MT Rice December 28th for Temple and Taliah Johnson

Although I couldn't get a roster, Taliyah Johnson stood out over the club season as well as the HBU Camp, where I got a roster and I love saying this to show how much nonsense I have to deal with ignorance and arrogance but it's girls basketball and it is what is but I am who I am and if you can really play, I'll find out who you are. Johnson can play, she's explosive averaging just under 10 and 5 assists for her temple school team and I'll close out the Holiday Tournaments catching her

The schedule might be blurry, so was my mind because I thought I'd catch another talented squad from Whitney with a whole lot of Under The Radar players but this will be a blast regardless because "talent is everywhere"

McKinney North Lady Bulldog Classic featuring young stars

I'll pull a Metroplex trifecta with Sandra Meadows, Mansfield Spring Creek BBQ and McKinney North Lady Bulldog Holiday Classic and without knowing all of the players, I know of some and talented sophomore Allie Buchanan will be one of those players I can't wait to catch after dropping her on a Tip Sheet over the club season. She's Under The Radar, for now, but at 6'0 which is the magic number, she won't be for long

I'll also catch Little Elm freshmen sensation Amarachi Kimpson one of the states best in the Class of 2023, story on her and many of the other top freshmen coming up on Prep Girls Texas and I can't wait as I'll figure out a way to catch both

Holland MS Tournament shows future stars of tomorrow

After becoming involved in this, girl's basketball, I've seen a huge shift on a variety of things I speak on constantly which goes over the heads of many. In 2009,  said social media was going to hurt the game, it's documented and it has, high school basketball is not what it used to be and neither is middle school and anyone that tells you different is clueless, naive, or basically lying to you about how they can "make your daughter" ironically with a little help from my ex-wife, I can actually say that about my own daughter, she's in the WNBA

By no means does this mean that there isn't talent spread around, many have already been labeled by me as players who will play at the next level as early as elementary school, I ain't been wrong yet, so I actually know what I'm talking about and could care less about the politics because of two things, I have no agenda and talent is everywhere which is why I was super excited to go and see Deyjah Ray who showed a big jump when I caught her at PassThaBall's The South back in  September read more

Ray scored 5 in the first minute of the first quarter and finished with 25 points, well she closed the tournament out with 25 as well and was named MVP and one thing I knew she needed was to become more aggressive on the court, she has. This young lady caught my eye in the 3rd grade, had I had a roster would have known that she was playing on a 6th-grade squad with some notable now juniors including one of the top juniors in Texas, Ashlyn Jones but  is showing some big-time signs

Holland also has a couple of players, twin towers in fact for their age that put in some work. One of those towers, Aniya Lazard, played with Deyjah on her club team and she was relentless in the paint
but her upside is what's definitely scary because she has size, strength, and athleticism right now, and trust me, everything else will fall into place. Speaking of scary upside, Joemoriah Ben was a bright spot for Hamilton. she does things instinctively, she attacks strongly and can finish with contact plus she has range

Two more MS tournaments are coming up, parents BEWARE at the nonsense you're about to hear but what do I know other than I'm dropping some photos from this event on Facebook

UNSIGNED Cheyanne Bonilla closes out Katy Classic with 38

In this day and age of Social Media nonsense countless Tweets with biased evaluations, sped-up videos on The Gram and YouTube and the numerous people going live, there is no wonder why and how some college coaches are misled on talent but there is saying that I've been using for over a decade"it's not what you do, it's who you do it against" and let me simplify that. Scoring 30 or more against players that aren't going to play at the next level doesn't equate to the ones dropping 10 or 15 against those that are but there are always exceptions to the rule

The first time I caught Cheyanne Bonilla was with a team from New Mexico and she was simply on fire against a star-studded team so right then I knew she could play college ball. I've seen her numerous times in different settings and one thing that's  consistent is she plays the same way, no matter if the squad is up or down 20 which shows her consistency and she's always ready to "take the shot" during pressure and if you had a chance to catch her at the Katy Classic you'd see that if you didn't, I dropped some clips on the Gram

