AER Silver #AllEyesOnShe 7/8th Grade Division

 The only team that turned in a roster from this division name might be Silver but they're on the verge of striking GOLD and not just because I'm writing about a couple of their standouts. For the novices who are new to this, be prepared to be misled by people on what you need to do and who you need to listen to. I am the FIRST person to cover girls in Texas, on a NATIONAL level, you can go back in the archives from 2009 and see, yet I started even before that with Fullcourt and Scout.com in 2008

I was also a club coach, INDEPENDENT, who coached his daughters, the younger wound up having over 100 D1 offers, that's her with Obama on the picture after winning a National Championship at Texas A&M and with over 10 years in the WNBA, back to back championships with Las Vegas, I'm perplexed at the nonsense yet "the hare be real, the love be fake" so I have NO AGENDA whatsoever other than identifying potential next level players so with that being said

Scotti Beseda is a long and athletic guard who does a good job creating her own shot under pressure and showed she could knock it down from outside while being defended. She also scored off the dribble, had nice body control on her finishes, and rebounded strongly

London Broussard is also a long and athletic guard and watching her go coast to coast to score or dish several times had me smiling. Her energy on both ends trickled down to her teammates, she showed she could attack the basket from multiple angles and finish after contact. She also did a good job defending "on the ball". 

I'm looking forward to watching these young ladies "on the court " progression as quite a few are on the verge of breaking out

5/6th Grade Division Top Peformers #AllEyesOnShe

 

At the end of the day, the top two teams battled it out in the Platinum Championship with MBA holding off LH Swoosh 32-30. Even more importantly, both teams turned in their rosters as well as DS Lady BBall so here are the standouts

Brielle Montalvo (MBA) has an amazing upside because she's a 4th grader and she's playing up and handling the pressure with ease. She handles the ball and sees the floor in traffic, she also reads the floor on the defensive end and plays the passing lane. She created her shot to attack the rim or drop the jumper

Abrielle Garcia (MBA) already gets at it as she not only creates her shot, but she understands how to create separation but her deceptive first step was huge because it had the defender leaning so she could attack and score, well or dish. She also showed she could drop the mid to long-range jumper while being defended but her "catch and shoot" had me smiling, and so did her playing the passing lane

Emma Vaughan  (LH Swoosh) showed she understands the game starts at the 1 and she's already showing she can control the tempo, meaning when to push it and when to slow it down yet she also does a good job of getting her teammates involved early and setting up for good looks. She scored off the dribble, and she also did a good job dropping from outside yet her "catch and shoot" 3 is going to create problems 

Kennedy Keel (LH Swoosh) created her shot nicely under pressure yet she played within herself meaning "nothing out of the ordinary" She's also heady and made good decisions on who to give the ball to and when to give it so the court vision is there. She also does a good job of getting hers "in the flow" however don't get it twisted, her pull-up jumper from mid to long-range was effective 

Jianna Billings (DS Lady BB Club) hit the boards hard on both ends and even showed she could handle it after rebounding. She scored around the basket, putbacks included yet her court vision in the set as well as in transition had me smiling. She's a "long and athletic" guard with some impressive upside and watching her set the defender up in the set and blow by them to score spoke volumes

NOTABLES

Gia Moreno (MBA)

April Valle (MBA)

Sophia Cantu (MBA)

Abigail Filler (LH Swoosh)

Dylan Hanson (LH Swoosh)

Rowan Parra (LH Swoosh)

2024 JR WNBA Standouts #simmiecolsonclassic

 

I started covering the younger division early when I decided to do this because my primary purpose was not only for exposure but to also give players encouragement and although along the way much of this has become twisted, I ain't changing so here were some of the standouts in JR WNBA Division. Please note that Houston Lady Nets Zoe Whitaker (2032) was already dropped on PGH Texas

HOUSTON UNITED

Autumn Randle (2029) is "long and athletic" which will always be the base and watching her energy on both ends, along with being coachable equates to something positive down the road. She attacked the basket strongly, nice body control on her finishes but she also hit the boards and defended well

