USJN Nat'l. Championships: Westbeld, Miles, Citron, Wiggins

USJN Nat'l. Championships: Westbeld, Miles, Citron, Wiggins
by dillon77 (2019-07-27 16:45:40)

Notre Dame Women's Basketball targets/prospects Maddy Westbeld, Olivia Miles, Sonia Citron and Ari Wiggins all took part in the USJN National Championships in Washington, D.C. They were all featured in the post-tourney writeup by Blue Star evaluator Mark Lewis. I've cut and pasted a few of his summaries and added a link if you're interested in his entire write-up, which includes a summary on the championship(s), team pictures and selected player thumbnails.

Westbeld's evaluation (see immediately below) jumps off the page. Seems that Maddy has bulked up and this is helping her all around the court, both outside and now inside. The "containment of emotions" also sounds very familiar. Let's get Maddy on an OV in September!

- Madeline Westbeld – 2020 – 6-2 – Forward – Sports City U – Reaching a new level…Depth to her game is exceptional…Combination of size, strength, refined skills and awareness…Challenges defenders inside and out…Touch and range require closing out on the catch…Physically holding her own with posts carrying much more bulk…Contains her emotions on both good and bad plays…Stays focused when challenged…Confidence only magnifies the advance in her game.

- Olivia Miles – 2021 – 5-9 – Point Guard – Philadelphia Belles EYBL – Difficult to ignore…Poster child for instinctual passing…Makes plays on the read and on the fly…Sets the pace of the game…Improves options for those around her…Scoring tools make her a challenging match up…Range is there but shot selection occasionally goes haywire…Active on ball defender but still needs to be more aware on the weakside of the floor.

- Sonia Citron – 2021 – 6-0 – Guard – New York Hoopers – USA U16 – Combination of size and skills…Creates and improves off the dribble…Mixes both speed and direction…Hesitation…Range and touch force opponents to close out…Effective in traffic and with contact.

- Ariana Wiggins – 2021 – 5-8 – Guard – Indy Gym Rats – Athletic and active guard…Utilizes speed and quickness with refined skills…Lefty…First step leaves opponents scrambling…Gets into the paint…Makes plays…Floater is there…Handled contact as bigs rotated her way on penetration.

Click here for link at https://www.bluestarmedia.org/32nd-annual-usjn-national-cham

Is Wiggens related to Andrew? *

Well yes, but not THAT Andrew

Ariana Wiggins has a younger brother named Andrew. She is from Indianapolis.

Andrew Wiggins of the NBA (and Mychal Johnson's "boyfriend") is from Toronto

Maybe Peter or Valentine's daughter? *

The latest Maddy Westbeld evaluation is exactly what I

wanted to read about her. Based on it and what else we knew about her, she is what ND needs to add to its roster. In fact, that description of her reminded me of the Masseys who play for Belgium.

I am also sold on Miles and Adams from New Jersey for 2021. Ari Wiggins is well worth recruiting because of her superior quickness. She is quicker than any ND guard from last year's roster.

Great stuff! Thanks. Westbeld would be great addition for us *

Are we pursuing Westbeld vigorously?

I know sometimes siblings want to start fresh & make their own way but she seems ideal for what the Irish need. Is she a lean to anyone? Thanks

We're One of Her Five Finalists....

...along with Tennessee, Louisville, UCLA and Ohio State.

In interviews, she's brought up any and/or all of these, but very much acknowledges ND as a school that she knows very well (because of Kat).

Her evaluations from this tournament have gotten stronger and stronger over the years and she's developed from a "wing" prospect into an all-round forward. Given how few bona fide posts there are (and how hard they are to get), finding and procuring forwards might be the next best thing.
After all, we all know a 6'2" (probably 6'1") forward named Westbeld helped ND to a national title.

I've got to think that there has been a steady, low-key relationship going on between ND and Westbelds for years. Her parents were thrilled with Kat's overall experience, as was Kat.

Be nice to get her & Clark *

Maybe Muffet can make a "package deal" and get all four! *