PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. – For a good portion of the season, the Indiana Flight’s top team bulldozed through most of the opponents in its path.
But September brings changes, with USJN’s 12th annual Battle of the Programs on Saturday serving as something of a jumping-off point for the Flight’s top squad. The top team, minus two players who elected to move on, was joined by a few younger kids (all players on BOP rosters must be 2018s or younger), including some well-known faces – like Purdue commit Kayana Traylor (2018).
The Flight hardly had an anxious moment, winning three games by an average of 18 points a game to cruise to the title of the Battle of the Program’s top bracket. The finale was a 61-36 victory against the Wisconsin Lakers.
“We had one practice,” coach Tony Marlin said. “That says a lot for these girls, and their basketball IQ and the way they trust their teammates.”
Amidst an environment of a coaches boycott from Power Five schools, the tournament took place in front of recruiters from no less than 170 colleges, including representatives from the Big East’s Villanova, Marquette and DePaul. As the largest event in the country during the fall viewing period, the tournament has seen over 240 coaches each of the past three years leading up to 2016.
For a list of all the participating teams, pool All Stars, college programs in attendance and more, follow the link below to the USJN post event page:
http://www.usjn.com/xtm_post_event_new.php?which=389
“To me, this is a big highlight because coming in, I had no idea what this team was going to be,” Marlin said. “When you watched us, I don’t feel like we were much different than we were all year. That’s pretty special.”
The stalwarts from the Flight’s top team – like highly touted guard Cassidy Hardin (2018) – were joined by Traylor and some promising 2020 grads, like 6-1 post Kendall Bostic.
“Kayana came in and played a lot of point and ran the team extremely well, played very unselfish,” Marlin said. “Nobody plays harder than Sam Olinger. Two of these kids are just freshmen. And Kendall doesn’t take a backseat to anybody inside.”
Another impressive performer: forward Emily Kiser (6-foot-2, 2018), who has a variety of scholarship offers from mid-majors to Power 5 schools to Ivy Leaguers. September has been hectic; she’s also playing volleyball.
“I’ve had some home visits, and I play volleyball as well, so it’s been a little difficult,” she said with a smile. “I definitely want to commit before my senior year. I have a really wide range right now. It’ll be hard to compare those.”
STIFF COMPETITION OPENS BEAL’S EYES
Brea Beal of Midwest Elite had a summer that included a stint at USA Basketball’s U17 team trials.
Her summer highlight?
“Getting to see all the top players around the world,” Beal said. “Just seeing them in one gym is crazy. When you get here it’s like, wow.”
Overall she had no complaints about how her summer unfolded, but she did have a few goals in mind. The 6-1 Beal, who is comfortable playing just about any position on the floor and has little trouble doing so, wanted to improve her offensive decision-making.
“I want to work on shooting more and not passing up shots,” said Beal, considered one of 2019’s top 10 players nationally. “One of the things is locating the open person and making good passes.”
IOWA BARNSTORMERS, BC DENVER, MIDWEST ELITE CLAIM TITLES
The Iowa Barnstormers, with four Division I committed players, held off Chicago Hoops Express 67-65 to win the Battle of the Program’s No. 2 bracket Saturday. And even though those four 2018 commits – Kiana Barney (Northern Iowa), Kamryn Finley (Northern Iowa), Allie Wooldridge (Wisconsin-Green Bay) and Mackenzie Rogers (Western Illinois) – were standouts throughout the weekend, the other Barnstormers showed they can play a bit, too.
“It’s a matter of time,” coach Todd Rogers said. “They all have offers, they’re just trying to find that right fit for them.”
Players like guard Rachael Saunders (2018), who is effective off the dribble or shooting from the perimeter, shouldn’t have any trouble finding a home soon.
“We’re eight strong and any college will be happy to have them,” Rogers said.
BC Denver defeated the Indiana Elite’s Team Indiana 43-39 to take BOP’s No. 3 bracket crown. BC Denver had just two players from its top July team, 6-3 Delaynie Byrne and 5-10 Ashley Panem, both 2018s. Its roster, which had five 2019s, included eight players who stood at least 5-10.
“They’re just great kids, they support each other, they’re great teammates to each other,” coach Geoff Golden said. “It’s one of the things we talk a lot about, the culture of our program and being happy for each other’s successes. From a basketball standpoint, they’re all kids who had a really versatile skill set. We have good size and good length but they all play on the perimeter. They have perimeter skill sets.”
