Lady Diamonds 7th Grade Black #AllEyezOnShe Runner-Up

 The Lady Diamonds gave me a good look when they played in the Simmie Colson Classic last season and here we go, I always look for progression and they traveled from the Rio Grande with 6 players who all gave me an even better look this past weekend, here ya go

Evan Ayala- scores off the dribble after attacking the basket from multiple spots and watching her finish after contact was nice, especially when you factor in her body control. Her first step is nice, she creates her shot under pressure and knocks down the mid to long-range jumper with a hand in her face

Jay Berlanga- her court vision is ahead of her years and watching her see the floor from the set as well as in the open court tells me a lot because she can thread the needle and hit teammates going full speed. She also scored off the dribble, also has nice body control plus her timing to block shots was also nice 

Alyssa Ramirez- mixed it up offensively very nicely and her deceptive first step had the defender off balance. She goes baseline and showed the reverse layup but add her court vision as she hit teammates while attacking the basket. Her pull-up jumper was nice and she dropped it from mid to long-range 

Alisela Rangel- just fills up the stat sheet as she understands how to get hers in the flow yet she also does things that don't appear on the stat sheet like forcing players into the trap which leads to turnovers. She attacks with either hand, showed the HEZ to get the defender to lean, and dropped the jumper 

Gena Benavidez- does a good job of playing within herself yet her defensive pressure was nice, both in the set and baseline to baseline and she understands positioning which enabled her to outrebound taller players. Her first step is nice, she got the basket and finished strongly and her body control was solid 

Ragelani Garcia- I wrote BATTLES for a number of reasons and watching her go after loose balls, off the rim as well as on the floor, just had me smiling. She scored on putbacks against taller players yet she attacks the basket strongly and finishes after contact. Her court vision was also nice, as well as her defense 

Phoenix 2028 7th Grade Black #AllEyezOnShe Champions

 I had several conversations with Coach Myers, director and head coach of the Phoenix organization and he told me he had quite a few players on a variety of teams I needed to see because of their potential and guess what, he was "on the money" so let me start with his 2028 squad who won the championship in their division 

Grace Dorr-what I enjoyed over everything else she did was watching her BATTLE for rebounds and loose balls, which is very important, especially at this stage. She also scored off the dribble and has nice body control

Erica Taylor- huge upside for this talented point guard, remember the game starts at the 1 and her understanding of how to run a team and control the tempo puts her ahead of the game. Solid court vision, the deceptive first step, yet watching her slice by defenders to score after contact was nice, and so was her pull-up jumper

Kamryn Fox- I'm going out on a limb, well actually I'm not because this young lady is going to fall into that "nightmare to defend" group I talk about and please remember, I'm never wrong about this stuff. She sees the floor and makes 20-foot passes in traffic but she can also drop it from that spot, well mid to long-range. She attacks strongly and finishes after the lick

Karis Brown- hit the boards hard on both ends and guess what, she ran the floor on both ends. She also set the defender up to attack the basket from the outside, contact wasn't a problem, and her body control played a part in that. She also showed the pull-up jumper yet she did something I love to see and that's "play the passing lane"

Lainey Dixon- long and athletic will always be the base and she stands above "the magic number" which is 6'0  so what are her intangibles. Let me start with her timing on blocking shots, which will keep getting better as her lateral movement to defend outside the paint is solid. She rebounds, and scores around the basket, and her upside is definitely high

Brooke Schilling- stands at "the magic number' plus her timing is on the verge of taking off. She rebounded on both ends, understands positioning and she also used her body around the basket well. Solid defender and very good upside 

Lexi Tutor- showed me the "hands and footwork" is looking good and that will get her some buckets around the basket but watching her use her frame to score was nice, and so was her rebounding

Lily Rich- heady, plays within herself, and understands how to get hers "in the flow". She scored off the dribble, attacked the basket with either hand and she also showed she could create her shot from outside 

Team Tulsa 2025 Shaking It Up

 I can't remember exactly when I met Team Tulsa Coach and Director Samuel Wilson, aka Coach Punchie yet he always brings talented players from Oklahoma proving Oklahoma is still OK. I have caught his squad a few times on the PGH Circuit, in fact, a couple of his 8th graders, Tiana Butler and Aaliyah Simone-Buriss made my Top Performer list while Brianna McIlwee will be on the All-Tournament squad. Butler and Buriss are 2 of the top 8th graders I've seen from Oklahoma, McIlwee leaves me speechless every time I catch her yet 

Calla Fueshko didn't make the tournament and Kamauri Miller was out with an injury yet here are some of the other players that I caught

Abigaile Martin-5'7 G (Charles Page) opened up the PGH Circuit a few weeks ago on FIYA as she dropped threes galore. I asked her if she brought the heat because her hair was red, and she said yes. She added even more as she attacked off the dribble for baskets, and even played the passing lane 

Tay'ja Butler-5'6 CG (Charles Page) is a long and athletic guard that brings the heat on both ends of the court. She understands how to defend, on the ball, and played the passing lane yet she has good court vision and made tough passes look easy. She also scored off the dribble 

Navaeh Williams-5'7 F (Daniel Webster) understands positioning and does a good job of rebounding on both ends, as well as scoring on the inside. She also showed she could defend in the paint and had good lateral movement to step out and guard her man

Jordyn Gilton-5'10 (Charles Page) is POWERFUL inside the paint and that coupled with her upside tells me a lot. She goes after the ball off the rim and with her strength, it's a battle, even for loose balls yet she scores with players literally hanging on her and her pressure defense was nice 

Skylar Overstreet-5'2 G (Union) understands how to use her athleticism on both ends as her "on the ball" pressure is nice, so is her playing the passing lane yet she can handle the ball under pressure as well and shows good court vision. She scores off the dribble, even dropped it from outside