Riyanna Benson (2030) is also "long and athletic yet playing the guard spot, she showed she could rebound and handle the ball afterward yet her attacking the basket from multiple angles was solid, so was her seeing the floor but she also played strong defense and played the passing lane

GULF COAST LEGACY

Peyton Garcia (2030) played the passing lane numerous times and handled the ball afterward to either score or dish but she also showed she could score off the dribble in the set. The defense was solid, and so was her rebounding 

Lianna Trinh (2031) falls into that #sizedontmatter group I love to hashtag because she can play and when you're this young and can handle the ball as well as "see the floor" under pressure, big things are coming. Her changing of pace is nice yet when she spun in traffic to score, I just smh

Jaylin Wilson (2031) had me smiling because she understands how to create her shot while being defended but she also comprehends the simple things and showed she could knock down the pull-up jumper 

TEXAS THUNDER

Ariana Raeissi (2031)  already comprehends that "the game starts at the 1" yet she also falls into that #sizedontmatter group because she can play and when you factor in she's "heady" and controls the tempo, well at this stage, that's huge. She did a good job seeing the floor yet also scored off the dribble

Bariah Lott (2030) Wow is all I can say as I watched her older sister star in the area for years and baby sister is on her way. She's long and athletic, and that will ALWAYS be the base, but her "on the ball" defense was tough, and so was her rebounding yet she showed she could score around the basket as well as facing it

Cniyah Parker (2030) was yet another "long and athletic" player and not only do I love evaluating that profile, but so do next-level coaches. Her timing to block, alter, and (or) deflect shots is going to be a problem and so is her going after EVERYTHING off the rim. She scored around the basket, putbacks included 

Brooklyn Bourg (2031) showed she could get to the basket using a deceptive first step but watching her attack with either hand was the kicker. She finished while showing solid body control but she also had a knack for being around the ball to come away with steals, oh yeah, she too played the passing lane

HOUSTON LADY NETS 12U

Krissy Cross (2031) is, here we go, long and athletic, so she does a good job defending baseline to baseline as well as playing the passing lane. Yeah, she can handle the ball after the steal, she also showed she could do that attacking the basket from various spots, nice upside 

Jayde Joseph (2031) appears to be reaching "the magic number" soon, that's 6'0 by the way yet her being long and athletic to go with it will have her on next-level shortlists down the road, and here's why. She has that "you won't outwork me" mindset and watching her battle for everything off the rim as well as loose balls spoke volumes 

Zoe Aliniz (2031) is a "long and athletic" guard, which is also the base, and her showing solid body control on her finishes after contact was a plus yet so was her showing the jumper. She did a good job applying heat defensively and saw the floor 

E.P.I.C. Tournament 5th/6th Grade Standouts

 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

E.P.I.C. Tournament 3rd/4th Grade Standouts

 In case you aren't familiar with me, I am the FIRST person to cover girls' basketball in Texas. I used to complain about what the National Media was not saying about my state, so I threw in the towel and started doing it myself. 

INTERVIEW

My mission has always been to give those who may not have a chance to be seen, that chance because one thing I know is #talentiseverywhere so I don't play politics, I have no agenda whatsoever and I have been through this as a parent, my daughter plays in the WNBA, a club coach and now as a scout/evaluator so here are some of the BABIES I had a chance to evaluate 

TULALIP UNITY

Kris Williams was one of the standouts in the division, I watched her dive on the floor for loose balls and go after rebounds on both ends of the court but her FLOTA was nice as she scored off the dribble and she came away with steals using her quick hands. 

