Soon the Hoop Group will release the 2022 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR AND All Freshman Team. This team was finalized right after the SCT final. Nobody knows the names of the members except myself and a very special person at the Hoop Group. It is never easy picking the freshman who had the best seasons. Notice I said seasons, not best players. Often times a talented freshman has a talented senior ahead of them. CAMRYN FLOTZ for example was injured her freshman year. She was clearly one of the best players in the 2020 class. We rarely talked if ever talked about Janine Bachmann, who has committed to a D1 schools and yet she never made All Freshman for different reasons. The list of great players who did not make all Freshman is long. So you must remember these are not Necessarily the best Freshman.
I am well aware what these awards mean to kids and their families. I also KNOW THE POWER OF MY WORDS. I TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUSLY…I am smart enough to know that making the Hoop Group All Freshman Team will jump start a players recruiting and give them that all important name recognition. In the past 19 years every member of the All Freshman 1st Team has gone on to play D1 except 9. One had a career ending injury, Christina Antonakakis, Chloe Teter and Slaven who certainly was a D1 player all turned down D1 offers. Making the All Freshman teams almost guarantees a player will move on to Division One basketball down the road.
THE HOOP GROUP 2018 ALL SHORE CRITERIA
*these choices are made before the state tournament
1. Did the player have a major impact on their team?
2. Did that player have a big moment on a big stage?
3. Did that player play in the meat of games?
4. Did the player make the team and teammates better?
5. How much responsibility was placed on that player?
6. Did that player have a good attitude and was she a good teammate?
7. Did opponents prepare differently for them?
8. Was the player humble yet enthusiastic?
9. Did the player perform the right way, Shot selection, defense, passing?
10. Was the player’s performance summed up in the box score( this is a total deal breaker for me)… box score junkies have no chance to make this team
It should be noted, I did not see every team play live this season. Therefore a very talented freshman could have been missed. If a player was a known gym rat, and all was equal, that player was given the nod. I did not seek the opinion of any high school coaches when putting together the 2022 All Freshman Team. But make no mistake the coaches who advocated for their players, tells me those coaches have real respect for those kids. YES, IT DOES CARRY SOME WEIGHT IN MY EYES. I watched a massive amount of video. I did ask one coach to send me video and the stats of one player…
