Daly Sullivan
Aislinn Konig has proven her game against the best in the USA at Check Me Out Showcases, EBA All-American Camp and Peach State Tournaments over the past three years.
SUWANEE, Ga. -- The April NCAA-certified evaluation period is on the horizon and with it, the nation’s top prospects will make trips around the country to attend tournaments in key locations. This week our ProspectsNation.com staff will take a look at a few of those events as we approach one of the most important weekends in the basketball calendar.
In this preview we will take a look at the TipOff Classic which will take place in Suwanee, Ga.
Friday Showcase Games
On Friday, the first day of competition of the Tip Off Classic, there will be a number of intriguing exhibition games taking place before bracket play officially kicks off. These exhibition games will give teams and players a chance to showcase their talents in a premier matchup early in the event. In previous years the exhibition games have been an excellent platform for players like Notre Dame guard Mychal Johnson and Georgia Tech post Erin Garner to compete at a high level.
Here is a highlight of just a few of the key matchups that will take place on exhibition Friday.
British Columbia Finest vs Sky Diggs Elite Huffman: This matchup gives us a battle of two highly regarded point guards as BC Finest is led by highly recruited International ELITE prospect Aislinn Konig of Surrey, B.C., one of the best point guard prospects in the class of 2016. On the other side class of 2017 point guard Daly Sullivan of South Bend, Ind., has the ability to run a team and score the basketball.
Tennessee Xtreme Little vs The Nation: This matchup will showcase one of the best 2015 groups in the southeast, Tennessee Xtreme Little, up against arguably the best freshman summer team in the country in The Nation. Class of 2019 phenom Nyah Green of Allen, Texas, will be in the line up for The Nation, at 5 feet 11 Green is a fun player to watch.
Philly Freedom Stars vs Toledo Thunder Jr: For the Philly Freedom Stars, 2018 post Brittney Garner of Mercerville, N.J., is a force to be reckoned with around the basket. Garner and her teammates will have their hands full with a talented Toledo Thunder group, which is led by Michigan verbal Brelynn Hampton-Bey of Toledo, Ohio.
Talented Post Play
When you look at the talent coming to Atlanta for the TipOff Classic this weekend, one of the things that immediately jumps out is the depth of talent at the post positions. Top 2016 prospects such as talented power forward Jasmine Walker of Alabama Diamonds, the No. 42 ranked player in the ELITE 60 and four-star post Maddie Wright of Tennessee Xtreme. There is also a nice group of young post prospects such as 2017 posts Jessika Harris of the Georgia Blazers and Musharapha Alhassan of Team Sol. The 2018 class is not to be outdone as Tatum Shipes of North Georgia Magic is an intriguing young prospect.
National & International Feel
This year’s Tip Off Classic has teams from around the United States and Canada making Atlanta their home for the certified weekend. In addition to the aforementioned Konig, BC Elite will feature the Roufosse twins, Cierra and Alecia. Tennessee Xtreme also brings some international flavor as 2016 forward Maria Bardeeva originally of Russia, but now attending high school in the U.S., will play on its roster. In addition to teams and players from outside the US, the Tip Off Classic has teams from around the States with Washington, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Texas represented heavily.
Moore is the Director of Scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com National Scouting Report and international scouting report. He serves on the Naismith Trophy Board of Selectors and has been a member of the women's basketball community for more than six years as a trainer and evaluator. He can be reached at keil@prospectsnation.com.
