River City Run: Alyx’s Day Two Standouts
Day 2 of the River City Run tournament certainly did not disappoint. I got to cover the 16U division all weekend, and trust me when I say that there were some extremely talented players and teams competing in Louisville. A…
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Continue ReadingDay 2 of the River City Run tournament certainly did not disappoint. I got to cover the 16U division all weekend, and trust me when I say that there were some extremely talented players and teams competing in Louisville. A lot of those players and teams caught my eye and I’ll dive more into all of those players throughout this week, but for now, here are my day 2 standouts.
Ryiah Wilson Ryiah Wilson 5'8" | CG South Bend Washington | 2025 State IN | 5’7″ | Class of 2025 | Indiana Blaze 16U
The entire Indiana Blaze program came out ready to play and that resulted in an undefeated weekend for their squad. Honestly, their entire roster could have made this list, but if I had to pick just one player from Sunday’s games, I had to put Wilson on here. She was scoring in a variety of ways, handling the ball with pressure, and playing phenomenal defense. Wilson has skills that you just don’t typically see in someone her age. She is an elite guard with excellent length and athleticism. She can get in the paint and make things happen. Whether she was finding an open teammate or making a move to score herself, Wilson’s talent shined through.
Creedance Chittenden Creedance Chittenden 5'8" | SF Cascade | 2024 IN | 5’7″ | IN Showcase 2024 Black
Chittenden has a fantastic all-around game. She is one of the strongest finishers that I got the chance to watch this weekend. She does a great job of getting into the lane and to the basket, but once she gets there, she has the ability to finish with a high-level of contact. There were multiple times she scored on 2-3 defenders and there were times where she was getting hammered, but still finished strong. She also makes the defense stretch with her ability to knock down shots from deep.
Paige Medley Paige Medley 5'5" | PG Meade County | 2024 State KY | 5’4″ | Class of 2024 | Team Firstep 2024
Medley is a major factor in the success Team Firstep 2024 has had so far this Spring. She is a dynamic guard that plays with absolutely zero fear. She handles the ball really well and has the ability to shoot it from anywhere on the court. She’s got excellent speed and quickness, both with and without the ball. She has a quick release on her shot and it doesn’t take much space for her to get her shot off. Medley can also get to the rim and is smart about kicking to the open player if help steps over. Her height only made her skillset that much more impressive as she was scoring over people that had nearly a foot on her.
Sophie Johnson | 6’0″ | Class of 2024 | Pocket City Basketball
Johnson has excellent size and an impressive skillset. She is always a threat on the wing because of her versatility. She can shoot it from deep range or she can drive and get to the rim. She had some nice, shifty finishes around the basket this weekend. She also made good passes, ran the floor well, and played good defense. She stays ready to get in the passing lanes and comes up with a lot of steals. Johnson was also really impressive on the boards, going after rebounds strong and not letting anyone else grab the ball off the rim.
Noel Smith Noel Smith 5'7" | PF Whitefield Academy | 2025 State KY | 5’9″ | Class of 2025 | Kentucky ICE 2024
This is a bold statement, but regardless, it’s a statement I’m saying with confidence: Noel Smith Noel Smith 5'7" | PF Whitefield Academy | 2025 State KY is the hardest working player I have ever watched play. Her hustle and the effort she puts in is unreal, but the fact she plays with that level of intensity legitimately every single second that she’s on the court is what makes her special. Through pure effort, she came up with a ton of steals, blocks, and rebounds in every single game she played in. However, she also has the talent. She can score at all 3 levels and she handles the ball well. She made some excellent passes and played great defensively. Smith also finished off the weekend by hitting the game winning shot as time expired for her Kentucky ICE 2024 squad.
Mara Mitchell Mara Mitchell 5'6" | SG Jackson Northwest | 2024 State MI | 5’6″ | Class of 2024 | MSF Flight 2024
Mitchell was an excellent floor general for MSF Flight. She has great speed, quickness, and tenacity. She really handles pressure well and she keeps things rolling on the offensive end. She really does a great job of finding her teammates and getting them involved. Mitchell pushes the tempo when she needs to and she is a consistent scoring threat. She can hit shots from the outside or she can get to the rim. She was really solid all weekend long.