It’s time for Stadium Talk to put out its list of the best boys and girls high school basketball players in every state headed into the 2022-2023 season, and this year we’re doing it a little differently by releasing our picks by region.
Here’s our list of the best high school girls basketball players in the 13 Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Check Stadium Talk now and in the coming weeks for more lists of the best boys and girls high school basketball players from the West, Northeast and South regions.
Illinois: Alyssa Latham
High School: Homewood-Flossmoor High School (Flossmoor, Illinois)
Position: Forward
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 6-foot-2
College: Syracuse (committed)
Bottom Line: Alyssa Latham lit up the stat sheet for Homewood-Flossmoor as a junior in 2021-2022, averaging a double-double with 19.4 points, 10.2 rebounds to go with 3.1 blocks, as Homewood-Flossmoor went 19-9 and reached the sectional finals.
Latham was one of just 30 players invited to try out for the Team USA U18 National Team over the summer and caught the eye of new Syracuse coach Felicia Leggette-Jack, who offered her a scholarship, and Latham committed to play for the Orange shortly after.
Indiana: Ashlynn Shade
High School: La Lumiere School (La Porte, Indiana)
Position: Guard
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-11
College: UConn (committed)
Bottom Line: Ashlynn Shade swept the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year and Indiana MaxPreps Player of the Year awards as a junior after she averaged 20.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.7 steals and led Noblesville High to the Class 4A state championship.
Shade, who is committed to UConn, won’t get a chance to defend her school’s state championship after she transferred to La Lumiere School in La Porte — but what she will do is get a chance to face her old school when La Lumiere plays Noblesville on Jan. 6, 2023. You might want to get there a little early for that one.
Iowa: Sahara Williams
High School: Waterloo West High School (Waterloo, Iowa)
Position: Forward
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-11
College: Oklahoma (committed)
Bottom Line: You know what’s cool? Getting a parade thrown in your honor.
Waterloo West High star and Oklahoma commit Sahara Williams has already experienced as much when her hometown threw a parade for her when she returned home from helping lead the Team USA U18 National Team to a gold medal in the FIBA 3-on-3 U18 World Cup in Hungary.
As a junior at Waterloo West, Williams led her school to a 24-4 record and Class 5A state runner-up finish, as she averaged 17.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Wisconsin: Kamorea Arnold
High School: Germantown High School (Germantown, Wisconsin)
Position: Guard
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-9
College: UConn (committed)
Bottom Line: Kamorea Arnold did a little bit of everything for Germantown High as a junior, leading her team to a 23-6 record, as the UConn-bound guard was named Wisconsin MaxPreps Player of the Year and repeated as Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year.
Germantown reached the Division I state quarterfinals in 2022, as Arnold averaged 24.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 4.4 steals … could she average a triple-double as a senior? Arnold was also named Wisconsin AP Player of the Year and played for the Team USA U16 National Team.