#2 was probably Rylee Tom and she does what I love seeing players do at any age and that's play the passing lane. She handled the ball under pressure and also showed she could score off the dribble

Shawn Cortez did a good job of handling the ball and seeing the floor, but she also understands how to create her shot while being defended

Good defense from Mari'Anna Valencia, who also rebounded strongly, Nayeli Valencia, and Tenya Robinson who scored off the dribble and I'm guessing  #11 is Alexis Williams who also defended well

YOUNG WARRIORS

I have an old saying, not just because I'm old but SIZE DON'T MATTER when you can play and both Nani Tulee and Journey Johnson showed just that as their DESIRE just stood completely out

Temi Meninock did a little bit of everything as she was overly impressive in an abundance of areas like crossover dribble, her pull-up jumper, and her ability to catch ad shoot at this stage tells me a lot about what's coming. She also scored off the dribble, as well as on putbacks because she rebounded strongly, on both ends

Strong ballhandling and court vision from Annabelle Corone to go along with her pull-up jumper were nice, she even showed she could drop it from deep but her teammates Tatyana Wesley and Millie Palmonteer also showed they understand how to get their shot off from outside and drop it. Palmonteer also did a good job playing the passing lane 

2030 Girls Jr Phenoms Top Performers

I enjoy watching the younger players as much as I do the older players yet the eagerness and desire to learn was overwhelming for me as I spotted an abundance of talent and have already recognized not only next-level potential from this group but players who I have already dropped my #D1Lock on but always remember at this stage, your future is in your hands so keep working

Addison Brown did a good job of not only handling the ball under pressure but creating her shot while being defended. Her deceptive first step enabled her to get the defender off balance for her to attack the basket off the dribble and she finished strongly

Blake Hamsmith immediately showed she could defend and her on-the-ball pressure both in the set, as well as "baseline to baseline" was solid because it helped to create turnovers. She also did a good job attacking the basket plus she showed good court vision 

Chloe Madison-Davis has already been locked in at D1, she showed me that when I first saw her a couple of seasons ago yet her BB-IQ coupled with her skill set is so far ahead of her years that she makes it look easy. Mid to long-range, off the dribble, and understanding how to set her teammates up for gimmes makes her a multiple threat

Emilee Synatschk is heady and plays within herself yet she also showed she could get hers in the flow. Her shot selection was nice and she knocked it down with a hand in her face but she also attacked the basket with either hand and saw the floor.

Kennedy Liu also brought heat on the defensive end off the top and at times, it was over the top as she came away with steals doing what I love to see and that's playing the passing lane. She also made good passes and scored off the dribble

Madison Colaizzi was another player that did a good job playing the passing lane her handling the ball afterward to attack the basket was nice, and so was her court vision but she also scored off the dribble and finished plus she created her shot from outside

Makayla Jefferson her ballhandling and understanding of how to control the tempo will be huge throughout her career. She saw the floor, made good decisions, and has a very nice crossover to get by defenders both in the set as well as in transition. She scored off the dribble and with the jumper 

Myah Bolden also had a nice crossover but her FLOATA will be an issue to deal with. Her first step is very nice, she already understands how to create contact when attacking the basket yet her pull-up jumper in the set as well as in transition was really nice, and so was her defense 

Ry'Leigh Harris

Harris is another "long and athletic" guard that played the passing lane off the top and that JUST DID IT for me. She has good court vision in the set as well is in the open court but her explosiveness off the dribble is very good, especially in transition as she blows by the defender with ease. She gave me a few acrobatic finishes and showed she could score from outside but her defense was smothering at times 

2031 Girls Jr Phenoms Top Performers

DANYLA KILPATRICK & NATALIE TURNER

 This was a very talented group of players heading to the 6th grade but always remember to keep working because this can flip in the blink of an eye. I speak about "on the court" progression a lot, I will always keep it real because I HAVE BEEB THROUGH THIS multiple ways so if I say something, hopefully, it's absorbed but here ya go

Isabella Perez showed the pull-up jumper several times and was able to knock it down with a hand in her face. She does a good job creating her shot for that jumper or attacking the basket off the dribble. Her ballhandling was solid, and so was her court vision but she also did a good job defending 

Natalie Turner showed me a whole lot yet her rebounding and going coast to coast was one thing, her court vision in the set as well as in transition was very good. She already has the change of pace going full speed down, her attacking and finishing are solid, first step sets it up, but she can drop the jumper and she plays the passing lane

