Leilani Kapinus
Paige Bueckers of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, attack Kaylie Bracy of Marysville, Washington, in the Check Me Out Spotlight round of competitions. *Photo by Chris Hansen.
MINNEAPOLIS – In it\s fifth year the Check Me Out Showcase in Minnesota moved back to where it started, the terrific Colin Powell Center thanks to Urban Ventures. The new hosts allowed the camp to grow to nearly 100 players from 10 states and put some of the Midwest’s best on the floor at the same time.
Here’s a look at some of the talent in the gym last weekend in the Twin Cities.
What more can you say about the No. 1 junior in the country? Her mid-range game was surgical all weekend long. She’s a model of patience in breaking her defender down because she can finish with either hand, off either foot and has the skill to finish tight angles. Add to that an automatic mid-range pull-up and has a solution for every defensive strategy. Highly celebrated and awarded kids often have a big target on their backs, and for Bueckers it’s no different, but she handles it gracefully. She was challenged over and over in the spotlight rounds and each time she competed with a smile and played both sides of the ball as if each possession mattered. It’s scary to think she has two seasons of high school basketball left.
For four straight years we’ve got to see the genuine joy that Young has for her skill development. She attacked each and every phase of the skill progression work with the intensity and focused of a playoff game. To be one of the top players in the country can sometimes lead to complacency but she was a sponge throughout. The game has really slowed down for her which was evident in the game play. She was willing to give the ball up and wait for it to come back to attack and as we’ve come to love about her game, she beats you with pinpoint passing as often as scoring the ball herself. At Maryland the tendency to make the right play will make her a player teammates love to play with.
Douglass is another player that the game has really slowed down for her in the last year. The 6-foot-1 combo guard has elite speed and length and where she played fast all the time last year, she’s picking her spots and seeing a major increase in her production. She’s added range to her game as well which complements her terrific first step and ability to extend and finish at the rim. She also showcased her passing skills both in 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 play.
Kapinus is coming off a terrific summer where she was arguably the biggest stock riser in the country. The physical traits are easy to spot as the strong and long wing-guard has a college frame as a high school junior. The good news is she already knows how to use it. She wasted very little movement and got downhill on her defender with regularity. She moved well without the basketball and seemed at home attacking off the bounce from any angle.
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was a co-founder of and the national director of scouting for ESPN HoopGurlz from 2005 until 2012 and is the director of the Check Me Out Showcase and ELITE is EARNEDevents. He can be reached at chris@prospectsnation.com.
