Podcast: Setting the stage for the 2026 grassroots season

Paola Kanoute is a potential breakout player for iBelieve Elite. (Ethan Fuller/NEBJ)

The grassroots basketball season is off to the races.

Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller have attended their first runs of AAU action, with the boys NERR Northeast Hoops Festival and girls New England Spring Showdown taking place two weekends ago. Already, a handful of players have put themselves on breakout watch.

Last week, before the April girls live period, Steve and Ethan caught up to set the stage for the AAU season. They talked about their approaches to covering spring showcases and what they’re watching for.

They also each highlighted four players with potential for a spike in college interest, plus some additional names to note.

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Highlights

Who’s a 2027 girls player standing out to you so far?

Ethan: “Paola Kanoute is unbelievable. She’s the only player — this weekend (at the New England Spring Showdown), so pretty small pool of players — who has the physical profile to match Ella Peper. Legitimate 6-foot-3 and long wing who is super fast for her size. This isn’t a 6-3 center who’s trying to handle the ball and say that she can be a wing. She’s actually a wing.

“She’s blazing fast in the open floor. She attacked these driving lanes really hard. She hit a couple of corner threes, which, I didn’t really know how good of a shooter she was, so at least that’s intriguing to me. She’s still very up and down with her general skill level with the ball and in the half-court. She’s definitely a much better transition player right now.”

You watched a great NERR Northeast Hoops Festival game between Middlesex Magic and BABC’s 16U teams. Who shined?

Steve: “Wiji Dak was terrific in that game. He’s powerful inside, but he also showed some finesse with some stepback shots and some
3-pointers. He is expanding his range a little bit. I was watching with one coach who said he’s got, maybe a little bit of Alex Egbuonu in his game? Obviously, I wanna say, probably two or three inches shorter than Alex, but I could see it. Just with the combination of strength and power, but the ability to step out and make plays on the perimeter too.”

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