Addie Budnik
AC Carter of Norcross, Georgia, attacks against Jersey Wolfenbarger at the PSB Summer Invite. *Photo by Larry Rhinehart.
The week following the final summer evaluation period is always busy, and this year is no different.
AC Carter To Tech
Avyonce “AC” Carter, an ELITE 150 Watch List prospect from Norcross, Georgia, chose to stay in-state and join Nell Fortner’s first recruiting class at Georgia Tech. The four-star wing prospect had a great run at Nike Nationals averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds for Team Elite. She is the first Yellow Jacket commit in the 2020 class.
HANSEN’s TAKE: Carter is a player who brings a great deal of energy to the floor. Her unique game impacts the game similar to that of 2019 USC signee Alissa Pili from Alaska. The have a rare combination of size, athleticism and strength. She can overpower wings and her agility against forwards will also cause problems.
Aaliyah McQueen To Illinois
Aaliyah McQueen, an ELITE 150 Watch List wing from Flint, Michigan, gave her verbal commitment to Illinois and head coach Nancy Fahey. The rising senior at Carman-Ainsworth High School shot the ball well from range for her Michigan Storm GUAA program this summer gives the Illini its first commit in 2020.
HEMINGWAY's TAKE: McQueen is a proven scorer. She has the ability to put up numbers from the perimeter and in the lane. This combined with her size and strength make her terrific commitment for coach Fahey and her staff at Illinois.
Budnik Chooses Richmond
Addie Budnik of Highland Park, Illinois, gave her verbal commitment to Richmond this week, choosing the Spiders over fellow finalist Penn. The 6-foot-2 swing forward had a terrific finish to her summer, lighting up the box score at the PSB Summer Invitational with her All-In Athletics adidas Gauntlet team.
HANSEN’s TAKE: Having watched Addie play in both club ball with AIA and having her for the last three years at the Check Me Out Showcase, her development has been great to watch. She was a skilled big from day one but seeing her find her confidence and utilizing all her gifts has really set her game apart this year. She’s always impacted games defensively, blocking shots, tipping passes, but the versatility she’s showing offensively to shoot it from range, hit mid-range shots and post up with the ability to finish a couple of different ways was very impressive. The finish to her summer put her on the ELITE 150 Watch List.
#126
Wells To Belmont
Destinee Wells, the four-star point guard from Lakeland, Tennessee, verbally committed to Belmont on Wednesday. The 5-6 lead guard chose the Bruins over finalists Southern Mississippi and UT-Martin, among others.
HANSEN’s TAKE: Wells brings a different dynamic to the Belmont roster they don’t have, a point guard that can slash into the lane and get paint touches off the dribble. Her strength and ability to make plays will only help the sharpshooting Bruins continue to contend for tops in the country in threes going forward by adding more drive and dish opportunities.
Burton To Cincinnati
Riane Burton of Cypress, Texas, gave her verbal commitment to Cincinnati this week. The 6-1 wing prospect was ranked No. 68 coming into the summer in the ProspectsNation.com ELITE 100. She was a jack-of-all trades player for Cy-Fair Elite.
HANSEN’s TAKE: Burton was really good this Spring at Check Me Out Texas. She brings good size and agility to the wing and her strength makes her a matchup nightmare. She could contribute at either the 3 or 4 positions at the next level based on matchups. She was super coachable as well which bodes well to her maximizing her talent in college.
Naro To Boise State
Mary Kay Naro of Portland, Oregon, has committed to Boise State. The 5-10 point guard from Beaverton High School is the second player for the Broncos in the 2020 class. Naro joins the early verbal commitment from Raigan Reed of Lake Stevens, Washington, in the BSU 2020 class.
HANSEN’s TAKE: Naro brings terrific size and vision to the point guard position. She’s a lead guard who can score it but is really best at controlling tempo and getting her teammates good touches. Pairing her with a scoring-minded guard like Reed makes for a terrific combination. This is another class where Boise State has been almost surgical getting pieces that fit and allow them to compete with Power 5 programs despite being a in a mid major league.
BCS Report Podcasts
Budnik, Darks, Hay Naro, Wells discussed.
AC Carter and more discussed.
Aaliyah McQueen and more discussed.
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 EARNED events. He can be reached at chris@prospectsnation.com
Jonathan Hemingway contributed to this report.
