Southern Metroplex Athletics Brought Heat #PBRNJI

I had a chance to get a very good look at some Southern Metroplex Athletics teams over the past few weeks. The Varsity story gets dropped right here after their Neville Jones Invitational showing and one more time, talent is definitely everywhere 

Jashalyn Hatton-5'10 SF (Frankston) |2023| is long and athletic, I call that the base because that's one of my favorite profiles to evaluate, same for college coaches. She rebounds strongly on both ends, she attacks and finishes strongly and she plays the passing lane yet she also shows good timing to block shots

Diamond Stewart-5'5 SG (Lancaster) |2024| energy galore be it "on the ball" defense or simply diving for loose balls on the floor, she gets after it. On top of that, she plays within herself, doesn't force shots, and showed she could score off the dribble

Maria Ferguson-5'1 SG (Desoto) |2023|she showed she could create her shot under pressure on both days and the jumper was effective. That enabled her to attack the rim from multiple angles but I was just as impressed with the effort she showed on defense

Haven Verrett-5'8 SF/PF (Kennedale) |2024|long and athletic is still the base and she covered many by first of all attacking strongly off the dribble and finishing after contact yet she also outrebounded taller players, she has UPS and watching her elevate JUST DID IT for me

Kyra Jackson-5'9 SG (Mineola) |2025| her ability to play "on the ball" defense baseline to baseline is huge, yet what's huger is her enjoying doing it. She understands how to set the defender up to get trapped, she has nice hands and came away with steals and she has good upside

Wila Davis-5'4 PG (Frankston) |2025| heady point guard that understands how to not only run a team but also "control the tempo" and in the set. she did a good job directing traffic, plus she was vocal on the court yet in transition, she saw the floor very well

Desirae Hatton-5'7 SG (Frankston) |2025| she's long and athletic, see above, both the picture and my calling it "the base" and what she adds is THAT JUMPER for one. She drops shots with a hand in her face, she also has a nice first step to attack the basket and she plays the passing lane

Aaliyah Rose-5'5 PG (Lincoln) |2023|not only can she take the defender off the dribble with either hand. the first step is hard to handle, she also finishes strongly using good body control and does it after contact. She also can shoot it, mid to long range

Honorable Mention 

Jayla Jackson-5'9 SG (Mineolaa) |2025|

Destiny Drake-5'6 SF (Kennedale) |2024|

Isyss Collins-5'4 SG (WW Samuel) |2025|

Sharielle Johnson-5'4 SF (Seguin) |2023|

Aubrey Kincade-5'6 SF (Neches) |2025|

Ramsey Ferguson-5'3 SG (Desoto) |2024|

 

2022 Prime Time Nationals 5th Grade Tip Sheet

 

Krush Queens 2029 Pink defeated Victory Elite for the CHAMPIONSHIP while Reign 2029 finished in 3rd place and I caught bits and pieces of those teams yet no pictures. Nevertheless, I saw enough to give you a Tip Sheet on some of the top players from the event 

Avante Hicks (DC Queens Waco 2029) long and athletic is the base, you will see me writing and saying that a lot because I love being repetitive as many never get it but she definitely GETS IT and gets after it. She scores off the dribble with ease and she can drop the long ball, plus she plays the passing lane

Sa'Niya Douglas (Krush Queens 2029 Green) is long and athletic, she scored off the dribble and understood how to set the defender up by creating her shot. That also enabled her to show the jumper and she too played the passing lane

Gabby Archer (Victory Elite) scored well both off the dribble and the pull-up jumper yet her court vision was really good also. She handled the ball under pressure, that's always a plus and she, you guessed it, played the passing lane

Imerii Ingram (BST Academy) I hashtag #sizedontmatter a lot because it doesn't when you can play and she can definitely play. She uses her athleticism well on both ends, scores off the dribble, and even showed the FLOTA and can drop the long ball but her ball-handling and court vision under pressure was solid

Preslee Romero (Reign 2029) understood something very valuable, especially at this stage and that's how to get hers "in the flow". She also did something else I love seeing and that's "played within herself" but her solid defense and scoring off the dribble were nice

Londyn Ramsey (Pro Skills 2029 Nationals) is long and athletic, yep, I love that profile but more importantly, so do college coaches so what are her intangibles? Plays the passing lane, scored off the dribble, and went after rebounds on both ends

Aurianna Walter (Krush Queens Pink 2029) heady basketball player that JUST DID IT for me years ago when I caught her at Cynthia Guillory's event. My friend is no longer with us but this organization has talent throughout and Re Re just goes at you. She showed the pull-up and scored off the dribble but her "on the ball" defense helped create turnovers 

Amiyah Cheatham (Krush Queens Pink 2029) size does matter when you can play and with her frame and agility right now, well her strength as well, her upside is very nice. She rebounded on both ends, ran the floor and showed she could finish 

