The 2020 Future 50 Camp and Showcase, held at Strafford Sports Center on Sunday August 16th, was a huge success and overall a great experience for the players and their respective families! We saw a lot of great players from the area do their thing, with a good portion of the games being very competitive, particularly on the high school side. And now, we get to write about each of the players.

Here, we take a look at some of the older players on the girls side. This is one of several parts we will be publishing over the coming days.

Ruthie Brown, 2022 Clever, 5’9 – Brown is an inside-outside threat on offense. Can post up smaller players, showing a nice spin and step through move, likes to use her off (left) hand on shots around the basket. Or she can go outside and light it up from 3 if she’s open. Also good at finding the open spots without the ball and has solid ball handling ability. Crashes the boards as well, she can grab the rebound and quickly advance the ball up the court with the dribble and/or pass. Her size and perimeter skills enable her to play any position. 

Lauren Jones, 2023 Mansfield, 5’7 – Jones is a lefty who impressed with her all around skills on both ends. A great passer who sees the floor very well, high basketball IQ, good shooter from anywhere on the court, can also slash to the basket and draw contact. Likes the double pump to create contact. On the other end, she showed a propensity for blocking shots. Has a very good future.

Logan Jones, 2023 Mansfield, 5’7– Jones is very similar to twin sister Lauren, but one key difference is that Logan is a righty. She has the same court vision/passing ability as her sister. Nice looking shot that she gets off quickly. Gets to the rim and favors a scoop shot once she gets there. She has great quickness and is a good defender who causes her opponents to turn it over. Like her sister, plenty more good things to come from her.

Emma McClelland, 2022 Ash Grove, 5’8 – McClelland has good size for being a guard, can play either the point guard or shooting guard slot. Good ball handling skills who takes care of the ball, can score outside or going to the basket. Cited for being very coachable and a good and willing defensive player as well, and for her overall poise and composure on the court.

Emily Lewis, 2021 Conway, 5’2 – Lewis plays way bigger than her size, and made quite the impression with her leaping ability and propensity for coming up with rebounds unexpectedly against bigger players. She is the consummate “hustle player”, diving on the floor for loose ball and never giving up on a play. She can knock down the open three but is just as satisfied being a team player and finding open teammates.

Makayah Alexander, 2022 Lebanon, 5’9 – Alexander has a potent combination of size and strength, which allows her to bull her way to the basket and finish in a variety of ways. But she also has a nice mid range jumper and can knock down the open 3 with a nice looking shot form. Also gets high marks for her defense, anticipates well and intercepts the passing lanes. One to watch for these next two years at Lebanon.

Breona Hurd, 2024 Waynesville, 6’0 – Hurd has yet to play a minute of high school basketball, but you wouldn’t guess that if you walked into the gym, knowing nothing about her, and watched her play. She has the size and strength of a veteran high school varsity player, which along with her skill set is why she played up with the older group. She has impressive post moves and is not afraid to use her size and strength around the basket to clear out space, but she can also step out and hit the open 3. Aggressive on both ends of the court, can dominate on the glass and block shots. Her most impressive skill set might be getting the defensive rebound and quickly taking it coast to coast to score in transition. To be able to do that at her size is a rare skill and it’s one reason why Hurd is one of the most heralded 2024 players in the area and the state. Set to play her freshman season with all state standout Naudia Evans and it goes without saying that those two will be fun to watch play off of each other for Waynesville this coming season

Libby Lakey, 2023 Dadeville, 5’6 – Lakey is a speedy guard who can set the table as a point guard, or use her scoring prowess at the shooting guard spot. She can find the gaps in the defense and drive to the basket, or knock down the 3. Shows off her quickness on the defensive end, can intercept passes but can also stay in front of who she is guarding. A very nice all around skill set here, and still has three seasons of varsity left.