Off the top on opening day, I saw some talented younger players who showed a lot of potential.
The Native Queenies #42 showed the pull-up jumper as well as played the passing lane strongly, something I love to see, yet she also understands how to get hers in the flow. #21 has solid court vision which is ahead of her years, she also showed a nice crossover in transition. Her upside is high because she's heady, showed the FLOATA, and even followed her shot.
#30 has good size and scored around the basket, rebounded on both ends, and ran the floor but she's also long and athletic, which will always be the base.
Several players on this squad saw the floor well and #35 was one of them yet her ballhandling under pressure, along with handling the ball after rebounding was nice yet her court vision in the open court was impressive, and so was her attacking the basket off the dribble
Here are some of the other STANDOUTS
SAVAGE STORM
Eternity Running Rabbit hit the boards hard and went coast to coast to score quite a few times on opening night yet her rebounding on both ends helped her score on putbacks. She understands how to get positioning around the basket, she scored off the dribble and she dropped the midrange
Maya St. Clair also went coast to coast yet her court vision in transition as well as in the set was nice, and so was her using a deceptive first step to score off the dribble. She also rebounded on both ends of the court
Naudia Smith created her shot in the set to knock down the jumper but she also showed the pull-up in transition
Koryahana Stwyer did a good job defending baseline to baseline, her pressure helped to create turnovers and she played the passing lane
TULALIP UNITY
Shianna Valentine grabbed my attention immediately after diving on the floor for loose balls. She played the passing lane, showed solid on-the-ball defense, and scored from outside. Her court vision was also nice, in the set and in transition and she played the passing lane
Kaylee Martin is heady and showed she could score both off the dribble and with the jumper from outside. She handled the ball and saw the floor under pressure, yet her crossover was a problem to defend. She rebounded and scored on putbacks against taller players
Kristina Williams hit the boards on both ends and watching her go after the ball off the rim over and over falls into that DESIRE category that you can't teach. She also scored off the dribble and saw the floor both off the dribble and in the set
Other key players for the 2nd place team were Shanna Cortez, Madison Williams, Paulie Namee, and Sienna Chanel Greene
LADY AZ NEWEST
Peyton Moore just kept showing me MORE every game I caught her. She's showing some impressive things at her age, and her poise under pressure is one of the main reasons I see big things coming. She has good body control and scores off the dribble, she can not only shoot the ball from outside but can "catch and shoot". Her court vision is solid, and so is her HEZ and crossover
Chanoah Charley falls into that #sizedontmatter hashtag I use because she can play. Her first step is nice, and so is her body control as she finishes after contact. She also saw the floor and dropped the jumper yet her "on the ball" defense and playing the passing lane were also solid
Tiana Edison impressed me immediately by playing the passing lane, which is something I love seeing players do. She scored off the dribble, her first step and body control are solid, and she dropped the jumper yet her passes in traffic were very nice as she threaded the needle several times to give her teammates good looks. Her defense and playing the passing lane were also pluses
Rayea Edison also did a good job playing the passing lane. She rebounded on both ends, played good defense, and showed she could score both off the dribble and from outside with the jumper
Other players who contributed to Lady AZ Newest winning the championship were Shandin Bia, Cambree Thompson, and Morgan Upshaw
