BROOKLINE, Mass. — Wednesday's NEPSAC girls Class AAA matchup between Dexter Southfield and Newman highlighted a handful of New England's top young college prospects. But don't just take my word for it!
Shane Laflin, Premier Basketball Report director and ESPN girls basketball national analyst, was in the house. Laflin joined us on the HoopWise Podcast following the travel season in August, and explained that scholastic hoops provides a different environment to grow and evaluate compared to AAU.
"You can still gain things from being a leader, making sure that your teammates feel better than they are, supporting them and pointing out the positive things that they're doing," he said. "Because you're going to be that guy when you're a freshman in college who thinks you can't do anything right, and you're going to want that junior or senior to be telling you, 'Hey, you are doing it right. Even though you're really screwing up our drill right now, you're getting better.' There's stuff to be gained from either one, so I just kind of watch the context."
Dexter Southfield took a 24-12 lead through a sluggish first half, but as both teams picked up the scoring pace, Newman kept the gap close in an ultimate 56-48 Dexter win. Here are five standouts from the matchup, including Laflin's thoughts on a few of the prospects.