She opened up the tournament with 27 against Cedar Ridge, their starting 5 will play at the next level, so I'm setting the stage. She put up numbers throughout the event including 21 in game 2 and 38 in the Consolation Championship game which included 6 three-pointers. There's no question she can shoot from distance or find ways to score and her effort was something to see

2019 Katy Classic mini preview

To say I'm excited about this weeks Katy Classic would be somewhat of an understatement as I'll spend opening day at Seven Lakes because of numerous reasons but a couple of the main ones are El Paso Eastlake is coming to town and they feature sharpshooter Cheyenne Bonilla, an UNSIGNED senior you're going to be hearing a lot more about

To make my day even brighter is that their first-round game is against Cedar Ridge, a team in which I've caught several of their players over the club season with Rock Nation and the Raiders super soph Alex Neimeth is one of the many standouts on this squad

Stay tuned for more coming at you on Prep Girls Hoops, here as well as my GPR website so grab some popcorn or whatever and check out the BRACKETS

Ten of the Top Texas 2024

Middle school basketball is a hit or miss, well so is high school in this era and one thing I will always do is keep it real. Lack of comprehension and twisting my words have some equating my saying the talent is not what it was 5, 10 let alone 15 years ago into my saying there isn’t any talent so I don’t have time go back and forth with people like I used to but rest assured there are still talented players in our area and across the state including players that will play ball in college and that includes the highest level. I had planned on doing a recap of 2024 players but Gwendlyn McGrew received an offer from the University of Houston made me say “why not” “just do it”

The first 5 are from the SEC event I caught in July and the rest are from various events including PassThaBall’s The South

Kendall Robinson-5’7 PG (Texas Savage 14U) I called her a #BCSLock a couple of years ago for a number of reasons and although she wasn’t 100% at the event, you’d never know. Good size and body, she plays bigger than listed height, she creates several problems offensively because of her arsenal, in other words, she finds ways to put the ball in the basket. Good defender and rebounds on both ends which also enables her to start and finish the break

Kemah Shaw-5’5 PG (AD Elite Future) don’t know what’s more intriguing, her upside, her progression or her desire but it doesn’t matter because she is showing me a whole lot in a short span. Plays the passing lane, handles the ball under pressure, finishes with contact and creates, not only her shot, but problems for defenders

Leaire Nicks-5’11 PF (Lady Drive Nation Duncan 2023) long and ultra-athletic, her upside is unlimited on high she’ll land because not only does she play the passing lane and has excellent timing to deflect, alter or just block shots galore, she elevates over defenders with ease for a nice pull-up. Her length also enables her to blow by defenders, I foresee her first step becoming devastating

Kiah Goynes-5’7 PG (Texas Savage 14U) very athletic and understands the simple things but the hard things, well she gets them too and her ability to create, not only for herself but her teammates, at this stage of her career is big but doing it against older and sometimes stronger players is huge. She attacks from everywhere, speed galore, and finishes with contact

Chloe Mann-5’3 PG (Texas Savage 14U) nothing like speed but speed with the ball while being under control is always great and when you “get it” early, they’ll get it now and later. Her athleticism enables her to do a variety of things, like bring heat on defense or make acrobatic shots but I still remember the first time I wrote about her a few years ago and I said “she made a save I haven’t seen many on their way to D1 make”

Gwendlyn McGrew-5’9 PG- the more I see her the more she continues to show me that the sky is the limit and when you look at her size, athletic ability and skill set, that in itself is intriguing but her BB-IQ is ahead of the game, she understands she can take over offensively at will. I first noticed her dropping the long ball a few months ago but she attacks ferociously and with power and now her ability to see the floor and make pinpoint passes add fuel to the fire

Nicolette Polochek-5’11 F- saw her a few months ago, was given wrong name so here we are and there she goes because she is going to create issues down the road. Well, she’s creating them now, size, physical, desire, and a nice skill set. Finishes strong runs the floor and rebounds on both ends but her upside will have numerous colleges on her

Jade Williams-5’8 G- one of those young ladies I’ve been watching for a very long time, 5th grade she showed me something and just watching her, I knew what was coming. Scores off the dribble with either hand but that first step includes a turbo that enables her to keep going or take that pull up. Long and athletic, defends and plays the passing lane

Maddison Bob-5’8- if you look at my notes, it’s coded so I have UPS for her not only because she delivers but can flat out explode off the ground. She’s athletic, handles the ball and sees the floor well but her acceleration coupled with her change of pace are great tools to have offensively and when you add she understands how to create her shot….

