Tuesday, June 13, 2023

2023 All Eyez On Me Session 1



Always remember that TALENT IS EVERYWHERE and the main thing players need to do is continue to work on their games. Any advice I give you is advice you should absorb. I am the first person to cover girl's basketball in Texas and now you have tons of people popping up giving advice that probably isn't right for you. 

If you didn't know, I have a daughter who has played in the WNBA for years and recently won a championship with the Las Vegas Aces, she also won a National Championship in college with Texas A&M and that has absolutely NOTHING to do with what I do or have done

I always enjoy catching "THE BABIES" because of the upside and potential, I have placed the graduating class next to grades, please contact me if that is incorrect so it can be corrected, my contact information is listed on my website under the ABOUT tab

5th (2031)

Ashley Douglas (Vanguard College Prep) is already showing she can not only create her shot but get it off while being defended. Her crossover as well as step back will only get better and create some problems, her pull-up jumper is nice but watching her catch and shoot at this stage was also impressive, left-handed...

Aubriella Guerrero (Midway MS) showed me the "HEZ" off the top, that's hesitation and it gets the defender to lean which enables her to get by them yet her body control while attacking the basket was also nice, so was her crossover and court vision yet watching her play the passing lane had me smiling, so did her quick hands

Kiyah Carmichael (Hewitt Elementary) also showed quick hands to come away with steals but her pull-up jumper in the set as well as in transition was nice, and so was her crossover in traffic because it helped her split the defenders. She created her shot and scored off the dribble, also showed the step-back

6th (2030)

Bristol Jensen ( Santa Rita MS) was yet another player with quick hands but her HEZ, as well as body control, was really nice, especially after contact while attacking the basket. Her court vision both in the set as well as in the open court had me smiling, and so did her "stop and pop" jumper in transition

Ellie Mae Lester (Gonzales MS) already has a video with me from a few weeks ago yet she showed me even more and her "FLOATA" along with the HEZ and crossover is going to make her hard to handle. She sees the floor and handles the ball under pressure, she also drops the jumper in the set and transition plus she plays the passing lane

Ivanna Yanez (South MS) also has quick hands and did a good job defending "on the ball" and playing the passing lane but her pull-up jumper looked good in the drills and even better in the games because she not only creates her shot under pressure, she knocked it down while being defended, step back played a part in that as well

Jazlyn Alexander (Starter) is a long and athletic guard and based on what she brings to the table, quick hands-on defense and rebounding are part of her upside being scary. Other parts are she scores off the dribble, has good body control after contact, she sees the floor in the set and in the open court but her crossover is already hard to handle, and she can "catch and shoot" from outside

Kalista Flojo (Hector Garcia MS) showed the HEZ off the dribble as well as solid body control on her finishes yet her pull-up jumper was effective in the set and in transition. She understands how to create her shot under pressure, she showed the step back and knocked it down from outside. Her quick hands-on defense were also nice

Kennedy Price (The Village) is "long and athletic" and that is the base and watching her progression over the past 3 seasons shows how much she's been working. She elevates and releases the picture-perfect on her jumper, but her first step and crossover are going to be hard to handle, she has implemented the step back yet her quick hands and playing the passing lane are all intangibles that are pluses

Olivia Glazener  (Veritas) falls into the quick hands group yet ALL I can STATE is she not only picked pockets but played the passing lane to perfection, at times coming from out of nowhere. Her court vision was nice, both in the set as well as in the open court, and her on-the-money passes were very nice but so was her jumper and attacking the basket to score 

Pia Karthik (Ridgeview MS) has UPSIDE by her name for a reason because she understands how to get hers "in the flow" and watching her create her shot and drop the jumper or use that same creativity to attack the basket had me smiling as her deceptive first step was solid. She also showed good timing to block or even alter shots

Tayza Cunningham (Compass Rose Journey) also used a deceptive first step to get by defenders, both in the drills and games but her body control and understanding of how to "create" contact are ahead of her years. She did a good job of creating her shot and knocking it down while being defended and she was another player with quick hands

7th (2029)

Alicia Strickland (Farley MS) used quick hands in both the set and the games and her first step created issues in both as well as when she got by the defender and finished strong, body control was nice. Her crossover in the transition while being tightly guarded was tough and so was her pull-up jumper yet her ability to see the floor set teammates up for baskets

Helena Granda (Santa Rita MS) showed "on the ball" pressure off the top and yes, she came away with steals that led to baskets but she also showed she could attack the basket with either hand and score. She created her shot and knocked it down from outside, her "catch and shoot" was nice and so was her step back

McKenna Hoellen (Salado HS) understands something very important and that's how to mix it up offensively while playing within herself. She was another player with quick hands on defense and she played the passing lane but her attacking and finishing after contact, body control helped, as well as dropping the jumper, step back included, were very nice 

8th (2028)

Jai Johnson (Homeschool) had steals galore but her being "long and athletic" and going after everything off the rim gets her the #THROWBACK hashtag. She's explosive off the dribble, in the set, or in transition yet her court vision from the length of the court was very nice. She also created her shot in the set and dropped the jumper

Alexandra Evans (Vanguard College Prep) had me dizzy watching her spin with the ball but she sets the defender up nicely to attack and finish yet her body control after contact was very impressive. She handled the ball and saw the floor under pressure, crisp passes in traffic are huge and so was her jumper which she knocked down with a hand in her face

Kamryn Fox (Copperas Cove JHS) sold me a few weeks ago and I think she's going to be a nightmare to defend. Her pull-up jumper is already hard to handle, mid to long-range, both in the set and transition, she can also "catch and shoot it" with accuracy. She scores off the dribble, the first step is nice and so is her court vision 

Makensie Shaughnessy (Lampass MS) was another player that mixed it up offensively to keep the defender guessing. She scored off the dribble, has a deceptive first step, using either hand and that along with her jumper was nice. Speaking of hands, hers are quick and she applies pressure baseline to baseline along with "playing the passing lane"

9th (2027)

Emily Roman (Cedar Park) showed the pull-up jumper from a variety of spots and watching her drop it consistently was nice, including in transition but she understands how to pick and choose her shots, makes good decisions on where to let it go from and to keep the defender honest she attacks strongly and finishes the same way. Oh yeah, she has quick hands on the defensive end

Matilda Bartels (Stoney Point) is also long and athletic with some impressive upside. She showed me the drop step, yeah #THROWBACK hashtag on that alone yet she went after the ball off the rim. She's tall and handled the ball after rebounding and did a good job attacking the basket and finishing along with dropping the midrange