Five Under Radar 2021 Setters
Although each athlete in this collection is 5’8 or under, their skills, athleticism, and competitiveness make a big impact on the court. Each will enter the 2020 high school season with postseason hopes and big responsibility to command their respective…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAlthough each athlete in this collection is 5’8 or under, their skills, athleticism, and competitiveness make a big impact on the court. Each will enter the 2020 high school season with postseason hopes and big responsibility to command their respective offense to find ways to score.
Grace Brinkman – 5’7 | Jackson County Central
Brinkman led the JCC offense to some good success in 2019 as she involved their highly capable point scoring arms well. Her quickness is a big asset as she likes to jump set as many second touch opportunities as possible, which increases her deception when on balance and with consistent hand position. Her distribution and location often does its job to put her attackers in good position to score or at the very least get an aggressive swing on the ball and she looks comfortable setting through both pins and with quick to moderate tempo in between. Her quickness also benefits her defensively and she can be effective from the service line. JCC lost a big arm to graduation therefore Brinkman’s command of their offense and finding balance may be even more important and the x-factor in 2020.
Phoebe Glenn – 5’7 | Pequot Lakes
Glenn has really good footwork in her pursuit of the second touch. She prepares herself well in serve receive and transition to be efficient in her first step, which allows her to be on balance when her hands contact the ball. The efficiency also helps her to maintain her skillful distribution both in-system and in pursuit of the ball when dug or passed outside the zone or off the net. She is quick and showed good command of her offense while competing with her Synergy club team. She is a Mid-State all-conference selection and will return to Pequot Lakes this fall as part of their veteran setting duo looking to guide them back to the state tournament.
Kenidi McCabe – 5’4 | Mabel-Canton
The backbone for this program for a few seasons now, McCabe has one more opportunity to get to the state tournament after falling just short in 2019. A varsity athlete since 7th grade, she is athletic and has good versatility to contribute as a floor leader in running the offense as well as scoring points off of her own arm as she has good elevation. Her size may turn college coaches the other direction but she has a lot of value that is represented by her experience, competitive prowess, and skill set. The first team all-state selection will continue to grow her outstanding numbers but it is getting to the final weekend that she quite possibly will be focused upon over anything else. Let’s hope she and her teammates get there to help her cap off such a terrific prep career.
LaRae Kram – 5’8 | Morris Area
Kram has continued to progress in her ability to set a full range offense from pin to pin, in between, and through a variety of tempos. Her play with a good
Kandi Elite
17s team during club has also elevated her competitive experience that should help lift Morris back towards their standard of execution and success. She has good quickness and mobility and can improve her location even more by consistently getting on balance, preparing her hands, and finishing her extension with appropriate force behind the ball. She has been better in these areas in recent months and continued improvement will help raise her effectiveness and stock.
Waverly Thao – 5’7 | Mounds View
A primary setter for Mounds View, Thao shared setting duties for her Kokoro team this club season, surrounded by good ball control and athletic attackers. She has a good floor presence about her as her movements are efficient to get to the second touch on balance so she can set through the full extension to release. She has good consistency in her preparation and hand position, which can make her decision-making tough to anticipate for opposing middle defenders. A Suburban East all-conference honorable mention selection in 2019, Thao can set a full range of offense to get all of her hitters involved in ways they can be successful. She will return as Mounds View’s veteran leader in 2020.