop Dreams | 2022 | #8 PGH – Richardson is a physical prospect that likes to use her size to bully defenders around the painted area but showed multiple times that she has some skill to play spurts around the perimeter. She impressed by pushing the break multiple times, even finishing with spin moves to counter defenders. She rebounds with aggressive force and will pursue the ball even outside of her area moving opposing players in the process. As her skill continues to develop, she will bring a lot of versatility to the court.
Jada Session Jada Session 6'1" | PF Luella | 2021 State GA | 6’1″ | C | Team Elite Session | 2021 | – Session provides a strong interior presence and can play the big forward or center position. She came up big for her squad in a close game getting a steal while pressing and pushing into a pull-up elbow jump shot to seal a come from behind win with just seconds on the clock. She is not fearful of contact and is willing to bang in the paint for rebounds or tough scores. She also picked up multiple blocks in each game using a strong frame and good athleticism to go after shot attempts.