Undiscovered prospects from AAU Nationals: Day 3

Day two brought a good block of players who weren't on PrepDig lists yet. On day three, I had a little different strategy, where I targeted some games of good matchups and teams that were interesting in the first two days to see what I could find. Day three had some tough battles, and teams fighting for spots in the competing brackets, which brought out the best in a lot of players.   Here are some that showed some real promise:      Rachael may have the most pure athleticism of anyone in the building. I was actually at this court to watch an AZ Sky team that they were playing against, but Rachael immediately stole the show by reaching what had to be close to 10 feet up and burying a ball down the line, against the very player I was watching on the other side. She had speed, the technique was great, shes got long arms that unwind and just hammer the ball. Her blocking was pretty solid, even though she had a tough assignment with a very skilled and strong player on the other side. This is definitely a player to see how she develops as she grows, she's in that same athletic mold as the girls that are #1 prospects every year. The only thing that separates them are the other aspects of the game, defense, ability to play all around vs just OH, and serving, I didn't get to see enough to see those, but the athleticism, speed and offense are there for sure.     AZ Sky is a fantastic club. Their top teams are always in the national title hunt and hanging around the top of every tournament we see them in. So when I saw them matched up against a tough 305 team I had to go watch them. Jodie has great size, and her power was obvious in warm ups. She was strong on the block, matching up against a very talented hitter from 305 and getting a few solo blocks. Offensively she looks very good, aside from a slight timing issue, and let's be honest, even the best hitters will have timing issues here and there, and she had power to spare. To me, she looked like one of the hitters coaches are looking for that can belt some offense, but can block well enough to stand up to some of the super hitters out there, I'd be comfortable with her at any of the 3 front row spots.     The OP2 16-1 Elite team I ran into was something else. They kind of came out of nowhere, and had multiple stellar players, to the point they just absolutely overwhelmed teams. Emma was a standout all day, she showed great touch and placement, and moved the ball around to all her weapons. Everything you look for in a great setter. I don't know that I saw a single mistake in the game I took in, and after the fact, seeing her high ranking in OK, it all makes more sense. She's the level you want when you are looking for a setter and was very impressive.     Sadie was a force in the game I watched. It started out with solid blocking against a pair of hitters that had been raining shots all day long, but then the slides started, and other shots banging inside the 10. She had a matchup against two tough 6'3 middles, and was so athletic she was causing them fits all day. I don't know what the final stats were for the game, but I wouldn't be surprised to see her well into double digits. This is a great middle and someone that coaches should be targeting.     This was another case of I was hunting for something on day 3 and got intrigued. I found Bradley on a team from Hawaii with some wonderful parents a couple courts over from a game I was watching. I went to go get a closer look, and found an interesting team that was fairly undersized, but had some fun to watch, quick talent. Bradley was the libero on this team, who had good range, and got some good solid balls up in the air, as an added bonus she took turns setting some balls and looked very comfortable there as well. A good defensive lib that can lead on the court, and comfortably take second balls when needed can be worth their weight in gold, and this one could play a good defensive setter if needed as well. Real diamond in the rough here, although it's a stretch to call Hawaii the "rough".

Day two brought a good block of players who weren't on PrepDig lists yet. On day three, I had a little different strategy, where I targeted some games of good matchups and teams that were interesting in the first two days to see what I could find. Day three had some tough battles, and teams fighting for spots in the competing brackets, which brought out the best in a lot of players.