INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—The road to the 2016 NCAA Final Four was four wins long for each of the Regional Champions.  Washington and Oregon State went one game farther before losing in the semis and UConn and Syracuse will see their campaigns end after six contests Tuesday night though one will enjoy the extra mile considerably more.  Another group made the “Journey to the Tourney” and their next Road to the Final Four as players might cover five or six years.

The 2016 Elite Girls Basketball National Middle School All-American Games fueled by Blue Star Media were held in Indianapolis on the floor of Ben Davis High School over the weekend.  The inaugural event is slated to become an annual showcase for some of the top middle school players from across the country.  The 70 participating players represented 16 states and both the 2020 and 2021 graduating classes.

All of the invited players have already established themselves on the basketball landscape.  However, any rational thinking individual realizes that there’s no such thing as an “All-American” among individuals this young with such limited athletic resumes.  Additionally, you can bet we’ll be hearing from plenty of other prospects over the next several years that will be making statements of their own as time goes by.  While the recognition of being invited to participate this past weekend is an honor, hopefully it will be used in a constructive manner to motivate these talented athletes to continue to work on their games moving forward.  That commitment along with time, genetics and competition are all factors that will determine if we’ll continue to see their names as they move onto the bigger stages in scholastic and club basketball.

In that light, we’re going to offer up some quickhitters on a few of the standout performers and their play in Indianapolis. Because of their current ages and physical growth we’ll be a little more generic as today’s post player may be tomorrows point guard…or vice versa!

Kendall Bostic – 2020 – Kokomo, Indiana – Size and build…Active without the ball…Will post up…Moves are coming along…Can be physical

Janayshia Brown – 2020 – Catasauqua, Pennsylvania – Has some size…Ballhandling is there…Can create some

Maddie Burke– 2020 – Doylestown, Pennsylvania – Advanced skills and games…Has length for age…Fluid stroke…Creates her own looks…Elevates on her shot…Sets up her defender

Allison Campbell – 2020 – Altoona, Pennsylvania – Ball skills…Reads the floor…Form and stroke

Chaniya Clark – 2021 – Fort Myers, Florida – Size and build…Strong…Aggressive around the rim…Mid-range…form and soft touch

Jasmine Clerkley – 2020 – Okemos, Michigan – Strong…Power guard…Attacking…Uses body well…Works on the boards

Daylee Dunn – 2020 – San Ramon, California – Wiry…Puts it on the floor…Slash…Defends

Elauna Eaton – 2020 – Jonesboro, Arkansas – Lefty…Size…Active…Off the dribble…Cuts hard…Touch and range…Step back…Lots of possibilities

Knisha Godfrey – 2021 – Canal Winchester, Ohio – Individual skills…Physically cut…Creates…Speed and acceleration

O’Mariah Gordon – 2021 – Sarasota, Florida – Small, very quick point guard…Creates…Crossover is there…Lots of speed…Pull up is there

Rain Green – 2020 – Baltimore, Maryland – Attacking point…Crossover is there…Gets deep in the paint…Pushes it in transition…Speed and quickness

Camille Jackson– 2021 – Chicago, Illinois – Solid build…Active…Gets to the rim…Sharp passing…Runs the floor…Defends

Kaydan Lawson – 2020 – Orange Village, Ohio – Active with and without the ball…Sound ballhandling and passing…Uses both change of speed and direction…Step back is in place…Aggressive on ball

Madison Layden – 2020 – Kokomo, Indiana – Smart – Wing / Guard – Stroke…Tools

Natalija Marshall  – 2020 – Brooklyn, New York – Length…Will grow…Wingspan…Form…Watch

Jasmine McWilliams – 2020 – Carmel, Indiana – Athletic…Wing…First step…Slash…Pull up

Jordyn Merritt – 2020 – Plano, Texas – Long and lean…Runs the floor…Fluid…Good in traffic…Spot up form…Anticipates on defense

Paige Mott – 2020 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Length…Cuts well…Plays with some instincts…Evolving

Sydney Parrish– 2020 – Fishers, Indiana – Guard with size…Ball skills…Change of speed…Crossover…Accelerates of the move…Reads…Pull up

Sherese Pittman – 2021 – Richmond, Virginia – Some length…Lean and active…Created her own…Uses her body well

Kateri Poole – 2020 – New York, New York – Strong guard…Aggressive…Deceiving quickness…Creates off the dribble…Gets to the rim…Ball skills…Handles contact

Angel Reese – 2020 – Randallstown, Maryland – Long and lean…Some ballhandling…Moves well…Runs the floor well…Got on the boards

Nevaeh Tot – 2020 – McKinney, Texas – Small point guard…Strong ballhandler…Sees the floor…Tough…Heady…Strong on ball defender

Pa’Shence Traylor-Walker  – 2021 – Martinsville, Indiana – Some ballhandling…Pull up…Perimeter touch

Ariana Wiggins – 2021 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Lefty…Ball skills…Floater…Spot up

Ilani Williams-Harris – 2020 – Brownsburg, Indiana – Individual skills…Uses her change of speed…Attacks

Skye Williams – 2021 – Orient, Ohio – Individual skills…Creates off the dribble…Fluid off the dribble and cut…Tools

Saniaa Wilson– 2021 – Rochester, New York – Size…Build and strength…Some ballhandling…Hesitation…Aggressive on the catch…Physical play on both ends

Kristian Young – 2020 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Quick…Ballhandling is there…Will defend