Boyle County freshman Addison Yates, second from left, with UK players, from left, Amelia Hassett, Gabby Brooks and Clara Strack at Big Blue Madness.
Boyle County freshman Addison Yates knew she had a good AAU season with Kentucky Premier but was not expecting the invitation she received to Kentucky’s recent Big Blue Madness.
“The Kentucky coaches contacted my AAU program and invited three of our players,” Yates, ranked fifth statewide in her recruiting class, said. “I was hoping eventually I might get to the point to get to do something like that but for it to come like this was really a big deal.”
The 5-10 guard averaged 10.4 points per game — second on the team — as an eighth-grader last season when Boyle went 19-12. She led the team with 66 3-pointers, shot 76 percent from the foul line and also pulled off 2.2 rebounds per game.
She got to meet the UK coaches and players as well as take a look at the new UK women’s basketball club area at Memorial Coliseum.
“They might all be new to the program but they really have it going on,” Yates said.
She believes a summer showcase where she had a 30-point game against good competition helped boost her recruiting ranking to possibly get UK’s attention.
“I feel like I have gradually improved since last season. I am trying to get stronger and faster,” Yates said. “Last season I was not as versatile as I needed to be and that’s what I have been working on. I am trying to drive more to the basket and playing stronger to finish through contact.
“I focused a lot on lifting weights. I have lifted with our high school team in the preseason and also went to the gym a few times per week with my mom to lift and work out,” Yates said.
She also found time to get up 300 to 400 shots per day every time she could get in a gym to work on her shot — she was a 32 percent overall shooter from the field last year.
“Shooting is still the best part of my game but I hope the high school season will let me prove how much better of an all-around player I am,” she said. “I want to be able to show I can do things other than just shoot.”
The Boyle freshman had other schools reach out to her but the “only ones close” to Kentucky’s level were Yale and Columbia.
“On my scouting profile I put that I wanted to go into law,” Yates said. “They (Yale and Columbia) invited me to a camp but I didn’t get to go.”
One Response
They not only look like great kids they look like kids that any family would be proud to call their’s. Bring it on Coach Brooks! I am looking forward to WBB more than ever,
Comments are closed.