Torran Deterville-5’5 PG- not the prototype point guard but she can run a team and speaking of run, it’s hard to stay with her as she blazes by defenders. She’s made multiple Tip Sheets already, I saw something special years ago and its crystal clear because she is showing she can take over a game offensively whenever she wants, btw, I didn’t have to take any notes

Size Don't Matter players one of many highlights at South Texas Classic

I usually hashtag #sizedontmatter and add, when you can play and I also hashtag #talentiseverywhere. I attended the South Texas Classic and wrote an article on Prep Girls Hoops Texas about Cibolo Steele featuring talented Bria McClure picture in above GIF read more

McClure wasn't the only small guard that played big,Mikayla Johnson 's four threes in the second half in a span of a little over two minutes helped ignite Cedar Ridge to come from a double digit deficit, that means they were down by over 10 points, in the second half for the victory

Yeah I know it's pre preseason but I know talent, learned that from a BCS coach when my daughter was a freshman as she said, Mr Colson it only takes me a couple of minutes to know what I'm looking at so acrobatic Dezerae De Le Garza (United South) is only a 2022 with huge upside

2021 Emma Vasquez (Brennan) showed the catch and shoot and I'm talking from deep range. Edison guard Avalon Munoz played with SA Holmes to get more exposure, S/O to Holmes coach for that gesture as well as Munoz who I'm told is one of the tops in cross country, the senior missed an event to be seen and I definitely saw a lot

All of the guards in this article are 5'4 or less, I have something else for JJ coming later but it will be Good Times for the talented freshman. Her Johnson teammate and fellow freshman Angel Tumbarello had already showed the long ball during club season but she creates and hits the midrange. Speaking of freshmen, Judson's Ariana Rodriguez is making the adjustment nicely.

Laredo Lady Longhorns, I have a special story for you all, explosive Sam Houston senior guard Khadija Derry just got added to Top 100 plus and many more will be added to what I'm doing for Prep Girls Hoops because it's an added way to give Texas players more exposure, many parents choose to believe BS, I get it, actually I don't and even though I may have been thrown out of MENSA, unwarranted morality nonsense, I actually know what I'm talking about as far as this

Prep Girls Hoops updated rankings

Samantha Wagner

For those who don't read or speed read or pay attention because I've tweeted, posted and said many times that I'm doing the rankings for Prep Girls Hoops senior and junior classes while the sophomore and freshmen are Watch Lists which basically means watch how that list will change as the season progresses and that also ties into one of my favorite sayings, "talent is everywhere" but I had to throw in an amendment "if you know what you're looking at"

There's an old saying that goes like this " beauty is in the eye of the beholder" because everyone doesn't see things the same way and that could be due to a number of things, the political aspect, relationships, on and off the court, or just view talent differently because at the end of the day, it's just someones opinion but mine is more important to me because if I don't see it......

PREP GIRLS TEXAS

RyLee Grays

Samantha Wagner is arguably the best player in Texas, she's already committed to Baylor so it was a no brainer on her, but after the first group who are just above everyone else, those numbers can be adjusted because the talent level is so close, I know is over 280 characters and many will get bored and turn on a POTcast because much of what is being said, you need to be high to believe it, just keeping it real so always remember, simple math on how many players there in the country and how many colleges and universities there are should let you know there is NOT something for everyone as well as if you can play, they will find you and that falls into the "they who" category"  RyLee Grays made one of the biggest jumps over the past few weeks, size, skill set and strength will keep her up there but I'll adjust and add again for each class after holiday tournaments

