Top-250: Freshmen ABCs
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Featured image is of Justyce Williams of Jimtown High School. Sunday, October 11th, was Indiana’s second annual Top-250 Expo, showcasing many of the state’s top ballplayers, along with a handful of young ladies from Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. The…
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Continue ReadingFeatured image is of Justyce Williams of Jimtown High School.
Sunday, October 11th, was Indiana’s second annual Top-250 Expo, showcasing many of the state’s top ballplayers, along with a handful of young ladies from Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. The event took place in Fort Wayne at the Plassman Athletic Center at Turnstone, and there were 158 registrants, 35 of which were Freshmen. In many of the showcases I have been to this Fall, Freshmen and Sophomores have dominated attendance. With the Class of 2024 representing less than 23% of the total enrollment at the Indiana Top-250, these youngsters were truly facing off against Varsity upperclassmen most of the day. In fact Zionsville’s Emma Haan Emma Haan 5'8" | SG Zionsville | 2024 State IN played so well, she was highlighted yesterday as one of the top performers overall, regardless of class. Below is a look at a few of the other 27 Freshmen from Indiana who I felt really stood out with their play. To be clear, this is not a list of the most talented Freshmen prospects on hand, nor were they the only ones who played well, but I felt like they needed to be highlighted because of their consistent performances.
Anticipation in Angola
Angola has won 21 or more games each of the last three seasons, and they return talented upperclassmen in
Hanna Knoll
Hanna
Knoll
5'8" | CG
Angola | 2021
State
IN
and
Lauren Leach
Lauren
Leach
5'10" | SF
Angola | 2022
State
IN
. But new coach Nick Burlingame has to be excited about the potential of three Freshmen newcomers to the Hornet program. Kylie Caswell, Riley Pepple, and
Macy Oberlin
Macy
Oberlin
6'0" | PF
Angola | 2024
State
IN
were all on hand Sunday and made an impact for their teams throughout the day. Caswell is an extremely quick/fast and dynamic water-bug style of point guard. While she might be diminutive in stature, she plays much bigger than she is and has a lot of feistiness and grit to her game. She can run offense, create for others, and knock down shots herself. Pepple is another long, fast, and fairly athletic guard. She can play the role of point guard at times, she can get into the paint and create or finish, but she also proved she has the ability to score the basketball in bunches and knock down jumpers consistently outside. I highlighted Oberlin a few weeks back, and she just continues to impress with her combination of length, athleticism, and effort. She is so fluid and bouncy, plus she’s always around the basketball. She played more of an interior role over the Summer, but she has the talent to defend the perimeter and the developing skillset to eventually be a full-time wing. She also might still grow another inch or two.
Blooming in Bloomington
While all three Angola girls will attend the same high school, the city of Bloomington boasts three really nice Freshmen of their own who will attend rival high schools.
Abbie Lucas
Abbie
Lucas
6'0" | PF
Bloomington South | 2024
State
IN
will attend Bloomington South, and the versatile forward made a name for herself over the Summer by filling a number of roles. She has good length, a wiry strong frame, and a great deal of athleticism in all directions. While she is probably most comfortable in the short-corners and mid-post right now, she has the athletic potential to become more of a wing full-time. She is already a capable on-ball defender against wings and a few guards. Less than five miles away at Bloomington North, the Cougars welcome the addition of Mia Robbennolt and Ava Reitmeyer to the roster. Robbennolt is another long, fluidly athletic, versatile forward who does a little of everything. She too looks most comfortable in the mid-post right now, but she is also comfortable around the perimeter. Additionally, she possesses the length and ability to potentially defend multiple positions. Reitmeyer is a long, fluid, and skillful combo guard who looks like she has really worked on developing her skillset over the last few years. She handles it well, she has nice mechanics on her jump-shot, and she seems to understand situations well for a younger guard. Each of these girls look like they have an inch or two left to grow.
