Monday, July 1, 2024

2024 Next Up Individual Showcase- Elementary Division

 




One of my all-time favorite sayings is that #talentiseverywhere providing you know what you're looking for and since I'm a GENIUS at spotting what's coming, it was great to catch up with several stars of tomorrow. Pictured above is Rori Harmon (Texas) who I dropped #D1Lock on when she was in the 5th grade



Khaila Key (2032) has already had me drop #D1Lock on her and like Harmon, she's heading to the 5th grade. She's heady and under control, but watching her easily set the defender up was nice. She has solid court vision, gave me the crossover in transition and her body control on her finishes is also nice. Her poise under pressure, her doing things instinctively, and how she reacts SIMS it up


Audacity Vaughn (2032) is a long and athletic guard and I can tell she's been watching her older sister because she uses her athleticism on both ends. Her on-the-ball pressure was solid, and she attacks strongly off the dribble yet she gave me the turnaround jumper and THAT is going to create some problems 

Armoni Mitchell (2033) was another long and athletic guard who did a good job applying "on the ball" pressure, both in the set as well as in transition. She did something I absolutely love to see and that's playing the passing lane but she also showed good timing to block shots

Campbell Baldwin (2032) is, you guessed it, a long and athletic guard, and when she showed me the HEZ and crossover, I just shook my head. She blew by defenders to score off the dribble, and she even scored going coast to coast but her court vision was solid as well as her "on the ball" pressure


Zariyah Redd (2032) understands positioning and at this stage, that's huge because it's the little things that will turn out to be big down the road. She rebounded on both ends, ran the floor, on both ends, and did a solid job defensively inside the paint. She also scored around the basket 


Everly Rowell (2032) is heady and lets the game come to her. I was impressed with her decision-making under pressure, she also showed she could score in the flow and play within herself. Her deceptive first step was nice as was her court vision 


Ella Lovett (2032) understands the game and also falls into that "heady" group but watching her create her shot under pressure was nice and this included her first step to attack and score. She also applied solid "on the ball" pressure and her quick hands got her some steals


Glory Noe (2032) had me saying yes as she gave me a variety of offensive skills that are going to come in handy as her "on the court" progression continues. Let me start with she "thinks the game" and her step back with the pull-up was very nice, so were her fakes to attack off the dribble. 


Cassi Pham (2034) has some pretty impressive upside because when you factor in she was the youngest player at the event and wasn't FAZED by pressure whatsoever, that tells me a lot, and with her being a "long and athletic" guard who can already create her shot and apply heat defensively, watch out


Ella Lowe (2032) just got after off the top and in the 1-on-1 drill, she brought so much intensity on the defensive that it doesn't surprise that she kept it going during the 5 on 5 games. She also handled the ball and saw the floor yet she too had a deceptive first step to attack the basket in the set


Rilynn Thomas (2031) didn't mind physicality, either giving or taking and she showed power in the paint a few times. She also gave me a glimpse of the "hands and footwork" I love seeing and that, plus her finishing around the basket was nice. She also rebounded on both ends and played solid defense


Sariyah Dancer (2032) has the right last name because she is showing signs of being able to dance the ball and dazzle. Part of that is because she's "long and athletic" and her first step is very nice yet in transition, she showed an extra gear with the ball and finished strongly using nice body control


Lylah Tucker (2032) has a lot of symbols on her evaluation which is a good sign and partly because of her energy and athleticism, especially on defense. Her pressure helped to create turnovers, she played the passing lane but she also scored off the dribble, had nice body control after contact, and saw the floor well