WAUKEGAN, Ill. – Faith Suggs called her participation in USA Basketball’s U16 National team tryouts in May “pretty much the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”
She’s hoping those few days in Colorado will have a lasting impact on her future.
Suggs was not selected for the team that played in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Mexico, but the experience has spurred her to examine her own development.
“I definitely learned how to be more competitive and how to be a team player,” said Suggs, the 6-foot-1 forward for the Illinois Dream Team 17, at USJN’s Summer Final on Sunday.
“It’s such a good experience because they show you where you stand in the nation; what you need to work on and how you can be the best player you can be.”
Suggs, rated 35th among Blue Star’s Class of 2015, survived the first three cuts of the four-day tryout. But she left the camp carrying some ideas on how she can become a better player.
“Taking it to the basket, being more aggressive, because I know when I draw defenders that I can pass it. Now I’m working on trying to figure out when I can get my time and take over the game, (while) doing my part and make the team win.”
Suggs’ profile hardly needs to be raised. But she’s determined not to let the pitfalls of early attention and acclaim distract her from reaching her potential.
“I know those players sometimes peak in the beginning and they let it get to their head, and they don’t develop afterwards,” Suggs said. “I don’t want that to happen to me because I still want to keep developing so I can play in the higher level in college.”
Suggs, who starred at Plainfield East High School last winter, is transferring to Homewood-Flossmoor. She will play for new coach Anthony Smith, the coach of the Dream Team and formerly the head coach at powerhouse Bolingbrook, where he won four state titles in 12 seasons.
Missouri Thundercats make quick work of foes
Coach John Marquardt’s Missouri Thundercats 17 squad captured the Pools A-H championship in the 17/16U division on Monday.
The Thundercats went 4-0 in pool play, with only one game decided by single digits, then rolled past the Illinois Wolverines 16 Elite before knocking off the tourney favorite Bolingbrook Panthers 59-54.
The Thundercats beat the Illinois Hustle 16 53-50 in the title game.
The squad, which draws players from Missouri and Kansas, has six players who stand 5-10 or taller.
Indiana MBA Select 14 Green won the 15/14U title, while Wisconsin WBA Prestige 14 Green captured the 14/13U crown. The West Michigan Drive 13 emerged victorious in the 13/12U bracket.
The 10th annual event attracted 178 teams and close to 200 college coaches.
Iowa’s Earl has budding program
Former Iowa star and NBA first round draft pick Acie Earl brought his Venom Sports 13 squad to the Summer Final for the first time, and the experience served as an eye-opener for his young program.
Earl’s Iowa-based program is in its sixth year. His oldest team contains his daughter, Kenya, who will enter her freshman season at Iowa City High School this fall. She was the only player on the team who had ever played in an event during an NCAA evaluation period, Earl said.
“We printed out packets for the girls of all of the coaches that were going to come here,” Earl said. “Nobody did that when I was playing. You just showed up. ‘Oh, that coach is here.’ If somebody would have told me what it’s going to be like, I would have done better or been more prepared. Some of the parents didn’t even know what an NCAA event was. So I’m able to say, ‘This is what’s going to happen.’ We’ve got to get to Waukegan to be seen.”
Earl estimated he has at least three Division I prospects on the Venom, including his 5-foot-10 daughter, whom he said has received a scholarship offer from Western Illinois.
“She’s battle tested,” Earl said of Kenya. “She’s been doing this since the third grade. She has a skill set that is probably years beyond her age. She’s not as tough as I’d like her to be. It’s up to her – how good she wants to be.”
She’s in a Rush to improve
Gabrielle Rush’s reputation is well-defined.
“She’s a flat-out shooter,” said Randy Weibel, Rush’s coach on the Illinois-based Midwest Elite 16 Elite squad.
“She’s a competitor. She just knows how to win. To go along with that, she’s a coachable, a great kid.”
Rush, rated 66th nationally by Blue Star in the Class of 2015, plays with the maturity, instincts and intelligence of a player far closer to the end of her prep career. Her perimeter shooting is top-notch.
She also knows where the next step in her development needs to take her.
At 5-10, the Hinsdale Central High School guard will need to gain strength and become accustomed to physical play.
“It’s better to get more physical over the summer because we don’t get to do that in high school,” Rush said. “I want to get more physical and be able to create more open shots for myself and teammates.”
Said Weibel: “She knows she’s got to work on her defense. She’ll be a good defensive player at the next level.”
Hoops Express’ Prochaska makes summer count
Lauren Prochaska made a verbal commitment to DePaul in June, based at least in part on what has become a sparkling summer.
Prochaska, rated in the top 300 nationally by Blue Star in the Class of 2014, a point guard for Jerald Davis’ Chicago Hoops Express 16, parlayed some strong summer play into a higher profile among college coaches.
“In my opinion, and we say it always from a biased perspective, but she’s one of the best pure point guards from the perspective of always wanting to get her teammates into the game, reading the defense and really running the team,” Davis said. “She doesn’t have to shoot to be happy. She’s an excellent defender and I think a lot of that is she’s a thinner kid and people underestimate her toughness. But she’s really the straw that stirs the drink.
“She’s definitely had a good summer. She locked in the DePaul scholarship based on some of her performances (with us), but it was actually at their team camp with her high school team. She had some huge, huge games.”
The Express went 2-2 in pool play with two close losses while missing two of the teams’ top players, St. Louis commit Aaliyah Covington and post Precious Harden.
“That kind of deflated them,” Davis said, “but they put it together and fought hard.”
To see the overall post event page for this event including pool all-stars, colleges that attended, and final results follow the link below.
