Evals
SLAM CAMP Summer Evals
On the weekend of June 27-28, 2015, Montreal, QC was host to the SLAM Camp Summer event, hosting many of the top teams in Eastern Canada.
For many of the teams in attendance, this was their final tune up before a busy travel season in the month of July.
CROWN was on hand to catch much of the action, and here are some evals of just a few of the players that caught our eye:
2016
It was just last summer that Mulholland’s exposure was cut short due to an ankle injury suffered early at Nike Chicago. She has since recovered (during the high school season), and appears to be at more than ready to take on all challengers. Throughout the weekend she was forever offensive minded, and good things tended to happen when he she revved up her engine towards the goal. She may have been floating under some radars because of her limited exposure last summer, and not having traveled in April, but I suspect that over the next couple of weeks she will turn several heads
Raphaelle Roy-Ash
Roy-Ash was one of the nicer sleepers for me in the event. Yes, I had seen her play before, but it had been a while…a long while. But, I am glad to see that she she has continued to work on her game. Being on a smaller team, I found that Roy-Ash was tasked with playing more of a face-up Forward role. She excelled at having a knack for gathering loose balls, not thinking twice about throwing her solid 6’1″ frame around, displacing any that did not establish position properly. She earned her chances for several put back situations and collected a few and-1s in the process. She really proved herself as more than a viable option for those that are looking for a mobile big that doesn’t struggle at all to get up and down the floor.
2017
Maël Gilles
Don’t look now, but guess who’s got the ball in her hands more now? After her team lost a couple of key Point Guards that were very much a lifeline to the team, I noticed that Gilles took on some of those responsibilities, similar to the role that she was responsible for towards the end of her run at St Laurent. Also noticed during her games on Saturday was that she was able to create some space off the dribble and make passes to back door cutters in plays that has made her team so successful over previous years. Although these are all skills that could be put to good use at the next level, I do not expect Gilles to be anything less than a stretch-4 at the next level. Note: It would have been nice to get more of a sample size of what she can do, but she shut it down on Sunday along with teammate Maurane Corbin as they used it as a travel day, as they made their way to the Canadian Junior Women’s National Team tryouts.
Continued on next page…
2017 continued
Ten minutes is all you’ll really need in order to tell that there is no exaggeration when Team Nova Scotia U17 Head Coach, Scott Munro says that “This kid is special”. She has some ability to handle like a Guard, finish put-backs inside, and the court vision to make the team around her better. Put those together with a very high level of shooting ability and you see that Veinot has the capacity of being one of those ‘Swiss Army Knife’ players that were seeing more and more of: Players that have the size and mobility yet have developed the skills to be effective offensively from inside or out.
2018
When looking to take in the ‘A’-Game T-Dot squad, I was very impressed by the connection King and Breedy had together. Whether they were playing off of each other, or giving each other a breather when the need for rest dictated, these two were very exciting to watch. With each of them bringing a solid understanding of what is required to be successful from the guard position, it almost seems effortless for them to excel at the Guard position. Both applied nonstop harassing of their opponents on the defensive end, which often led to steals and fast break points going in the other direction. With King’s calm yet deadly offensive mind, and Breedy’s hunger to attack the basket, these 2018s are in for a big summer, regardless of the age of the Senior players they plan on playing against.
Juliette Gauthier
Gauthier showed herself to be a big time shooter beyond the arc all weekend. In her team’s game against Team Ontario U17, having already connected on several 3-pointers throughout the game, she buried a drive and kick out with 3.7 seconds remaining to tie the game, showing her nerves of steel. As a 2018 candidate, her size and shooting touch are intriguing. An added quicker first step to go along with her current package would nicely add to her skillset, but as it stands, defences already need to know where she is on the floor, or else…
Tiya Misir
Staying in the ‘A’-Game camp, this time with ‘A’-Game Seemalulu, I noticed another Point Guard answering the call of duty this weekend in Misir. Her speed with the ball in the open court was something evident quite early in watching her play. In half court sets, she is creative with the ball, and was able to find some daylight for her petite frame when she made up her mind to get to the basket. I would like to see her find ways to reduce her dribble count when looking to kick-off her team’s offensive sets, but this soon to be Sophomore demonstrated on several occasions that good things do come in small packages and her development is worth keeping tabs on.
Fredlaine Verrier
Verrier is a physical Forward that has lots of potential with her back to the basket. In situations where the refs put away their whistles, she was doing just about all that she could in order to carve out ideal positioning in the Post, while looking for an entry pass from her Guards. She proved to be a nuisance to defend because of how physical she was, backed by a lot of energy to keep up the fight well into the fourth quarter. On the defensive end, her long arms afforded her the chance to block shots. With a bit more refinement to her game such as with her post moves and the ability to know when to bite on opponent moves when playing defence, Verrier’s stock could rise significantly.