Monday, April 28, 2014

Youngstas from #HOT

Tatum "TV" Veitenheimer

I had a great time evaluating a great number of players at the Heart Of Texas this past weekend. I attended primarily because several of my Under The Radar players were in attendance and I wanted to catch a glimpse on their progression, Tip Sheet coming on them a little later. I also saw some of the top players in the country perform, I'll throw a few names at you on that but I want everyone to realize I get paid to cover events, this was not one of those events

I saw some talented middle school players, a couple I've written about previously including Tatum Veitenheimer pictured above. A coach asked me how to pronounce her last name and I said coach, just remember her initials, TV and BCS, because she's one of the savviest point guards playing up that I've seen since I've been doing this, keep in mind who I am and who I've seen.

Tatum can score and defend plus she's nowhere near the player she will be because of her mindset but she understands her role of making her teammates better. Her teammate Bryn Gelrich blew me away last year after dropping five deep ones in a row and I'm scratching my head trying to figure what high school she attended, both she and Tatum are from the 2018 class. Bryn had a little growth spurt and has added even more to her arsenal, she too has a huge upside and when your mom is a D1 coach, you know she's going to be ready


Reagan Montgomery
I love meeting nice people who understand and respect what I do unlike some of the arrogant experts in the Houston area that don't appreciate that I'm probably the first and or only person to write about their kid but the Banshees from Arkansas happened to be at the same hotel I was staying at and the coach introduced himself. After interacting with him and some of his players,then looking at the schedule, I decided to check them out and I was glad I did.

This is a very talented team and a ref asked what grade a certain players was in and I told him 9th since I thought this was a 2017 club. When he asked was I sure, I double checked and his next trip down I apologized and told him the one he asked about and another were a class younger, both he and I were even more blown away.

 Jerlyn Kinney has NBA range already, she can catch and shoot better than same HS players that have signed and once she gets in a rhythm, watch out. If Chrystyn Williams grows the extra two inches to be 6'0,, she's a BCS lock but to be honest with you, her work ethic shows she thinks she above the magic number. She simply explodes off the ground and to the basket, I mean like a turbo charged engine waiting to be unleashed

I made a special trip to see Reagan Montgomery, a point guard from the 2019 class and several things stood out immediately. First, she handled the ball under pressure, something you definitely need from the most important position on the court and she saw the floor well. I didn't what type of speed she had until,she exploded out of a trap as well as anticipated a couple of passes while being off balance. Nice form and a quick release are always pluses and when she dropped a long one before halftime, I'm seeing a bright future is in store