Consistent Contributors:
Olivia Nickerson
Olivia
Nickerson
5'7" | SG
Twin Lakes | 2024
State
IN
, 5-6 CG, Twin Lakes H.S.
If any of you “older” folks remember the NBA Jam video game series, there was the regular version which was good, and the “On Fire” edition. I kind of feel that way with Olivia. She rarely has a bad outing and is typically always consistent. But when she’s “on fire”, she is really tough to stop. She has solid all-around athleticism, a wiry strong frame, and she has a true feel for the game. She can handle the ball and run offense like a traditional point guard, but she is also a very good perimeter shooter who can play on the wing or come off screens. She plays with a nice motor, she takes care of the ball, and she’s an effortful defender as well.
Olivia Oman, 5-10 F, NorthWood H.S.
This was my second time watching Olivia in the last month, and early in the day she seemed to shoot the ball well from the perimeter. She has a fairly strong frame for her age, she plays with a nice motor, and I like her versatility and ability to play in the mid-post and the short-corners. Right now I’d say she’s more of a combo forward who can play inside-out, but I think by the end of the day she’ll become more of a full-time wing for the next level. If anything, she just needs to make her handle and lateral mobility a bit more dynamic and prove she can defend all wings and even some bigger guards consistently. But I really like what I’ve seen so far in two brief viewings.
Jordyn Poole
Jordyn
Poole
5'6" | PG
Fort Wayne Snider | 2024
State
IN
, 5-5 PG, Fort Wayne Snider H.S.
Fort Wayne area coaches are going to have their hands full the next four seasons trying to keep Jordyn out of the paint. She is quick-on-quick, fast, and explosive in all directions. She has length, bounce, and she thinks the game well-enough to be one step ahead of her matchup mentally as well. She has the basketball on a string and can get her defender off-balance anytime she wants. She has also done a nice job of continuing to work on her jump-shot and her pull-up game over the last year. Jordyn will need to get stronger at some point, because she can be affected by contact, but otherwise if she just continues to build her skillset, she is a legit Division-I prospect.
Morgan Roberts, 5-9 W, Fishers H.S.
Morgan strikes me as a gym rat, because I have noticed a difference in her play since I first saw her at the end of June. She has good length, wiry strength, and she has even grown a couple of inches in the last three and a half months. She is a very consistent perimeter shooter with a nice lefty stroke. She also does a solid job of putting it on the floor and attacking the basket straight-line. Because she has grown quickly, she will need to work on her lateral explosiveness a bit, but I think that will come once she stops growing and consistently hits the high school weight room. Overall, I like her feel and understanding of the game, plus she plays with passion and enjoyment of the sport.
Kyndra Sheets
Kyndra
Sheets
5'6" | PG
Columbia City | 2024
State
IN
, 5-6 PG, Columbia City H.S.
Due to my own travels, I can remember watching Kyndra clear back in 3rd Grade and being able to see there was a lot of potential in her game. She has always been a skillful kid, she’s a solid on-the-floor athlete, and she does a nice job of playing low to the ground and taking care of the basketball. I don’t know what it was about Sunday, but she played with a whole different gear/speed than I can remember at any point this Summer or Fall. Maybe it was simply playing against older kids, but she looked much more explosive, she played stronger, and she was a lot more decisive. She buried shots from the perimeter consistently, and she looked like an upperclassman.
Justyce Williams, 5-7 CG, Jimtown H.S.
Justyce was a new name to me, and she is definitely someone to get excited about. Before I looked her up in the packet, I thought maybe she was a Sophomore or Junior; that’s how steady she played. I also can’t recall the last time, if ever, I talked about a girls’ basketball player from Jimtown…yes, there was 1986 Miss Basketball Kim Barrier, but I was in 4th Grade at the time. Anyway, Justyce has an athletic frame, some length, and she moves well in all directions. She showed the ability to handle the ball and create offense for others, but she also got to the basket and finished, plus she knocked down the occasional jumper outside. I also liked her quiet toughness and willingness to defend.