Articles on Syd’s Commitment

A couple of nice articles are posted about Syd’s verbal commitment to Louisville.

One is on The Cardinal Authority which covers U of L’s football and basketball teams.  You can read the full article here, but this is the opening paragraph.

The University of Louisville women’s basketball team landed its first verbal commitment in the Class of 2014 on Saturday. Harveysburg, Ohio, Clinton-Massie junior forward Sydney Brackemyre committed to the Cardinals. Cardinal Authority has the story and why she pulled the trigger.

This link came across Twitter today.  The Premier Basketball Report has an article on Syd.  The PBR is a basketball scouting and recruiting service that helps connect high school girls’ basketball players with college scouts from around the country.  I have to say I liked the title of the article – Cardinal Delight.  Click here to see the article on the PBR site and below is what they said about her decision:

This past weekend, Sydney Brackemyre from Clinton-Massie high school in Harveysburg, Ohio, gave her verbal commitment to Coach Jeff Walz and the University of Louisville. She chose the Cardinals over offers from the University of Michigan and Dayton University.

This 6’1 forward gives the Cardinals the ability to spread the floor because of her ability to knock down the three ball and expose a smaller defender on the low block.

“I chose the University of Louisville because it has a good FCA plus I like the campus and school size. Overall, it has a family atmosphere,” Brackemyre said.

She plans to study kinesiology when she joins the Cardinals for the 2014-2015 season.

Right now, Brackemyre is recovering from a torn ACL she suffered on December 29th. She is working hard in rehab so she can play during July of the club season. We at Premier Basketball Report wish her a speedy and full recovery.

Blue Star’s Classic in the Country Wrap Up

Blue Star Media was present at Classic in the Country and do a great job (in my humble opinion) providing exposure for high school girls basketball. They offered a recap of each day’s action at CITC and then posted a wrap up of the entire event. As you read through it, they point out both the strengths and areas of improvement for players. You can read the entire write-up and find links to the game by game coverage on the Blue Star Media website.

Syd got some love from them even though she was sidelined with her ACL injury. Here’s what they wrote about her:

Sydney Brackemyre – Clinton Massie – Brackemyre recently joined the much too large ACL sorority and was on crutches but actively involved on the bench with her teammates and coaches. Just a speed bump in a very promising future.

They also highlighted some of the top girls in our area including Alyssa Rice, Makayla Waterman, Kathryn Westbeld and Chelsea Welch. There are many strong players in Ohio.

It was great to see Kasey Uetrecht under the “A Little More on a Few You May or May Not Know” portion of the page. Here’s what they wrote about her:

Kasey Uetrecht – Clinton Massie – A 6-0 junior, Uetrecht has a good combination of size and perimeter skills. With standout Sydney Brackemyre sidelined, the wing/forward is stepping up for the Falcons both on the wing and in the post. Though somewhat upright, she demonstrated the ability to handle the ball on the break or off the drive from the elbows. At other points she was efficient posting up and becoming an option around the rim. Her versatility presents a challenge for opposing defenses in terms of matching up with size or perimeter skills. She was 4 for 14 in Clinton Massie’s lone game but added 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the 60 to 47 loss to Proctorville Fairland. There’s plenty of basketball in her future, what level remains to be seen.

Good to see Kasey get some well-deserved attention for her play.

Classic in the Country

This weekend is the annual Classic in the Country Challenge. It is a weekend of basketball designed to highlight some of the best high school girls basketball players in Ohio. This year our Clinton-Massie Falcons will be playing in the event. Unfortunately, due to Syd’s torn ACL and subsequent surgery, she will not be participating.

The image on this page is an iPhone pic of the poster promoting this event. Syd is on the bottom left in her Massie uniform. She made a joke yesterday that you can see her left knee (the one she injured). She said that you can see it when it looked good and was healthy! Glad she can joke about it.

All Star Media posted an article today on the upcoming event. We are planning to take in part of the event and looks like a good one for girls basketball in Ohio.

The top players in Ohio will be in the spotlight this weekend at the Classic In The Country Challenge in Berlin, Ohio. Dayton, Ohio State, Xavier and the other collegiate programs in the Buckeye State, are anxiously awaiting the event.

“There are a lot of talented young players in the state of Ohio, and this tournament is going to have a lot of those kids,” said Bret McCormick, the analyst at the All Star Girls Report.

Most of the recruiting attention is now focused on the Class of 2014. Here is a quick look at the key performers from the Class of 2014 (along with their national ASGR ranking) who will be competing at the Classic In The Country.

No. 3, Kelsey Mitchell, 5-8, PG, Princeton, Ohio: “Kelsey is a great player who will be a program changer for someone. She is a lefty who is a great passer, and she is a big-time scorer. She can attack the rim, and she can hit the deep three,” said McCormick.

No. 14, Alyssa Rice, 6-3, C, Reynoldsburg, Ohio: “She is a very smooth post player with great footwork. She is one of the top post players in the class, and she could play the four or the five on the next level.”

No. 30, Sydney Brackemyre, 6-1, F, Clinton (Ohio) Massie: “Sydney has come on strong lately, but unfortunately she injured her ACL recently so she will not be playing at the Classic In The Country.”

No. 38, Katherine Westbeld, 6-1, Kettering (Ohio) Fairmont: “Katherine has a high basketball IQ. She just knows how to play the game. She has a strong inside game and she can also step out and score.”

No. 49, Kristen Confroy, 5-9, G, Solon, Ohio: “She is a combo guard who is a strong athlete with a great skill set and a high basketball IQ. Kristen’s stock has really risen recently, and there are a lot of top programs interested right now.”