Top Stock-Risers: Class of 2023
Last Tuesday we posted the first thorough update to our rankings in the Class of 2023 since the end of March. Naturally, there were a number of changes to the list, but we also expanded from 100 to 125 prospects…
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Continue ReadingLast Tuesday we posted the first thorough update to our rankings in the Class of 2023 since the end of March. Naturally, there were a number of changes to the list, but we also expanded from 100 to 125 prospects this time around. Below is a look at seven young ladies who I feel have improved their stock a great deal since the end of March based on their play throughout the Summer months. Some moved up the rankings significantly, some just a few spots, but all show improved play and solidified themselves as legitimate recruits.
#7
Taylor Farris
Taylor
Farris
5'8" | CG
Oxford Talawanda | 2023
State
OH
, 5-8 CG, Northeastern H.S.
I know I’ve touched on Taylor a few times in the last six to eight months, but if you get the chance to sit down and watch her play, it’s easy to get excited about her potential. Taylor is a wiry strong, very athletic prospect who moves well in all directions. She has a solid handle and tremendous vision, so she can play a point guard position full-time if needed. But, she’s also so good attacking the basket, and she shot it very consistently all Summer long. I would want to find ways for her to score it as well. She is very bouncy and collects a number of rebounds as a guard, plus she can be a high-level on-ball defender when she wants to be. She might be the state’s best-kept secret in 2023.
#10
RaShunda Jones
RaShunda
Jones
5'7" | PG
South Bend Washington | 2023
State
IN
, 5-7 PG, South Bend Washington H.S.
As Coach Reynolds at Washington likes to call her “The Spider”, RaShunda is certainly extremely long and spindly. She is very fast end-to-end, she’s quick and shifty laterally, and she has done a tremendous job of really working on her entire skillset since last Summer. A year ago she was more of an athlete who played ball, but now she’s a ballplayer with a great deal of athleticism. She can get defenders off-balance and attack the basket, but she’s also shooting it so much more consistently than she ever has, and she’s making shots with range. She can defend the ball and cause problems with her length and quickness, plus she’s dangerous affecting passing lanes in “help”.
#17
Monica Williams
Monica
Williams
5'10" | SF
Lawrence North | 2023
State
IN
, 5-9 SF, Lawrence North H.S.
There are some similarities in Monica’s development like
RaShunda Jones
RaShunda
Jones
5'7" | PG
South Bend Washington | 2023
State
IN
’ (above). A year ago I would have also considered Monica more of an athlete than a ballplayer, but she too has worked very hard at building her skillset and making herself a threat at all areas of the floor. She is long, wiry strong, and bouncy. She can defend a number of different types of guards, wings, and forwards, plus she plays with a motor and rebounds very well for a wing. But the biggest improvement this Summer came by way of her being able to consistently knock down shots at all three levels, plus her handle has gotten better, as she’s now able to get to the rim and finish without losing control of it.
#18
Ava Couch
Ava
Couch
5'10" | SF
Indy North Central | 2023
State
IN
, 5-9 SF, Indianapolis North Central H.S.
I had seen Ava in the past, but I wasn’t terribly familiar with the entirety of her game until this Summer. She is just a tough-nosed, high-motor, do-whatever-it-takes-to-help-my-team type of kid. She has a fairly strong frame, she’s a solid athlete in most directions, but she’s also very skillful and plays with a good basketball IQ. She is a really nice perimeter shooter with consistency and range beyond the arc. She’s a capable driver who can attack straight-line and finish against contact inside. She’ll rebound aggressively, and she does a nice job of anticipating and using her positioning to defend well in the half-court.
#25
Annaka Nelson
Annaka
Nelson
6'0" | PF
Fort Wayne Concordia | 2023
State
IN
, 6-0 PF, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran H.S.
Annaka is another one of Indiana’s well-kept secrets in this 2023 class, and I think she has the potential to be a Top 15 to 20 kid at some point in the near future. She has an athletic frame, wiry strength, and great length. She is a nice North/South athlete who plays with a motor, and she has some bounce to her. Skillfully, she is strong enough to battle on the low-block and use her athleticism to give her an advantage, but ultimately she is a face-up ’4’ who is tremendous in the mid-post. She can attack and score from there, plus she can knock down the 15-footer consistently. As she continues to grow her game, a consistent 3-point shot would make her difficult to defend.
#34
Amber Tretter
Amber
Tretter
6'1" | PF
Forest Park | 2023
State
IN
, 6-1 PF, Forest Park H.S.
I don’t know how much Amber is a “secret”, as she’s just new to the scene statewide. She has good height, tremendous length, and she’s a very bouncy and fluid prospect who moves extremely well in all directions at her height/age. She is still thin, and strength will be a must moving forward. But she is physical and plays the right way, she likes contact, and she’s the first one on the floor after loose balls, plus she’ll try to rip rebounds away from opponents. She has a lot of fight and competitiveness in her, and I think once she develops her skillset a little more, she’ll be able to possibly play around the perimeter consistently. Right now she’s a really nice mid-post ’4’.
#49
Bailey Kelham
Bailey
Kelham
5'10" | SF
Garrett | 2023
State
IN
, 5-9 SF, Garrett H.S.
Bailey put together an impressive Winter for Garrett, averaging just over 16 points per game, including a 45-point outing two days before Christmas. She is a talented athlete with a wiry strong frame, some strength for her size, and a lot of bounce in her step. She is more of a slasher/driver right now, and she does a nice job of using her athleticism inside to score, but she does have great touch in the mid-post, the ability to knock down rhythm 3-point shots, and as her handle improves and she’s able to make more dynamic plays off the bounce, I think she’s going to be that much tougher to defend. She is also a versatile defender herself, as she can take on some guards, all wings, and most forwards.