Everything went through Gretchen Harrigan early as she set the tone for Strictly Hoops. She attacked the whole with such aggressiveness as she scored at will and that aggressiveness carried over on the defensive side as well. Standing 5'10, she used her body well and whether it was inside or outside, she gave opponents match-up problems
Ishaina Burch was a sparkplug off the bench and provided instant offense off the bench for Strictly Hoops. I saw Ivonne Cook-Taylor drop a floater as their game against strictly Hoops started and knew I had to keep my eye on this young lady from Mission Rec I love watching athletic and acrobatic players and when you throw the skill factor into the equation, not to mention she's a guard close to that magic number of 6'0 , you have a formula for success
Taylor isn't the only player from Mission Rec, in fact they have several including Shannon Mauldin who was dominant at times around the paint. At 5'10, she showed she could hit the mid-range and handle the ball off the wing nicely
One thing you can't teach is heart and my Insider girls gave me one of my proudest moments over the 10 years I've been doing this.Traveling to an exposure event shorthanded with 6 players while competing against tough competition and over 50 college scouts deserves a shout out in my book not to mention all of the girls are next level players. Although she's only heading to the 9th grade, Brynae Thompson shows promise once she learns the game and could wind up being one of the top players in the area while Michelle Nwokedi has blocked close to a gazillion shots this season, yes that is a number. One of GPR's top posts in the area, 6'2 Nwokedi can score from anywhere on the court and I mean anywhere!
Smooth as silk Jessiah Johnson had one of the best days I've seen her play in three years, this is the same kid that has put up big numbers and includes a game where she dropped 8 threes in the Big State Flava Jam. Inside or outside, she scored at will and her defense was outstanding. The great thing about all of this was her California relatives got to see her in action
Ashlyn Hargraves was a very late edition who paid dividends right off the top at Basketball On The Bayou. Need a three, dial AH and belive me that call shall be answered. This was shown by the fact that she got us going early in Cali scoring 10 of our 17 points in the first three minutes of game one
Kelichi Kalu comes from an athletic family, older sister plays at Texas State and younger brother is one of the top ballers in high school right now. She is a defensive stopper that can turn a game completely around and never runs away from a challenge
Bryce Owens teams up with Jordan Jones at DeSoto to form one of the top backcourts in the state. She's also one of the best points in the country as she can attack the basket at will and sees the floor as well as anyone. To top that off, she's not a one dimensional player as her man defense is somewhat impressive and her uncanny
anticipation skills are better than many defensive backs I've seen.
There was no shortage of 6'0 blond players with ponytails that could play in this California event as I expected however Margaret Huntington showed she was a "PLAYER" during the warm-ups. She opened the game for JBS Purple with three quick buckets as if she was playing around the world and never looked back
