By Joe Costa
This fall, in a two month span, Blue Star Basketball held a trio of events in which we evaluated over 125 players from 16 different states. Participants showcased their talents for top level trainers the likes of Jimmy Dillon (Hoops 365), Andre Nabors (SES / Carolina Belles Basketball), Nadine Domond (Nadine Domond Basketball), Mike Davis (TPLS), Mary Klinger (Rutgers Prep & USA Basketball) and Kristen Somogyi (NJ Cardinals). Each event featured no nonsense insight, advice and knowledge of the recruiting process from Hall of Fame Coach Theresa Grentz (Grentz Elite Coaching) who’s new EBook “Lessons Learned Playing a Childs Game” is available online now as well as wisdom from former Duke All-American Peppi Browne-Armstrong (Carolina Belles Basketball).
As the Holiday Season began, Blue Star Basketball wrapped up final Rising Blue Star Evaluation Showcase of its 2013 season. The following is a re-cap of the finale, the East II event in Somerset N.J. Players from four states signed up for a day of top flight training, competition and evaluation. The Field House of Rutgers Prep School served as a stage for USA Basketball’s and Rutgers Prep AD and girls basketball coach Mary Klinger as well as New Jersey Cardinal director, author and master skills trainer Kristen Somogyi’s innovative and intense training techniques.
The evaluation portion of the event gave the players a chance to showcase their talents for the Blue Star Evaluators and as usual they did not disappoint.
Attending her second Rising Blue Star event, Meaghan O’Hara (2017 – 5-10 – G – Ridgefield, Conn.) showed us that there are layers of her game yet to be uncovered. O’Harra has proven she can score around the basket but this time she showed in both the drills and during competition that she can also shoot the ball extremely well. She’ll need to get more aggressive and initiate more with the ball in her hands.
Active on both sides of the floor, Zakiya Beckles (2016 – 5-5 – G – Middlesex, N.J.) is quick, gets up and down the floor very fast, can create her own shot and scores when she gets to the basket. Perimeter game improvement will make her a one to watch next summer.
Karson Swogger (2017 – 5-7 – G – Tyrone, Pa.) has the basic skill set to be a really good combo guard. She’s athletic, smart, has range on her jump shot and is strong around the basket. Developing a quicker first step and faster feet might just put her in the upper echelon of her class.
Meaghan Raab (2017 – 6-2 – F – Hanover, Mass.) is big and strong, has polished back to the basket skills and a good reverse pin move. Meaghan has a mid-range jump shot that needs some tweaking and should work on taking her defender of the dribble.
A good floor leader, Lindsey Mack (2018 – 5-5 – G – Secaucus, N.J.) has good instincts and is an excellent ball handler. Mack probes a defense, creates with her dribble and distributes the ball where it needs to be. Combining her ball skills with a north and south first step should help her expand her scoring opportunities.
At 5-9 with a good mid-range game, Teresa Wolak (2018 – 5-9- g/w – Bridgewater, N.J.) is the prototypical swing player. She has a good ball fake and go move plus the strength to finish once at the hoop. A more balanced stance should improve her range and take her game to the next level.
Quickhitters
Madeline Hahn (2017 – 5-11 – F – Mickleton, N.J.) is deceivingly efficient, gets to and finishes well at the basket plus gets up and down the floor. Skill work and left hand advancement are a necessity.
Kristin Tribel (2018 – 5-6 – G/F – Bridgewater, N.J.) has a decent post game but at 5-6 this really will not be a factor for her down the road. The light is definitely on here but she needs to shift the area of concentration to guard skills to advance her game.
Nisani Santiago (2019 – 5-5 – G – South Plainfield, N.J.) handles the ball well and with confidence. Santiago has good upper body form and range on her jump shot. Further work is needed on her balance as well as court awareness without the ball in her hands.
Pria Harris (2019 – 5-2 – G – Bronx, N.Y.) attended her second RBS this season. She handles the ball well and can get to the basket. Despite her size, Harris can score effectively against bigger players.
The success of this fall’s events has led to plans for expansion of the Rising Blue Star program in 2014. If you have a top flight skills training program and the ability to draw the top 6th – 9th grade talent in your extended area, we would like to talk with you about bringing a Rising Blue Star Showcase to your region. Blue Star Basketball is currently seeking event directors for the 2014 schedule of events to be announced in the spring. Contact Joe Costa for details: JCosta@BlueStarBB.com.
The Rising Blue Star staff would like to thank all the talented, dedicated players and their parents that attended our events during the year. We hope that we were able to give you the tools and insights that will help you improve your game and help make your basketball dreams come true… We look forward to seeing you play again in the future!
Blue Star would also like to thank the top trainers, special guest speakers, evaluators and regional event staff that made Rising Blue Star a success! Your work is not only helping a generation of young players pursue their dreams but also allowed us to continue the evolution of a very important program in the development of women’s basketball.
Joe Costa has been with Blue Star for 13 years now serving as a National Evaluator and Director of the Rising Blue Star program. Coaching the Pittsburgh Rockers for over 10 years; he helped produce two national championships and over 75 scholarship student athletes. Additionally Costa has coached both girls and boys on the high school & collegiate levels plus served as a floor coach for several Nike All American Camps and Skills Academies. He currently resides in Savannah, Georgia.
