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LBI Michigan Event Recap: Michigan Cup

By Steve Reynolds @LBI_Steve, 05/15/18, 1:00AM EDT

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LBI Michigan Cup was as advertised. Great talent, competitive games, and a charged atmosphere lent to a great Saturday to win the right to brag

Livonia, MI: LBI Michigan Cup was as advertised.  Great talent, competitive games, and a charged atmosphere lent to a great Saturday to win the right to brag…at least until the next time these teams meet.  Michigan girls basketball was on display at a high level and surely enjoyed by all who attended including me, LBI Steve.

5'3" 2020 PG Trinity Duckworth Example Sports Wolfpack
So there’s fast…really fast…super-fast…then there’s Trinity Duckworth.  She’s the fastest with the ball in her hand that I’ve seen all year.  Trinity finished over length with her left and right hand off the dribble.  She dictated the pace of the game with her speed on offense and with her rattlesnake like quickness on the ball on defense.  She was quickly my favorite to watch because of the zeal and effort she played with.  D1 coaches are going to have to make a tough decision because they will be afraid of her size that this LITTLE one has BIG time potential.

5'9" 2020 SG Evey Evans Example Sports Wolfpack (IL)
Evey Evans can shoot it!  I mean she can S.H.O.O.T. the rock.   Evans has a quick release, great footwork, and unbelievable accuracy.  Even the few shots she missed were on line. Let’s say if the job was to crash the offensive boards…I’d be bored.  I’d get in trouble for just falling’ back with my OK signs in the air every time she shoots lol.  She has great size and runs the floor well.  If she can improve putting the ball on the floor, she's going to be a find.

5'8" 2022 PG Brooke Daniels Michigan Crossover Cooper
Here is a kid who just flat-out outworks everyone she plays with and against.  I’m so impressed at the rate she is developing.  She has to work at improving on the offensive end, more specifically, her ball handling.  Hopefully, she reads this because I know she’s the kind of kid that will work at it.  She showed improved decision-making skills.  But her defense?  Defense?  We talking about…defense? (say like Allen Iverson “practice”) Brooke is a nightmare on the ball and in passing lanes.  She’s the kind of kid that makes the offense feel like it’s five on 7.  Please, please keep an eye on Brooke.  She’s going to bloom!

5'5" 2021 PG Kailee Davis Michigan Crossover Adams
Kailee is a brilliant, high basketball IQ kid.  She has the perfect blend of quickness, speed, and pace.  She’s always under control.  It’s scary to see the poise, rhythm, and tempo she plays with.  She uses this gift in the pick and roll very well, and also to set up her teammates for easy baskets.  Again, she's another one that is SMALL but has BIG time potential.

5'9" 2021 SG Mikyah Finley Michigan Crossover Townsend
I’ve seen Mikyah over the last few months and at Michigan Cup vs. Michigan Premier, I saw her put it all together.  She’s so long.  And she uses that length very well on both ends of the court.  She’s a slasher that has a soft touch around the basket.  She can also knock down the catch and shoot 3.  Finley is smooth and savvy.  Best of all, she is improving.

5'11" 2019 PF Chloe Idoni Michigan Mystics Dream Team
Chloe gets after it.  It doesn’t matter if she's guarding someone 3-4 inches taller or shorter, she’s going to give you her best.  This aggressive mentality shows up in the paint.  She gets a lot of offensive rebounds and loose balls because of her activity.  She’s a bruiser when she gets the ball.  Idoni has both quick release on the put backs and the ability to create space with her body to finish over taller defenders.  It was just a joy to see a kid so fierce and relentless.

6'1" 2019 PF Sarah Wight Michigan Mystics
I like Sarah’s versatility and understanding on offense.  She’s outstanding off the ball. She understands when to go back door and the pick roll game.  She can slash and finish at the basket off the dribble as well.  Good size and length.  Stretch 4 now, could evolve into a 3.

5'6" 2022 SG Lexus Bargesser Michigan Premier Blue
Lexus is playing up, so she’s tucked away for the time being honing her game against taller, bigger, and stronger kids.  That’s the design, and it’s working.  Lexus is the real deal.  Great motor. Great shot from 3.  She runs the floor and fills lanes exceptionally well.  With the ball, she has her head up always probing and looking for an opportunity to make a play.  She’s making strides and moving up into the talk of the top 2022s in the state of Michigan.

5'4" 2021 PG Emaia O’Brien Michigan Storm Horne
Mm, Mm, Mm, Emaia can go.  There’s a lion in that small frame.  She attacks the basket relentlessly without hesitation.  She can create off the dribble for herself and others.  She's good at dribbling and keeping her dribble with defensive contact.  I was impressed with her court vision and change of pace off the dribble. 

5'9" 2021 PG Moria Joiner Michigan Storm Taylor
Moria Joiner is my kind of point guard.  She’s the kind of kid you can build a team around.  She’s extremely poised under pressure and has the basketball I.Q. of a great coach.  Joiner has a silky soft shot from 3 and a deadly 15-18 foot pull-up jumper.  I even saw her sneak down to the post for a drop step layup off the glass.  She took and made big shots including a long three from just inside the half court line at the buzzer vs. All In (IL) and multiple shots in arguably the game of the day vs. 1Nation. Joiner has excellent presence and poise on the court, like a general needs when going into battle.  No doubt Moria is battle tested because you don’t have as mature of a game as she has without being in a few wars.  I was beyond impressed with her play all weekend.

6'3" 2021 C Kaybrianna Hallman  WM Drive Copeland
I wonder what a coach could do with a super long girl that's 6’3”, crazy long, and runs the floor like a guard?  Enter, Kaybrianna Hallman.  One thing I appreciated about Hallman is that she is in much better shape than when I saw her last year at the Michigan Mega Scrimmage.  She’s playing with more confidence too.  She doesn't seem as bothered with contact as in the past, so in turn, she is finishing better around the rim.  There is no doubt Kaybrianna is improving, and that’s a good thing for her and some lucky D1 school.