Early look at 2025 group around Texas

I love this picture, I've explained numerous times that I'm a VISUAL person and although I respect other people and their opinions, ranging from politics to evaluating talent, that has nothing to do with what I think and for 60 years it's worked for me, says the man who has been married 9 times. Maybe that doesn't register but what does register is what you do on the court and I've had a chance to see many young players in middle school numerous times and here are TEN of the TOP 2025 players, in no particular order, that I have personally seen in the past few months and have shown me, it's not what you do, it's who you do it against so please don't send me what someone said or any irrelevant nonsense like stats or efficiency ratings

LA Sneed
Aniyah Foy
Aaliyah Chavez
Katelynn Evans
Hillary Dawson
Andrea Sturdivant
Aniah Holmes
Chandler Caver
Kenna McKenzie
Alaysia Gude

Houston Area 2024 Watch List

I was watching my daughter, Sydney Colson, play in the 2011 NCAA Final Four yesterday as her Texas A&M team beat Stanford in the semifinals and for those of you who don't know or didn't realize was that four players from Houston were playing, Colson, Adoara Elonu (Texas A&M)  as well as Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford) and all play or have played in the WNBA. The crazy part is our local paper, the Chronicle, had no one there covering the event, I know, it's just WBB yet it also shows the ignorance associated with it from the area

Let me also add another tidbit of information to try and put things in perspective, some of you will get, most want because you're probably listening to an idiot that has ulterior motives but peep this, in 2007 Sydney Colson and Karima Christmas, 2008 Nneka Ogwumike and Briana Gilbreath, 2009 Kelsey Bone and Brittany Griner and in 2010 Chiney Ogwumike graduated from high school and all played in the WNBA after college and it wasn't until last year that players from Houston, Brianna Turner and Brooke McCarty made a squad so if someone tells you the talent now is what it was, they're lying or clueless, it is not the same as far as depth but there are still some very talented players out there and many will play at college and beyond, it's just not as deep

Fast forward to now, I get a kick out of watching the young talent around the state, I don't leave as much as I used to because I already know where the bar has been set after doing this on my own for over a decade and truly observing for 20 years so when I make a statement about a  young player being a #D1Lock,  I'm on the money and I haven't been wrong since I started doing it and there are several talented players in the area in the  2024 Class I will be keeping an eye on.

Some I've even crowned #BCSLock like Gwendlynn McGrew and with that being said, you can throw away the key but I'll be observing the progression of many young ladies who have already shown me they will be playing somewhere at the next level and here we go with a dozen right now, in no particular order, I'll add more providing I have complete rosters and you happen to be where I'll be. always check here  

Gwendlynn McGrew
Raniyah Lewis
Amiyah Cotton
Nicolette Polachek
Aniyah Alexis
Kendall Sneed
Heather Bayman
Deyjah Ray
Torran Deterville
Asia Waddell
Emrie Holt
Jade Williams
Zachara Perkins

The next showcase I'm covering is June 12th All Eyez On Me where EVERY player gets evaluated

'22 Jade Miller Elevating Her Status

I'll never forget catching Jade Miller for the first time at a Prime Time Tournament when I used to cover them and I'm on the baseline taking pictures and this lady walks up to me and asked why am I taking pictures of her daughter. I responded, "because I am a genius at evaluating talent and your daughter has plenty of potential" and she laughed and said okay. Fast forward four years later and Jade helped lead Manvel to the playoffs in one of the toughest districts in the area where they would lose to district rival Hightower in the game that would have sent them to the regional semis

Miller could score, that was apparent early at the initial sighting but her poise and composure at a young age just stood out and it explains why she handles pressure so well now. Mid to long-range or off the dribble, she can get it done yet she also scores in the flow and can run the 1 or 2 with ease. Miller is one of the top defensive guards in the area, among the leaders in steals but her desire to defend baseline to baseline is second to none and oh yeah, she plays the passing lane. After garnering numerous awards in her sophomore season, it ain't over so be ready

2023 Paris Guillory Continues To Elevate

Talent is everywhere and I always use logic and data to substantiate what I say, unlike many of our political leaders, so that places me in the "expert" category and usually when I say something about a talented young star, well not usually since I've never been wrong, that young star does exactly what I saw and Louisana freshman Paris Guillory continues to elevate her game and fame

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AND MORE

In her freshman season, she helped lead her Saint Louis Catholic high school squad to runner-up in the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP and this speaks volumes in itself because Guillory has the ability to simply take games over on the offensive end yet she also showed she could do damage in the flow. Mid to long-range, off the dribble, that has always been there since the 6th grade when I first wrote about her yet her range and game keeps expanding and when you combine all of that with her ball-handling and passing ability, well it doesn't really matter what I say as numerous D1 offers have poured in already. She'll be on tour with Lake City Pride, stay tuned

