Houston Lady Nets #SimmieColsonClassic 6th Grade Division

This squad played only on Sunday and I caught them briefly

Zoe Whitaker continues to impress me by not only being savvy and having a BB-IQ ahead of her years but also her court vision, which continues to create some problems, and her ballhandling under pressure. She understands how to set the defender up multiple ways and watching her add a spin move in traffic to attack and score off the dribble is special

Zoe Alaniz is "long and athletic" which is the base and she appears to be on her way to "the magic number" She rebounds, on both ends, does a good job defensively, and scores off the dribble

Layla Love understands how to use her athleticism on both ends and when she wasn't applying heat on the defensive end, she was hitting the boards but her powerful first step to attack the basket and finishing showing the FLOATA  JUST DID IT  for me

Kingwood Hoops #SimmieColsonClassic 6th Grade Division

 

I had a chance to catch Gracie Gille who plays on the 8th grade team a few months ago at an individual showcase and was so impressed that I saw her speaking with her mom and introduced myself. When the mom told me she used to play for Kingwood High School and told me her maiden name, Hollie Beamon, I went back to another era. Mom graduated in 2005, the deepest class ever from the Houston area where over 100 players wound up playing at the next level, over 40 D1, so that's a fun fact for the novices

More on the older group later as the 6th grade team is filled with some talented players and Emma Lucas, Haven Garland, and Heidi Gille all made my 2031 Super Watch on Prep Girls Hoops see evaluations here

Tenley Barker falls into that #sizedontmatter group that I love to hashtag when they can play and she can. She is a fierce competitor who applies heat on defense but also sees the floor and handles the ball under pressure

Bridget Johnson also falls into that #sizedontmatter group and seeing her dive on the floor for loose balls gets her another hashtag #THROWBACK Her "on the ball" defense was tough, she made good decisions, her court vision was solid and she scored off the dribble

Chloe Martinez was yet another, you guessed it, #sizedontmatter guard who gave me a lot. Yes, she plays tough defense and handled the ball under pressure but her attacking the basket to score using nice body control was nice, and so was her crossover

Texas Thunder #SimmieColsonClassic 6th Grade Division

 

A solid group of 2031s had me smiling starting with Makayla Craig and Raegan Davidson who my Super Watch Tip Sheet of Prep Girls Hoops read more  yet let me say this, upside galore all through this squad

Ariana Raeissi brings so much to the table, but let me start with she's a #sizedontmatter player who did quite a few things that impressed me. Her quick hands got steals, and she also dove on the floor for loose balls but her slight HEZ to get by defenders to score was nice, so was her jumper, catch and shoot included

Tristen Richmond was another #sizedontmatter guard who handled the ball effortlessly under pressure and had a nice first step to blow by defenders and finish off the dribble. Her court vision was also nice, as was the "on the ball" heat she applied baseline to baseline

Melanie Parker is strong and she finishes powerfully off the dribble as well as inside the paint. She hit the boards on both ends and even went coast to coast to score yet her first step in the set was tough as she attacked using solid body control after contact and did a good job defensively 

Abby Mariscal is heady and plays within herself yet her staying under control while being pressured along with getting hers in the flow was nice. She also falls into that #sizedontmatter group and when you can play, it doesn't matter. Her "catch and shoot" from outside also needs to be mentioned 

Brielle James is a "long and athletic" guard as you can see in the first photo, she can elevate on her jumper as well as around the basket first step is solid, as is her body control. She played tough defense, and played the passing lane

K5 Elite #SimmieColsonClassic 6th Grade Division

 

I can always count on getting a heads-up from Omar Sneed about up-and-coming talent from around the Beaumont area. Sneed is a former professional basketball player and now a D1 college coach so he and I go way back and before you say how far? 

How about 2018 when I first saw his daughter Kendall Sneed and  I dropped that #D1Lock on her shortly after, I keep receipts, she's playing for Tulane but not just playing, she was named Freshman Of The Year in her conference

Omar gave me a heads up about K5, Kendall's team and I've already dropped a couple of players from the 2031 class Terraji Johnson and Abblynn Balderas on Prep Girls Hoops as they're already on my 2031 Watchlist but how about some others from that class. Kassidy Sumbler, Elizabeth Amlalo, and Grayson Cooper are all athletic guards who applied "on the ball" heat and showed they could score off the dribble but a couple of 2030's will be on the PGH Watchlist for their class

Kimora West, pictured above, is not only tall but "long and athletic" which is the base. Her timing was nice, she dove on the floor for loose balls but watching her go AFTA everything off the rim and play the passing lane was enough. Then she showed she could score around the basket as well as off the dribble

Jordan Joubert is close to having that #D1Lock dropped on her, peep this, she's vocal on the court, something many guards heading to college don't do, and watching her direct traffic blew me away. Her BB-IQ is off the chart, she saw the floor through a microscope but alas, she's a long and athletic guard and that too is the base. She has the HEZ, the STUTTA, and a variety of other moves to get to the rim but those BIG GIRL PASSES JUST DID IT FOR ME