2022 Prime Time Nationals 4th Grade Tip Sheet

 

I always get a kick out of watching the younger players get after it, the score never matters to me because I'm a REAL evaluator that understands the small things that turn out to be big, also the #sizedontmatter players that can play but the abundance of talent on this PLATFORM that will be household names had me beaming as well as those who already showing signs so here are some of my standouts from the teams I caught in the 4th Grade Division, won by Wet Texas Canes 2030

Ashten Childs (West Texas Canes 2030) long and athletic is the base, always and always will but she's already adding intangibles like playing the passing lane and going after everything off the rim. Her floater is nice and she has good timing to block shots

Makayla Jefferson (West Texas Canes 2030) is one of those #sizedontmatter guards that JUST DID IT for me. She scores both off the dribble and using the pull-up jumper but watching her "on the ball" defense as well as playing the passing lane was more than solid

Bhrecklyn Robertson (WestTexas Canes 2030) also played the passing lane and used her athleticism well on both ends, defending baseline to baseline or attacking the basket powerfully

Adelina Kennard  (West Texas Canes 2030) showed she could create her shot under pressure to either attack the rim and finish with contact or shoot the jumper 

Ariana Medlock (True Texas Hoops 2030 National) scary upside for this young lady as she already has the frame to damage in the paint but watching her rebound and go coast to coast to finish was very impressive, and so was her rebounding on both ends

Aaliyah Spencer (True Texas Hoops 2030 National) her court vision alone sold me and playing under control and making the right passes is ahead of her years. She's also long and athletic, even showed the EURO

Kennedy Vation (Team Phenom) is long and athletic, attacked strongly from multiple angles, and played the passing lane

Jordan Dawson (Hoop Society 2030) athletic guard that scored off the dribble as well as showed the jumper but she saw the floor and handled the ball well under pressure 

Stella Wall (True Texas Hoops 2030 Blue) is long and athletic, yeah that's still the base but add UPS to her pluses as well as her ability to finish strongly after contact 

Kinley Walker ( Texas Heat 2030) scored off the dribble multiple times but her ability to dish the ball while attacking was nice, so was her intensity on both ends of the court

2022 Prime Time Nationals 3rd Grade Tip Sheet

Loyalty, Hustle, and Strength defeated BTR (OK) in the championship and I had a pretty good look at both squads on Saturday prior to Championship Sunday however I had a chance to look at the other 6 teams in the 3rd Grade Division as well so here are some of the STANDOUTS 

Journi Moore (BTR 2031) played the p;assing lane very well, understands how and when to attack the basket but her handling of the ball and seeing the floor are ahead of her years. She also did a good job defending

Liberty Morton-Hatten (BTR 2031) creates her shot nicely to either score off the dribble or show a legitimate jumper, yes a JUMPER but her "on the ball" pressure and quick hands enablked her to get steals

Lucy Davis (True Texas Hoops 2031) heady player that already "gets it" and her comprehension of the game and handling pressure had me smiling. She creates her shot, drops the pull-up and sees the floor

KK Granger (Destined For Greatness 2031) an athletic guard that alreadys falls into that "never takes a play off" category. Her "on the ball" defense as well as her consistently attacking the basket were nice

Sage Humble (Loyalty, Hustle and Strength 2030) long and athletic is the base, she also has good timing to block shots but her handling in the open court the ball at her size  was impressive, she even showed the pull-up

Taylin Urune (Loyalty Hustle and Strength 2030) saw the floor very well but her first step is going to create some problems as she attacked the basket from every angle. Solid defender that also played the passing lane

Armani Reed (Loyalty, Hustle and Strength 2030) long and athletic is still the base, she played the passing lane well, she scored off the dribble from the wing and she rebounded but her defenese was also solid

Trinity Boyd (DC Queens 2031) showed me quite a bit as she handled the ball effortlessly coast to coast under pressure, scored both off the dribble and from outside, even showed the step back but her BB-IQ is WOW, so is her mindset

Makayla Thompson (Krush 2031) her OTB, on the ball defense, got me going but she also handled the ball under pressure, scored off the dribble and saw the floor

Amiya Coburn (Krush 2031) scored off the dribble multiple times but she used her athleticism very well, that showed as her pressure defense helped create turnovers but her court vision was impressive as well

Claire Watkins (Lady Wolves 2031) I tweeted how impressed I was with her diving on the floor for a loose ball, before her game started watching a game but she kept the momentum going when she played and still went after the ball, scored off the dribble and played the passing lane

Nana Ya Sam (Lady Unity 2031) her court vision is way ahead of her years, so are her blazing "on the money" passes but she scored attacking the basket strongly and applied heat on defense, baseline to baseline