Aubrey Agnew does something I love to see and that's playing the passing lane yet her handling the ball afterward to either take it to the basket to score was nice, yet so was her seeing the floor and making good decisions on which teammate to pass the ball to

Danyla Kilpatrick is already showing signs of being explosive off the dribble and even better, she's under control while doing it. She has the HEZ and the STUTTA to get the defender to lean and her body control on her finishes is ahead of her years

Jayde Blanton is tall and agile and may reach that magic number of 6'0 yet her skillset at this stage is good, she comprehends simple things like boxing out and running the floor but she did a good job rebounding and finishing around the basket plus she showed she could drop the jumper from midrange

Kennedy Clearman showed that defensive pressure off the top and watching her apply "on the ball" heat baseline to baseline over and over was refreshing, to say the least. Her energy level stays the same, she also picked some pockets and her seeing the floor set her teammates up for easy looks 

KENNEDY CLEARMAN & ZA'LYNN GUERRERO

Delaney Herrera gave me a great look at her crossover and watching her use it in the open court as well as in the set to get by defenders was nice yet even nicer was her court vision and "on the money" passes in traffic. She scored off the dribble and had nice body control and dropped the jumper

Zay'Lynn Guerrero is an athletic guard that understands how to use her athleticism on both ends, check her defense above, she does a good job "on the ball" but she also did a good job of attacking the basket, the first step is deceptive yet it got her by the defender and she also dropped the jumper 

Olivia Snyder rebounded and handled the ball afterward which is always a good sign but watching her attacking the basket in the set and finishing with either hand dropped the mic, well my notebook because that is HUGE. Her body control is nice, and so is her court vision 

Riley Phillips has good size and does a really good job of going after the ball off the rim. She was yet another player that could handle the ball and go coast to coast to finish after rebounding but she also did a good job of attacking the basket and finishing in the set. Oh yeah, she played the passing lane 

Victori Villareal has a lot of intangibles going starting with playing the passing lane yet she's long and athletic, that's another nd can score off the dribble, body control helps her finish after contact. She also rebounded and went C2C, coast to coast, and her mid to long-range jumper added even more 

2032/33 Girls Jr Phenoms Top Performers

BAILEE SYNATSCHK

I had a blast covering the Girls Jr Phenom Camp and was overly excited at the abundance of potential I saw in so many of the players in attendance, most of which I have never seen before. I started covering girls' basketball in Texas over 15 years ago because I felt they weren't getting enough attention while I was running across the country coaching my own daughters. 

My youngest has been playing in the WNBA for almost 10 years while the oldest, who was more skilled, told me in high school she didn't want to continue playing after hurting her Achilles, she's now an attorney and I tease her by saying "I guess it worked it out after all" 

Here's the deal, everyone is different and has different paths, keep working on your game if this is what you want, I have seen players get cut in the 9th grade that wound up playing at  the next level, some at the highest of the next so here is my first article as I'm starting with the youngest and working my way up, high school players will be on my website 

Bailee Synatschk (2032) is "long and athletic" which I call the base and it's a profile I love to evaluate. One thing that immediately stood out was her "playing the passing lane" another thing I love to see and handle the ball afterward. She also rebounded and went coast to coast to score yet she took the defender off the dribble and showed nice body control on her finishes 

Campbell Baldwin (2033) is an athletic guard that already understands how to use her athleticism on both ends. Her "on the ball" defense helped create turnovers, her lateral movement and recognizing when to switch stood out, so did her ballhandling in the open court and she handled the ball while being pressured. She rebounded and attacked the basket strongly for buckets

Jaslyn Kuluwaimaka (2033) had me smiling off the top as I tweeted about her intensity and one thing I love is seeing things you can't teach. She falls into a category I hashtag #sizedontmatter because she can play and her ability at this stage to create her shot to get it off or attack the basket is ahead of her years, so is her understanding of "positioning" to outrebound taller players  

Khaila Key (2033) has the right last name because she's already "unlocking" many things on the court. Her ballhandling and court vision are definitely going to create problems as her "on the court" progression" continues but peep this, she's already showing the "step-back". Her first step is deceptive as it enabled her to get by the defender to score and she has quick hands which got her some steals