The Midwest Elite II group earned the title in the No. 4 BOP bracket by beating the Minnesota Suns 53-48. Midwest Elite’s comeback was sparked by 2019 guards Annie Stritzel and Jordan King.
“We played a warmup game (Friday) night so we played four basketball games in (19) hours,” coach David Yates said. “It was a matter of us getting our legs. I told them, ‘It’s the last five minutes, let’s see who wants to win this thing.’”
STRONG SUMMER FOR ILLINOIS LADY LIGHTNING
Michael Seberger’s Lady Lightning program flourished again this summer, with a talented wave of players in the 2018 and ’19 classes on the way, led by posts Aaliyah Patty (6-3, 2018) and Lindsey Jarosinski (6-5, 2018).
“We had a great summer,” Seberger said. “Both big kids have got BCS schools up and down the line that they’re on. All five of my 2018s had offers.
Jarosinski has long been regarded as one of the top posts in the 2018 class.
“She’s extremely young; she just turned 16 on Aug. 4,” Seberger said. “Big kids take longer to develop. She’s got a real nice list: Stanford, Duke, San Diego, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Michigan, DePaul. She’s getting tougher, she’s getting quicker, and she’s doing the right things that she has to work on.
“Same way with Aaliyah Patty. Louisville’s on her, Maryland, South Carolina.”
The 2019 class is headed by point guard Julia Martinez (5-10) and versatile 5-10 Zoe Zacker.
“I think she’s a big-time point guard,” Seberger said of Martinez. “She’s got to get better offensively and that’ll come with time. But her court vision and defense, the motor she drives us with is amazing. And it’s great to get Zoe. Zoe would have been on my top team last summer but she tore her ACL in December of her freshman year. She had three Big Ten offers going into her freshman year. In December she was leading her high school team in steals, assists, was second in rebounding and was the top three-point shooter, and that’s pretty impressive for a freshman.”
CHICAGO HOOPS EXPRESS UNCOVERS A GEM
Coach Jerald Davis’ Chicago Hoops Express program picked up a player from an unusual source this month: the Czech Republic.
Exchange student Julie Pospisilova, a 6-1 2018 guard/forward, joined the program when she came to the U.S. to attend school at Downers Grove North. Pospisilova is one of the top players in the Czech Republic national program. She would up with CHE through a mutual contact with the host family.
“Friday night was the first time she’s played American basketball,” Davis said.
A scouting report: “Doesn’t really like contact,” Davis said. “Doesn’t move without the ball; she moves to a spot in an offense. Can finish with either hand (near the rim), can shoot the three, probably a better passer than anything. When she gets to the lane, she’s looking for the next person. This is one of the best offensively efficient players I’ve ever coached. She makes the right pass almost all the time. She puts kids in position. She doesn’t make mistakes with the ball.”
And, yes, folks already know about her – especially the colleges that scout overseas.
“She’s had home visits from Wisconsin, Marquette, Missouri and Indiana,” Davis said. “Three schools texted me (Saturday) trying to get in, and two made offers through text messages.”
ACADEMICS A PRIORITY FOR CHE’S FALLON
One of Davis’ top players is entering the recruiting process and is keeping an open mind, but 2018’s Alisa Fallon has a characteristic that plays well: she’s a top-notch student.
As such, Fallon – a 5-10 guard-forward – can take a long look at some schools that might not be able to entice other players.
“It’s been a crazy September,” Fallon said. “They can really start reaching out now. As of now, just keeping my options open. When 2017 comes, I’ll try to narrow it down to five or 10 schools. Princeton came, and I’m going out to Princeton in October. That’s pretty high on the list right now. I put a high emphasis on academics and they’re hard to beat. That’s something unique about me. I have gotten some looks from some Big Ten schools and I’m not counting them out completely but as I said, it’s about as good as it gets when you’re talking Princeton.”
Another school in Fallon’s thinking is the Naval Academy, which puts her at odds with several members of her family.
“The Naval Academy is high on my list too, but I would be a family traitor if I went the Navy route instead of Army,” she said, citing three cousins who went to school at West Point, including two football players. “They told me I would get ignored for every single Christmas to come. They said I would find some interesting things in my stocking. That military sacrifice is something that a lot of my family members have made.”
Fallon was a starter on the Trinity team that finished third in the state in Class 4A last winter. She has transferred to Maine West.
