#HeatBallShowdown: Impact Players
The Heat Ball Showdown had some talented athletes participate in the tourney, and here are some of the players who had some impact performances.
Sydney Jenkins (5’5/CG/’27/Alabama Heat Elite)
IG: not.sydn3yy / alabamaheatelite
X: @BAMAHeatElite
Sydney was one of the best off-the-bounce players in the tourney. She stays getting downhill and drawing fouls, which leads to trips to the charity stripe. She thrives in transition, as she is quick and has burst, which makes it difficult for defenders to keep up with her. She is a young prospect who stands 5’5, and despite her youth and size, she has a budding skill set that makes her worth keeping an eye on. She will need to spend time this off-season working on her perimeter jumper.
Mabry Dixon (6’0/C/’25/Zone 6 Celtics)
IG: zone6celtics
X: @zone6celtics
Mabry is an inside presence who was really good at scoring around the rim. She has decent size for a listed center, but she showed her versatility as she could play with her back to the basket and out of the face-up. She was one of the hardest playing prospects in the tourney, and she was tough and physical and didn’t take plays off. She was active on the glass and provided scoring with put-backs off the offensive glass. Defensively, even though she is not a shot-blocking threat, she did challenge shots at the rim. She is a relentless competitor who will see her stock move upward if she can keep up the level of play she showed over the weekend the entire spring and summer.
Destini Ligons (6’1/PF/’28/Team B Wright)
IG: destini.ligons.2028 / teambwright
X: @TBWExposure
Destini is an 8th-grader who made her presence felt on the interior. With many young players this age who have been playing the post
simply because they are tall, Destini is in the same boat as her rebounding, and defense is ahead of her offense. However, she does find offensive production by crashing the offensive glass and getting easy put-backs. She is able to challenge shots with her wingspan and showed she has the ability to develop into a rim protector. She will need to utilize this off-season to build her offensive toolkit.
Janiya Mines (5’3/PG/’26/Alabama Heat)
IG: alabamaheatelite
X: @janiya_mines / @BAMAHeatElite
Janiya is a hard-nosed PG who keeps defenders on their heels. She is a gritty lead guard who mixes scoring and creating very well. She was constantly getting into the heart of the defense and dishing and spraying to open teammates. She plays the game low to high, and her low center of gravity makes it tough for defenders to contain her as she can escape tight spaces where defenders feel like they have her bottled up. It is difficult to trap her and to press her as teams quickly found out. She has a lot of intangibles, but one thing that she did better than anything was make her teammates better by creating situations where they could be productive once they received the rock.
Kennedy Deese (6’0/SF/’26/Bounce Nation FBC)
IG: Kennedy.deese1 / Bouncenation_fbc
X: @KennedyDeese / @Bouncenation_j
Kennedy is an athletic wing with good positional size and length. Her impact is seen in just about every category of the stat sheet. She is active on the boards, runs the floor like a deer, can rim and run, score in the middle game and in the paint, and is a disruptive defender with her length. Her athleticism gives her significant upside, and she is a player to keep an eye on as she has a solid game, which leads to a lot of production.
Kahli Ingram (5’7/CG/’25/Bounce Nation FBC)
IG: kahli.35 / Bouncenation_fbc
X: @kahliingram / @Bouncenation_j
Kahli had it going in the game I saw her compete. She plays on and off the ball and is an aggressive attacking guard. She is very tough to contain and is a really good iso scorer. She does a good job getting to her spots and has a nice touch when she is finishing with her floaters and runners. She has a high motor, stays in attack mode, and was one of the most productive players I saw the entire tourney. Kahli tried to dominate each possession as she was committed to getting downhill regardless of who was defending her.
