Let me start out by saying this, I do not know Maddie Scheier, in fact I have never met Maddie Scheier. All I know about Maddie Scheier, is that she is my kind of player. I stumbled across her on twitter and discovered that there are still kids who play with fire and a competitive nature regardless of what they look like or what others think they should look like. Maddie Scheier reminds me of what this game is all about. When a kid with real mental and physical toughness, IQ, skills, talent, leadership and the ability to raise the level of play and expectations of everyone around them shows up…. In other words.. when a kid with talent plays with HEART!
I get people sending me and tweeting videos at me all day. When I get them I usually watch a few mins. If the player interest me I will watch a little more. If that kid has talent, I will retweet the video and post a few words about kid. But then again there are always a few kids that make you dig deeper. You watch them play and it makes you sit up. Sometimes it’s rocks you to your core. That was the case of Maddie Scheier of Somerville high school. Somehow, someone got her highlight video to me. It caused me to go into my player evaluation mode. You see when a player really catches my attention. First, I go look at their high school track record. Then I go to YouTube and watch anything I can find… Finally, then I go to hudl and watch full games. It’s my old standard routine. Every kid at NBS knows my video drill. They’ve heard me say it a million times. “THE DAM VIDEO DON’T LIE” .. well in the case of Maddie Scheier, the video sure as hell don’t lie and the research shows she checks every box you want in a point guard.
Now I can start out telling you about how Maddie Scheier plays in the 2nd best girls basketball conference in the state. I can tell you how Maddie Scheier scored in double figures in every game she played in last season. I can tell you she had 6 games with as many as 20 points or more in game. I could tell you she averaged almost 5 dimes a game or had over 50 steals in the shortened covid season. You see I could hit you with all these stats, which is very impressive as a sophomore. It’s even more important when you realize these stats happened in real games not blow out wins where kids pad their stats. I could hit you with all that stuff that only box score junkies care about. But that would be a insult to this young lady. That because this is not who Maddie Scheier is by a long shot. You see, you have to do your homework if your really interested in knowing he type of player Maddie Scheier has turned herself into. You see sometimes the player doesn’t look the part, but plays the part to a “T”…. So you have to pay attention to see the academy awarding winning performance because it’s in the details…. the good recruiters and evaluators do exactly that…. did I mention my track record regarding such matters? Well you can add another one to the list right now… Maddie Scheier is the real deal folks and I will be proven right once again!
Maddie Scheier is not tall, long or blessed with overwhelming size. She doesn’t blow you away with her physical appearance. When I watched the first 30 seconds of her video, I knew something right off the bat. Something that jumped off the screen at me. Maddie Scheier’s competitive nature and motor are not just next level. But they are off the charts. You see their is no number to measure one’s competitive nature or motor. You just know what the great ones looks like. There is no measurement, it just there, it smacks you in the face and leaves you in awe. Maddie Scheier’s motor and competitive nature looks different than everyone else’s. She also looks like a player who wouldn’t and couldn’t understand the words give up. Because that’s how she plays, as if surrender is not a option. Watching her on defense reminds me of wild crazy animal, she is totally disruptive to opponents, that’s because she plays fearless baby!!!. Seeing the energy and heart she plays with is breathtaking. You can’t help but notice it as a coach or trainer. You can only appreciate it and marvel at this young ladies ability to get after opponents on defense and the offensive pressure she applies on opponents. If your a coach or just a fan of the game and don’t appreciate this young lady. Then you are 100% clueless because we all live and die for these type players. You know the ones with crazy talent, a work ethic and the athletic ability to match. We all know, this is the rarest and hardest combination to find in sports and in life for that matter. Maddie Scheier is just that combination of player. She just doesn’t fit the part, she not what you expect. She doesn’t look like she just came out of hollywood casting. Instead she’s that blockbuster hit nobody saw coming and we all get to brag how we saw long before it was a hit.
You can always tell knowledgeable basketball folks by how they talk. You see the ones who are not knowledgeable always talk about what a player is not. They focus on those things that really at the end of the day don’t matter worth a hill of beans. It could be a players, size, body type, walk and even voice. But what they don’t talk about is the performance. They don’t talk about all the great things a player may do because they are so busy trying to throw that player in a box. I get the feeling some are going to try and throw Maddie Scheier in a box. The problem is the kids heart is just too damm big, so it won’t work. You watch Maddie play and you know that trying to label her is going to be a serious waste of time. You see when your skill sets are off the charts and your IQ is embarrassingly elite. It’s hard to throw someone in a box or attach a label. You seen when you have the ability make plays for your teammates and act as a coach on the floor. You bring too much value to be thrown into a box. You can’t tell these type players what their limitations are and ask them to settle.
In the case of Maddie Scheier I just get the feeling she can’t settle. She has to be her best always and she doesn’t care what others think. I get the feeling she has heard all the doubters every step of the way. It has most likely been her fuel and motivation at times. Maddie Scheier, watching her play seems to know, the drill. She plays… they doubt… she makes them believers. It’s as clear as day watching her video, that she embraces surprising folks. I don’t get surprised very often and Maddie surprised the hell out of me. I did not see it coming and I bet her opponents don’t either.. Maddie Scheier, knows she is a baller and can play with anyone. I know it too, that’s because I have spent the last 12 hours watching video of her and that’s exactly what she has been doing…PROVING SHE CAN PLAY WITH THE BEST.
I am glad I discovered Maddie Scheier and I am learning more and more about her by the minute. I found out she plays for the NJ Demons. That just means she is getting some of the best coaching and training in New Jersey with Rich Leary and Tommy Flaherty. Two basketball, master teachers, two coaches who demand the most of the their kids(or students as Coach Leary calls them) and always teaches them to embrace the best competition. When is the last time you saw a US HOOPS kid who is not coached up? I also got a text from one of my former players who is a now a college head coach. He couldn’t stop singing Maddiel Scheier praises. He says she is special and more importantly a winner and great kid. I also got a text from a parent to tell me Maddie Scheier’s dad is a football coach at Rutgers University. That means she is a coaches kid and like all coaches kids, she understands what it takes to lead and be part of something special. MADDIE SCHEIER is a kid I am going to follow. She is only a junior, so I got two years to keep a eye on her from a distance. So I am going to leave her with a little advice.
“Maddie, players like you always have more value than those who may look the part but cannot play the part. There will some who say you are not big enough, quick enough, strong enough. Those are ones who most likely will not have jobs by the time you attend the college of your choice one day. I will tell you their is a college coach… NO! Strike that, a ton of college coaches who are going to discover you. They will not care about how you look but rather how you play. They will love how your passion seems to overwhelm a gym. They will breath in your un-selflessness. They will marvel at your confidence level without being cocky. They will shake their heads in disbelief at at the intangibles you bring to the table. Maddie you will one day make some asst coach look like a star and a head coach happy!…. that’s because if you ask me, you got“
ROCK STAR WRITTEN ALL OVER YOU!
TINY GREEN
NEXT SUNDAY…..
