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2017 Class Shines For Bay State Magic

on March 14, 2014 by ASGR Basketball


The focal point of the Deep South Classic event in Raleigh will be on the standouts from the classes of 2015 and 2016, but the younger players will also be getting plenty of attention. Some of the top prospects from the Class of 2017 will be playing for the Bay State Magic club.

“I think this team will be very successful. Most of them have been together for four or five years, and they are a loyal, hardworking group of kids,” said Coach Jim Wardwell. “We have a balanced team with a lot of depth, and there aren’t any egos. These kids are happy to be playing with each other.”

The Magic will be tested at the 2014 Deep South Classic, which will be played in on April 25-27. Now in its 17th year, the Deep South Classic annually hosts many of the nation’s elite travel teams in a field that will eclipse 200 squads, and hundreds of collegiate coaches will be on hand searching for talent. The 2014 event will mark the second year that the Deep South Classic has been held at the Raleigh Convention Center. The venue was a tremendous success in its debut last year, with all games played at one site on 18 courts, and it is in a convenient central location.

The Magic will be led by a quartet of players from the Class of 2017. That nucleus includes three 5-10 perimeter players — Jennifer Worden, Hayley Wardwell and Joie Grassi — plus 6-2 center Meaghan Raab.
“Jennifer is our point guard, but she is also a player who can self generate points,” the coach said. “Hayley (Jim’s daughter) is a tremendous outside shooter. Joie is a player who can do a great job scoring and rebounding. Meaghan gives us a presence in the middle.”
Bret McCormick, the analyst for the All Star Girls Report, is just one of the observers anxious to see the Magic on the Deep South stage.
“This team is athletic and skilled,” McCormick said. “Wardwell is a shooting guard with great range, and she is a good athlete. Worden is more of a point guard, but she can score the basketball. Grassi is very athletic, and she has an inside-outside game. Raab has good length, and she is a player to watch.”