Top-250: Standouts
Featured image is of Anya Friend Anya Friend 5'9" | SF Bloomington South | 2021 State IN (2021) of Bloomington High School South. Sunday, October 11th, was Indiana’s second annual Top-250 Expo, showcasing many of the state’s top ballplayers, along…
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Continue ReadingFeatured image is of Anya Friend Anya Friend 5'9" | SF Bloomington South | 2021 State IN (2021) of Bloomington High School South.
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…30+ more than a year ago. Below is a look at eight young ladies from Indiana who I felt really stood out with their play. To be clear, these are not necessarily the most talented eight prospects, nor were they the only ones who played well, but I felt like they stood out the most throughout the event with their strong and consistent performances.
Bridget Dunn
Bridget
Dunn
6'3" | PF
Carmel | 2021
State
IN
, 2021, 6-3 PF, Carmel H.S.
I received a number of texts from college coaches and parents during the event who were watching online asking who #159 was. I have been a big fan of Bridget’s since I first saw her during the Summer between her 7th and 8th Grade seasons, when she was a 5-8 guard. As she shot up over the years, she grew stronger and learned how to play inside. She now has a nice skillset around the block, she pursues rebounds fairly well, and she’s somewhat dominant at times in the mid-post. But she still maintains a lot of that perimeter skill, which makes her a tough matchup for opposing power forwards and centers. She shoots the 3-pointer like a guard, and she can even handle the ball a bit in transition or around the perimeter in half-court offense. While I feel like she was maybe a bit under-recruited over the years, she should fit/do well at Kent State University, where she has verbally committed.
Anya Friend
Anya
Friend
5'9" | SF
Bloomington South | 2021
State
IN
, 2021, 5-9 F, Bloomington H.S. South
I absolutely enjoy watching kids like Anya who simply outwork their ability with sheer heart, determination, and effort. Anya was fully engaged yesterday, constantly vocal and energetic. She was encouraging her teammates and getting them loud and involved in return. She is a tough, strong, physical forward who is actually probably built like more of an undersized post player. However, she has nice balance and some quickness to her, she has good ball skill and can create space with the dribble, and when she gets rolling, she can be one of the hottest shooters in the gym. When she’s in rhythm, it’s almost comical at times watching her toy with defenders, getting them off-balance, then burying deep shot after deep shot. Wherever she ends up for college, I have a feeling those coaches will love her game and her opponents will continue shaking their heads in frustration.
Erica Bostwick
Erica
Bostwick
6'0" | PF
Zionsville Community | 2022
State
IN
, 2022, 5-11 F, Zionsville Community H.S.
Erica has always been an intriguing and versatile forward, and yesterday was about as good of a singular day as I have ever seen her put together. She has tremendous length, fluid athleticism, but she’s also capable of playing a number of roles for her teams. She can play in the mid-post and act as more of a true power forward, rebounding and defending against bigger players. She can also play comfortably around the perimeter, attacking the basket off the bounce for scores or knocking down open rhythm 3-pointers like she did yesterday. I also like her versatility defensively, as she’s able to match up with a variety of forwards, wings, and even a few bigger guards. As she continues to gain strength, I look for her to be that much more explosive and consistent.
Isabel Davis, 2022, 5-7 CG, Bishop Chatard H.S.
This was my first time ever seeing or even hearing about Isabel, and she was impressive each game. She had one of the best handles in the gym, she changed directions well off the bounce, and I don’t remember seeing anyone fluster her or take the ball from her at any point. She has a strong, athletic frame as well, and she’s a deceptive athlete with tremendous balance and body control. All day she was great attacking the basket and finishing with a variety of spin-moves, reverse layups, and runners/floaters. Isabel also knew where her teammates were and did a nice job of finding them when the defense shifted. I did not see her shoot it outside often, so that is one area of her game I’d like to continue to evaluate, but she was really good in just about every other facet.
Maggie Keinsley
Maggie
Keinsley
5'10" | PF
Homestead | 2022
State
IN
, 2022, 5-10 F, Homestead H.S.
A year and a half ago, in April of 2019 when I first saw Maggie play, she was an intriguing, long, somewhat skinny, but fluid and fairly skilled forward. I wasn’t sure what her ceiling was, and I actually stumbled onto her because I was there to watch one of her travel teammates, who ironically wasn’t in attendance. But ever since then, Maggie has just continued to get stronger, more explosive, and more skilled. I don’t know what position colleges will consider her, so I’ll just call her a ballplayer at this point. She can play physical and post some around the low-block, make post-moves, and finish, but she can also knock down the 3-pointer or attack and change directions off the bounce when going to the rim for scores. She has body control and athleticism, and she can utilize that and her skill to be highly productive in the mid-post as well. She is also a nice, versatile defender who plays with grit and toughness.
Olivia Brown
Olivia
Brown
5'7" | PG
Hamilton Southeastern | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, 5-7 PG, Hamilton Southeastern H.S.
Olivia was one of, if not the most complete point guard in attendance. She just plays at a different speed and has a different awareness and feel than most guards in any gym. That doesn’t mean she plays fast; she just has a smooth and fluid approach to the game and understands how to change tempo based on the situation. She has a long and wiry strong frame, she’s a really nice athlete, and in a day when there aren’t many traditional point guards who thrive at setting up teammates and locking up on defense, Olivia does both of those things as well or better than most in Indiana. The knock on her in the past has always been her ability to make perimeter shots, but she has shot it consistently each time I’ve seen her this Summer and Fall…well-enough that Division-I schools are really starting to take notice of her all-around game.
Asia Donald
Asia
Donald
5'9" | SG
Hobart | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, 5-8 CG, Hobart H.S.
Whether it’s her location within the state, her playing with a non-Indiana travel program, or whatever else, Asia is one of the most talented unknown prospects on a statewide level. When she’s fully engaged, all she does is score. She can attack the basket, change directions, and finish in any number of ways. She has a solid mid-range pull-up, and she’s fairly consistent as a perimeter shooter. Asia also handles the ball well and can find open teammates in positions to score, plus you likely aren’t going to take it from her when you pressure her. She has length, athleticism, and quickness, and I think she can become a high-level defender because of those traits. At the end of the day, she is just a programmed scorer who can create her own shot and score the ball at a high rate from just about anywhere on the floor.
Emma Haan
Emma
Haan
5'8" | SG
Zionsville | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, 5-7 SF, Zionsville Community H.S.
If most other kids attempted to play as hard as Emma for as consistently long as she does, they would likely exhaust themselves fairly quickly. Emma is one of the hardest working young players in the state, and it’s an absolute joy to watch. She is probably undersized for how she plays, and she could stand to be a bit more explosive as an athlete, but she is as tough as they come and she out-produces her matchup nearly every single game. She just knows what it takes to help her teams be successful. Sunday she was aggressive to the basket, and by the time the defense could react, the ball was already in the air headed for the basket. She ran by people in transition and even went by opponents while she was handling the ball end-to-end. She literally sprints for rebounds, dives on the floor for loose balls, and takes charges. She is the ultimate “intangibles” kid, and I dare anyone to match her effort.