Prep Girls Texas 2023 Rankings

2026 and 2027 from Pass Tha Ball's #TheSouth

JOURNEY JEFFERSON & JADA MAPLES

They traveled from Orange and Kountze, from San Antonio and Helotes, even from Donie heading 45N to around Dallas, but they also crossed state lines, from back home in Louisiana as well as Arkansas and Oklahoma just to attend The South. I explain over and over, when I cover an event, I look at everyone as much as possible, that's why you came, that's why you paid and you need to know, so unlike the sleight of hand nonsense that is prevalent, I will always keep it real, always did, my daughter has numerous WNBA highlights on here so I kind of know first hand what talent looks like so here is the deal on some of the players, not even playing middle school ball yet

Journey Jefferson-guard-Earle, Arkansas- defensive stopper, athletic and went through the drills with ease. Already understands the simple things, does a good job of creating her shot and attacking the basket not to mention finish with contact

Jada Maples-guard-Earle, Arkansas- well when you can stutter step, at this stage and change direction going full speed, at this stage, you're on to something big that's coming. Handles the ball well, under pressure and finishes multiple ways

Kaelyn Blanchard-guard-Baytown, Texas- athleticism is always good and when you combine it with long arms at this stage, things will fall into place with her work ethic. I love her upside, she gets "it" already and showed she could score

Kyndall Graham-guard- Shreveport, Louisiana- I have a saying, size don't matter, when you can play and she showed the floater and defense early but when the bright lights of Sunday's All Star game came on, coast to coast, pull-up in transition not to mention handles the ball under pressure

Delaney Arredondo-guard- San Antonio, Texas- she's ready for prime-time right now because some things you can't teach so shall I call her a D1 Lock right now? Yes because the game starts at the one, she hits teammates in traffic, understands how to control tempo and can take over offensively. BTW, I ain't been wrong yet

Faith Idowu-guard- Houston, Texas- handles the ball well under pressure, that's always a good sign because you can build on it and her basketball IQ is ahead of where it should be. Defends well, knows how to get her shot off  as well as when to take it

Nia Phillips-guard-Katy-she already possesses a lot of tools that's ahead of the game. Strong inside, she rebounds and pushes the ball the length of the court. She attacks and finishes strong and plays the passing lane. She's 5'7 now and might reach "the magic number" which is 6'0

2027

Mackenzie Teuton-guard- Richmond, Texas- this camp was open to players that were in the 6th grade  and competitive 5th graders so I was overly happy to see her performing. She was solid during the skill set but on Sunday, the gloves were taken off and to open up it up with back to back jumpers got the crowd going. She understands and absorbs so much that her upside is scary good

I didn't include 2026 Whitney Smith in this segment, she traveled from Tulsa Oklahoma and participated with her three older sisters and I did a special story on them

READ MORE

Oklahoma's Smith sisters shine in Texas at Pass Tha Ball events

Whitney, Aaliyah, Mariah and Destiny Smith

It seems like I've been watching these young ladies forever but it's probably been four or five years but one thing II know is that the Smith sisters from Oklahoma can play and by that, I mean at some level of the next level so let me break the fantastic foursome down from what I saw over the weekend at both The South Individual Showcase and the I-45 Shootout, both events hosted by PassThaBall as they get their very own Tip Sheet

2020
Mariah Smith-5'8 PG- one of the best SHOOTERS in the STATES of both Oklahoma and Texas and her poise is second to none as well as her ability to catch and shoot. The long ball was dropping from somewhere close to that Oklahoma border and taking defenders off the dribble with ease to finish with contact over and over  is something I've grown accustomed to seeing

2022
Destiny Smith-5'7 G- her game mirrors older sisters so much that I used to get them confused, I'm serious and even during the event, their closeness on and off the court had smiling. Destiny also has range, mid to long and is athletic and finishes acrobatically an d she's nowhere near her upside which is scary

2024
Aaliyah Smith-5'11 F- size and strength will be huge for her when she enters high school for a n umber of reasons because she can score in the paint, good hands and footwork, she rebounds on both ends and runs the floor yet her defense, inside and outside, plus her ability to face the basket and score shows she can play outside the paint as well

2026
Whitney Smith-4'11 PG- what is one of the things I say over and over, size don't matter, when you can play and the heat she showed me when I first saw her, didn't even know she was a "sister" had me glued to her game. She understands things now many seniors don't and basketball IQ is very important at her size but she gets "it", terror on defense, handles ball under pressure and can score