Lansing, MI: The 2018 Super Powers Classic in Lansing, MI was a great pre-spring event filled with budding stars. LBI had the privilege to see some great team and individual performances worth telling the world about. Here are a few…
The Super Girls
2023 Maddie Petroelje 5’10” SG Michigan Basketball Academy 7th
Maddie is developing her offensive game at an alarming rate. She already has great size, and she is using that size to score in a variety of ways. I saw her make shots off the dribble, getting all the way to the basket, and a pull-up in the middle of the lane. She has a beautiful stroke from 3 as well. Being the tallest player on her team, she understood her role as a rebounder and had some shining moments on the glass as well. Maddie is a high ceiling kid.
2021 Kaitlyn Costner 5’6” SG Michigan Basketball Academy (IN) 9th
I saw Kaitlyn late last year on the Elkhart Central JV team, and I thought that if she puts in the work, she could be outstanding. Well, she’s exceptional. Kaitlyn is excellent at creating shots for herself off the pick and roll. She uses her eyes and hesitation dribble to get her defender off balance, then attacks with reckless abandon. What is also better since late last year is her motor. She has great energy defensively on the ball. She also uses that energy to motivate her teammates. One to watch.
2019 Sammie Martin 6’4” C Southwest Academy - Canada
Sammie is big and strong; when you combine that with her soft hands and ability to extend the defense to the 3 point line, then you have a gem. Martin is tough to handle in the post which I only got to see in glimpses because she faced the swarming defense of a fast and scrappy Michigan Crossover team featuring arguably the nation’s top 2021 PG Damiya Hagemann. What was impressive is that she was used almost exclusively to help break the press because of her ability to pass and see over the top of the defense. This strategy wore her out, but the skill level and potential were immense.
2021 Haley Woods 5’10” SG Southwest Academy - Canada
Southwest Academy has another high ceiling prospect many Division 1programs will want to keep an eye on. Haley needs to improve her handle to be elite, but this slasher is the real deal. She has good range and can get to the basket and finish with either hand. Woods has good footwork defensively as well. She struggled with pressure at times but seemed to handle the pressure with poise and a good understanding of how to deal with it. Haley, along with her teammate Sammi Martin are worth the trip across the border.
2021 Damiya Hagemann 5’7” PG MI Crossover 10th
Damiya has already been heralded as one of the top point guards in the country, and she is! So when you watch a player like her, you want to see what else she brings besides the great handles, passing, and finishing moves around the rim. “Dee Dee” has all the qualities a winner has. She’s vocal, and it’s not gibberish either. It’s not the token “ball, ball, ball” or “screen” or “I got number 22.” Her talk was different than everyone else. I believe you can tell how high a kids IQ is or isn’t by what they communicate on the court verbally and with body language, and Damiya is in a stratosphere all by herself. She also affects the pace of the game. She is always pushing and probing which puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense. There are no breaks with Hagemann on the court. Lastly, she told me a few weeks ago she was going to use this summer to develop her shot. I see the work she needs to do, but there is no doubt in my mind she is going to do it!
2022 Mila Reynolds 6’2” PF MI Crossover 8th
Mila Reynolds is my daughter. I don’t and won’t hide that. I also know the responsibility I have to remain objective in my assessments. That being said, Mila Reynolds is monster. In a 2-point loss to the Michigan Basketball Academy 8th, she showed why many consider her to be one of the top 22s in the country with two completely different halves. 1st half: With Michigan Crossover off to an extremely slow start and down 20-7, Mila made three straight triples to cut the lead to 4. She also splashed a pull-up jumper off the dribble going left. In the second half, after being down double digits again, Michigan Crossover utilized her size and post-game to take the lead. In the post, she used a few drop steps, face-up drives, and caught some great passes from Crossover guards to get some easy baskets while drawing numerous fouls. Mila finished with 24 points. It was a great performance!
Honorable Mentions
2021 Mackenzie Todd 5’7” PG Michigan’s Finest…facilitates well, good range
2020 Reganne Pate 5’9” G MBA Select 10th IN…deadly on catch and shoot 3, improved ball handling
2021 Marissa Thomas 5’7” G Focus 3D 2021 Black…hardest worker in the gym, physical defender, attack basket well
2021 Kailee Davis 5’5” PG MI Crossover 10th…shot the three well, can get anywhere on the court off the dribble
2021 Abrie Cabana 5’10” G MI Premier…Looks taller, always impressive, high I.Q., great game flow
2020 Antreese Shelton 6’2” F MBA (IN)…communicates very well, long and athletic, nice work from high post area runs the floor like a guard
The Super Teams
Basketball is a team game. I think sometimes we forget that because it's really easy to lift individuals in our society. Here are some teams that really stood up and stood out.
MBA Select Green 9th (IN)
MBA has great guard play…a must if you are going to compete at a high level (more on the guards shortly). They complement their guard play with versatile bigs in 5’11” Grace Adams and 6’0” Kendal Swartout. Both Adams and Swartout have really good motors, rebound, and can stretch the defense out to the 3-point line. They are matchup nightmares for opposing 4s and 5s. The guards: Kaitlyn Costner (see write-up above), Jordan Smith (5’5”), and Trinity Clinton (5’6”) are an extremely physical and tough trio. They control the pace of the game defensively by dictating to the opposing team's guards where they are going to go on the court. They turn ball handlers in the backcourt, trap and get deflections seemingly at will. The most powerful of the group is Clinton. She has a great body and is virtually unstoppable getting to the basket. MBA Select won the 10th Grade Platinum Championship over a tough Michigan Premier Blue team by the score of 42-31.
MBA Black 8th (MI)
Michigan Basketball Academy Black 8th is a high octane machine of brilliant and hard-nosed kids that can flat out shoot the ball. They use dribble penetration to create wide-open shots for each other. They are very unselfish which makes them a lot of fun to watch and hard to guard. They put crazy pressure on teams in the full court. They are like bees at a honey convention lol. Alli Carlson, Theryn Hallock, and Abbey Kimball lead the charge as backcourt mates. Carlson has a great handle and stroke from 3. Hallock has a great feel for the game. She picks and chooses her sport well. She can go off the dribble and knock down the three as well. Kimball is spunky and has all kinds of fearlessness. She has great individual moves and unwavering confidence in her game and 3 point shot. Think Golden State Warriors. MBA won the 9th Grade Platinum Championship in a thriller over Michigan Crossover 46-44.