2026 She's Ballin Showcase quick hitter

I always take pride in trying to evaluate as many players as possible, no matter what age because I know where the bar was set years ago, I saw Brooke McCarty, Sarah Andrews and Deja Kelly in the 5th grade and called all of them #D1Locks, McCarty played at Texas and in the WNBA for Dallas, Andrews (Baylor) and Kelly (North Carolina) are seniors in high school so this sort of tells you how I know what I'm talking about, in fact in 1989, I saw the nurse slap my daughter, Sydney Colson, and my daughter slapped her back and right then I knew she had quick hands that helped her lead Texas A&M to a National Championship and multiple in the WNBA but enough of my genius that goes over the heads of many, here are a few of the 6th graders that are ahead of the game but the main thing is to keep working, this can change and be sure to be where I can see your progression

Bella Flemings
Jaidyn Gunter
Jacy Abii
Delaney Arrendondo
Beya Chase
Janea Walls

The Politics and the BS

This may be my last article so just in case, what better way to start my Friday than to piss someone off and go out with a bang, you know like I used to on message boards and when you piss off petty people, they might omit your child from different things, like McDonald's or Parade's All American but at the end of the day, my daughter still had a parade and I stopped eating quarter pounders with cheese. Okay, I'm lying about that but I'll use the acronym, the PMF's I dealt with along the way showed me way back how political this stuff was and although I haven't seen every player on the list, I've seen some who aren't but with abundance of people who suck up, in many ways, nothing surprises me

Deja Kelly and Hannah Gusters are in, they should be, no doubt about that, in fact, I saw Priscilla Williams dropping threes one foot past halfcourt back in the 6th grade and all are three are legit but when you don't know who's voting and (or) controlling the vote, I guess many do and that's why the kiss a lot of ass, especially on social media and all I can say is this the world in which we live in.

2020 ROSTER

All I can say is this, I was called "uppity" which means a whole lot of things when my daughter played and was somewhat outspoken, didn't use acronyms on message boards but when I got into that "No Vaseline" mode and "Hit Em Up" I made several points although nothing has really changed other than Texas players finally got noticed in a big way.

As I pat myself on the back for that, if you were omitted unjustly, my daughter went on to not only win a National Championship but play multiple years in the WNBA, not many can say that who played on the 2007 squad, these numbers don't lie

2007 ROSTER

Do not let anyone's opinion stop YOU and my opinion is included even though unlike many of the "experts" I haven't been wrong yet  but let me also give you something to ponder on and compare, I know many won't get it yet it's here for you, have a great day and I love extra onions

2011 WNBA Draft 

2020 HumbleISD Tournament

Last Saturday started off like many have in the past, I walk up the table at MS game or tournament and I'm usually greeted by "media doesn't cover MS games" and I usually try and explain yet my words are usually over the recipients heads and as this lady told me years ago "it's your approach" and my response was "I ain't playing golf" but in an age where many would rather believe nonsense and foolishness, I went to do exactly what I came for and that was to see Raniyah Lewis one of the top 2024 players in Texas. Lewis is powerful and explosive at an early age, her upside is unlimited and with her frame, ability to create and consistent midrange, she will make an immediate impact soon after she enters high school and I'm glad she let me know about the event

Torreon Deterville was another bright spot, I saw her progression at PassThaBall's The South Individual Showcase and was pleased to see even more progression at the event. Several other players also stood out like Mychie White along with some I had seen a couple of years ago, like Jayda Woods who impressed  as a 6th grader as well as another young lady, Zachara Perkins who blew me away with not only her growth spurt, both on and off the court but her ability to find ways to score

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Several other players definitely stood out, this is why I stress over and over why rosters are important because when my day starts off with ignorance, not to mention cold and wet, I just want to get it over with and leave as I'm SMH out of the door

Pin Oak Tournament 7th grade standouts

One thing about Pershing is they have had plenty of talented players this century and one of the winningest programs in HISD. Jasmine Hartman (Oklahoma) Tammara Marion (SFA) Ryan Bradley (Houston) and the list goes on and on but seeing a new group led by Jasmine Timmons and Sarah Gregory definitely brought back memories.
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Jasmine Timmons-P (Pershing) good size,  finishes strong and rebounds on both ends and that old saying"you can't teach size" works when you can play

Sarah Gregory-G (Pershing) as much as I liked her in The South a few months ago, she left me speechless at times because of her energy, creating her shot and range. She attacks from everywhere and guess what plays the passing lane

Vincent (Beaumont) had several players on both teams but one guard stood out and I apologize but I forgot her name, so I'll correct Charlese Jones later if I get it. One thing is for certain, she definitely gets it with high octane pressure and can score

Anna Sophia's brother has got to be her biggest fan and the #sizedontmatter guard stood out early for Tanglewood. Her ball-handling is very good at this stage, she zig-zags through traffic effortlessly and sees the floor well but when you can attack and make the pass, at this stage....

 Chloe Williams and Breyonna Davis stood out on Plummer's 7th grade for numerous reasons as they're ahead of the game in this era. Williams has a "scorers mentality" and she mixes it up nicely from outside or attacking the basket but that floater, wow. Davis, cousin Asia plays on 8th grade and was one of the PGH standouts from the event from the 2024 group also showed she could score. The midrange was nice, but creating her shot off the dribble and  powering in was pretty good as well

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