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2017 Labour Day Rankings
There has been quite a bit of change to those seeded in the various Classes going into this new school year including a new Number 1 in the Class of 2018.
As usual, our aim is to look past the hype to reveal who’s got game, while looking to rank players in four high school classes. Although not an exact science, the factors used to rank players include their unique situations, current skill level, athleticism, future trajectory and their willingness and ability to compete.
While logging hundreds of hours in gyms this past year covering over 30 events in order to make decisions, the following is the latest ranking installment…
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2018
Christina Morra (L), Eleanore Marciszewski (top-centre), Taya Hanson (top-R), Niyah Becker (bottom-centre), Andrea Torres (bottom-R)
The signs of Christina Morra’s hard work continue to shine allowing her to rise to the level of being named the best in the Senior Class. On top of a strong season that she had with her King’s Christian College prep school, she topped it off with great showings representing Team Ontario both in Chicago and at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, MB. At the Summer Games, she averaged over 15 points per game including a monstrous 20 points and 16 rebound game against the Team Manitoba hosts. Her consistency and continued competitive nature have helped her to the number one ranking in the Class.
Rounding out the top 5…
Eleanore Marciszewski‘s size and shooting ability are immediate head turners. She has big game ability and was a big reason for Dawson’s success last school year and into the summer.
Taya Hanson, who introduced herself to eastern Canada with her move to TRC Academy, allowed new fans to witness a player that can score at all three levels and is a tenacious defender. She has shown steady improvement which comes through more exposure to good competition, loads of intangibles such as hard work and very good leadership skills.
Niyah Becker led her Vincent Massey Trojans to a first place finish in the regular season, and a ticket to the Manitoba AAAA provincial high school championships, where her team came up short. She averaged more than 20 points per game and was a significant reason Team Manitoba won Bronze at the Canada Summer Games (including 34 points in the medal clinching game).
Andrea Torres has all of the key ingredients to be a very impactful player at the next level. The only thing holding her back from making her an even better prospect, is the question about whether she will can keep the competitive juices flowing on both ends of the floor for a full 4 quarters.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Senior Top-50…
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2019
(L to R) Laeticia Amihere, Micah Dennis, Deanna Tuchscherer
There should be little doubt as to who the consensus number 1 is in this Class. After making headlines throughout North America, and beyond, with the ‘the dunk’, Laeticia Amihere went on to represent her country at the FIBA World Championships at the U18/19 level, deciding on going to Italy instead of the United States and a chance to showcase herself on the AAU circuit. After recently revealing her list of schools that she is interested in possibly attending, which basically indicated that she is only willing to entertain BCS level schools, one can definitely see her point of view for making that decision. Amihere will need to find a way to remain humble and hungry, tapping into the fuel that drove her to make tremendous improvements in her game over the past 2-3 years. That would help her to finish out her high school campaign as a no doubt 5-star prospect that she has every potential to be.
Micah Dennis has continued to do all things necessary to maintain her position in this Class. Despite being odd man out when it came to being selected to the U16/17 Canadian National Team, Dennis had a great summer playing on the Guard heavy A-Game T-Dot team. She continually rose to the occasion with very good heads up play, against older players that presented her with some very stiff competition.
Coming from the Canada’s west coast, Deanna Tuchscherer is a player that deserves lots of accolades. She stepped up in the assignment she received while playing with the Canadian National U16-U17 team, banging it out with the other FIBA posts she faced in the Argentina-based competition. Later on in the summer, as a stretch-4 with an up and coming BC United squad, her brilliance came to the forefront as she knocked big shots and directed traffic from the perimeter against some top American clubs. Keep an eye on her going forward!
With Justina King, who was already a top prospect reclassifying to this Class a size she sets on a prep year south of the border, which already had the likes of Roxane Makolo and Keowa Walters, the 2019s are looking pretty strong.
And the rest of the Junior Top-40…
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2020
Merissah Russell
Merissah Russell continues to shine brightest in this Class, as the various ways she can contribute to her team increases. Besides possessing a keen eye for what takes place on the court, her understated competitive demeanour allows her to read what is taking place on the court and react in ways that are often successful. Being asked to take on true Point Guard duties this summer, allowed her to show just how versatile this Guard/Small Forward can really be, especially against several Nike EYBL Teams at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Chicago. No thanks to mention earning gold as a leader on the Team Ontario U15s that won gold at the Canadian Nationals.
[table “65” not found /]And for the rest of the Sophomore Top-25…
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2021
Sarah Te-Biasu
It is not every year here in Canada, where two players at the same position, with similar skill, size and ability top the chart. Add to it, that both of the players in question are rated at 5-stars, and there is the brewing of a contentious debate, which could very well last the length of both of their high school and may not still even be conclusive. It is not since the Kia Nurse/Shay Colley debates that took place as both had emerged on the scene with an eye on graduating in the Class of 2014, has a similar ‘too close to call’ comparison required this type of scrutiny.
Enter the era of Sarah Te-Biasu and Shayeann Day-Wilson.
Both have shown that they are able to put their teams on their back, while playing against competition that are years older than them, each with a toolkit of skill well beyond their years.
But there can only be one, and looking at her body of work, the nod had to go to Te-Biasu. With a look at her body of work which included a strong finishes in provincial play with L-P, a stand out performance at FIBA Americas with the Canadian National team it was hard not to. Add to that a Canada Games that was capped off with a 23-point performance in the Gold Medal game at the U17 level, and that begins to describe just a fraction of what tilted the scales in her favour.
Here is the rest of the Freshman Top-10
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