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

READ MORE

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.
\
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

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