Tegan Jensen (2033) did a good job creating her shot and I can tell she's been watching her older sister based on her mannerisms. Her pull-up jumper in the set was nice, she even showed it in transition but her playing within herself and not forcing anything also stood out to me. She also attacked the basket and finished plus her defense was solid

Top Performers 7th Grade Division #TheLegendsTournament

 For teams who didn't turn in rosters, I saw little or NONE of them yet I did catch a few, asked for their names, and placed them on Prep Girls Hoops. Some of the names are probably wrong, yet if you watched The Wire, I don't do DOOVERS unless it was my mistake, well not even then all the time but here ya go

SHOWCASE

Madison Makil- already understands how to create her shot under pressure and drop it from outside. Her deceptive first step helped her get to the basket bad finish

Xyasis Williams- is a long and athletic guard that attacked strongly and finished after contact. She also showed she could drop it from outside 

Sophia Gomez- does a good job seeing the floor and making good decisions on her passes. She also scored off the dribble and showed nice body control on her finishes 

Nina Gianetti showed the pull-up jumper Maleah Hamilton used her body in the paint on both ends and Aniya Ray used her athleticism on both offense and defense 

HOUSTON LADY NETS

Justyce Long- rebounded on both ends, ran the floor, scored around the basket and on putbacks, plus she showed the pull-up jumper

Lundyn Bush-mot only did she show that she could drop the long ball, but she also showed she could "catch and shoot" it. Her "on the ball" defense was very nice

Kylie Mohammed- played the passing lane numerous times and handled the ball in the open court afterward. She also scored off the dribble and played solid defense

Mykah Williams- is an ULTRA athletic guard with a scary upside and with her being long and playing the passing lane, that's part of it. Another part is her timing to block shots and she dropped the mid to long-range jumper

Imon Daniels- also played the passing lane a few times, showed a deceptive first step to attack the basket

Tyionna Chatman- was another athletic guard that scored off the dribble, played the passing lane as well as "on the ball" defense 

Top Performers 5th/6th Grade Division #TheLegendsTournament

To the novice that believes EYBL teams recruit players based on pictures, this probably would be one as you can tell by seeing a long and athletic player with UPS yet most are not REAL EVALUATORS who just see the little things that go unnoticed so I caught several "stars of tomorrow" from this division, Zoe Torres (Just Play) left a lasting first impression and got the cover on Prep Girls Hoops but here are some others

Lady Drive Nation

Kaliyah Nance is "long and athletic" which will always be the BASE and she scored off the dribble, attacking with either hand and finishing after contact. Her defense was solid and she played the passing lane

#24 scored off the dribble numerous times yet her body control was very nice as it helped her stay with it after the lick and finish. She also showed the jumper from outside and played solid defense, nice upside

Aiyana Murphy falls into that #sizedontmatter category because she can play and watching her battle for rebounds and score on putbacks against taller players was enough but she also scored off the dribble 

Jahyla Lewis played solid "on the ball" defense baseline to baseline and when you factor in she played the passing lane and handled the ball in the open court, well her upside is solid

Tamaya Simmons used her athleticism on both ends as she attacked strongly while also applying heat on the defensive end 

Stackz Elite

Ta'niyah Jones has some really scary upside, she's a 2032 playing up and I'm already impressed with what she brings to the table. She's heady and fearless, handles the ball, and saw the floor under pressure, scored off the dribble, and applied "on the ball" pressure defensively 

Kristie McCray is "long and athletic" which is a profile I love to evaluate and her intangibles are abundant as she showed the pull-up jumper and scored off the dribble but her defense as well as playing the passing lane also stood out, so does her upside 

A'Zryiah Ayers played the passing lane numerous times and handled the ball afterward. She saw the floor in the set as well as in transition, she scored off the dribble and finished after contact plus she did a good job defensively 

Paris Shepherd does a  good job applying heat on the defensive end, both in the half and full court yet quick hands helped create turnovers. Her pull-up jumper was nice, and she also scored off the dribble from multiple angles