PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — Perhaps the top 2020 prospect at USJN’s 14th annual Battle of the Programs and Elite Oktoberfest was 5-foot-9 guard Jaddan Simmons of the Wisconsin Purple Aces. And if you’re a Green Bay Packers fan, that name might already seem familiar. Her father is Jason Simmons, a 10-year NFL veteran who is now in his eighth season as a Packers coach.
“She comes from a coaching household, so she’s a real disciplined, hard-working kid,” Aces coach Cordero Barkley said. “A pleasure to coach. I wish I had 10 of her.”
Simmons has the obvious physical traits to play at a high level. She is athletic, an adept facilitator and creator, and a supremely talented defender.
“She is, to me, the best two-way player in her class in the state of Wisconsin,” said Cordero, whose wife coaches her at Green Bay Southwest High. “She’s a point guard who can score the basketball, is a great defender, very disruptive and a high IQ kid.”
That’s a high IQ both on and off the court. Barkley said she already has offers from “most of the Ivy League,” to go along with offers from a bevy of high-majors including Arizona State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Simmons has a handful of unofficial visits coming up but will most likely take most of her visits in the spring, Barkley said.
Simmons spent a chunk of her summer season recuperating from a pulled hamstring she suffered during track season.
“But she worked on tightening up her handle, and we watched a lot of film while she was hurt,” Barkley said. “Instead of just being fast all the time, we worked on changing speeds and direction. And then shooting – pulling up from three off the dribble, and creating space in her midrange game.”
GUARDS PROPEL WISCONSIN IMPACT
Missing a pair of post players, the Wisconsin Impact 16 Fall squad didn’t make the impact it had hoped in the BOP No. 2 group, winning the consolation bracket. But two of its guards, Kamorea Arnold (2023) and Katie Rohner (2020), turned heads.
The 5-7 Rohner displayed excellent vision and a well-rounded game that featured no shortage of fundamental abilities.
“Non-stop motor,” coach Gordon Nikolic said. “She gets to the rim and sees the court. A great on-ball defender, has quick hands. Her three-point shot will get better in our style of play. Just an all-around game. She’s pretty even-keel kind of kid. She’s got a big ceiling.
“I think she can guard anybody because her hands are quick and her feet are quick. Her size isn’t what they look for but she’s sneaky to the rim. She gets her shoulders low and turns the corner. She’s probably been with us for two months now, but her three-point shot has gotten so much better in two months.”
Arnold, at 5-5, is slim but has gained strength this summer and has Division I potential. She flourished in transition at the BOP and had no trouble getting to the rim whenever she pleased.
“She’s going to be a super-stud,” Nikolic said. “She’s quick enough, and she’s gotten stronger in the last month and a half. She works every day; she’s a gym rat.”
CAROTHERS ONE TO WATCH FOR INDIANA FLIGHT PRIME
Coach Tony Marlin’s Indiana Flight Prime captured the No. 3 bracket of the Battle of the Programs, defeating the Illinois Lady Lightning Martinez 58-41 in the final, but it was the play of several young newcomers who stood out.
Chief among them was 2022 guard Jessica Carothers, who’ll play her freshman season at Crown Point High School this year. Carothers is as fundamentally solid as any young player you’ll find. She uses both hands, distributes the ball to the right place at the right time, can penetrate and shoot and features a basketball IQ that’s far beyond her years.
“Phenomenal,” Marlin said of Carothers, whose stepsister, 2021 guard Alyna Santiago, also shined. “Very even-keeled. Very good shooter. She sees the floor so well. Probably not the quickest girl on the floor but her headiness makes her a really good defender. And she can drive to the middle and pull up at 12 or 15 feet. She’s really good and she’s going to make us a lot better.”
ALL-NEBRASKA ATTACK CLAIMS TOP BOP BRACKET
It wasn’t easy, but the All-Nebraska Attack 16 Isherwood held off BC Denver 47-45 in the title game of the BOP’s No. 1 bracket Saturday. And it also came with a bit of a cost.
Maddy Meehan, a 2020 forward and one of two players who were on the club’s top team this summer, suffered what initially appeared to be a significant knee injury in the third quarter. Meehan was down, and in pain, for an extended period, ultimately helped off the floor without bearing weight on her right knee. Early indications were that it might not be as acute as feared.
“I think it was knee-to-knee,” coach Zach Isherwood said. “It’s bruised up pretty good. I think it’s a deep bone bruise.”
Without Meehan, the Attack were able to hold on through the leadership of Maddie Krull, a 2020 guard who played on the top team this season that lost in the finals of USJN’s Windy City in Chicagoland in April.
A FAMILY AFFAIR LEADS ILLINOIS REBELS/XPLOSION
Coach Tony Gugliuzza had no trouble identifying with the nucleus of his Illinois Rebels/Xplosion 16 team that won the BOP’s No. 2 bracket. After all, three of the players are his daughters.
The Rebels/Xplosion knocked off a few teams that might have featured more raw talent but couldn’t handle its five-out offense. The lead instigator was 5-10 guard Taylor Gugliuzza (2020), whose perimeter shooting spearheaded the offense. Younger sister Tara (2021) plays with her at Lincolnway West High School in New Lenox, and their sister Ava is entering her eighth-grade season.
Check back with Blue Star Media for more from the Battle of the Programs and Elite Oktoberfest from Rachel Galligan before the week is out.
