Standouts From The National Basketball Championship
To close out this year’s grassroot season many of Texas’ and its bordering states conjoined in Dallas. Hundreds of ball players packed the DFWs gym to come out of July with a brand new title, national champion. Below are seven…
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Continue ReadingTo close out this year’s grassroot season many of Texas’ and its bordering states conjoined in Dallas. Hundreds of ball players packed the DFWs gym to come out of July with a brand new title, national champion. Below are seven of the tournament’s stand outs each willing their teams to deep tournament runs well into the final four.
Alexsyah Goudeau Sequoyah High 2022
Ms. Goudeau was a standout for her Shock 2022 squad. She darted through defenses, made open shots, and showed a ton of confidence against her peers.
Her calm demeanor makes it look like she’s barely trying against her peers. It also helped her deal with the pressure the opposing team through at her on the break.
Alexsyah’s leadership shines through as she directed her teammates when running the offense. She even checked the team’s defensive assignments while at the free throw line preparing for the next phase of the game.
Athleticism made defense easy for her as she racked several steals by sprinting to spots before the attended target. Her defensive vision went hand in hand with her athleticism she saw plays before they developed and blew them up the minute the ball left the passer’s hands.
The rising sophomore used that same vision to drop a few nice assists. One came on the break the other in the flow of the offense. Though the pass on the break came late, she put it right on the numbers between two defenders.
Taiyana Pitts Rowlett High School 2021
Taiyana Pitts is a speeding BULLET. The 5′ 3” guard played both guard positions and held her own but she’s best served at the point. Her speed is evident whether the ball is in her hands or if she’s running the break.
She zips through defense speeding past any would be defenders. Her speed isn’t overpowered by her coordination. She stops on a dime change speeds at the drop of a dime keeping defenders off balance.
Pitts tight handles couple well with her speed. She’s able to use dribble moves with limited space probing the paint and collapsing the defense to get open shots for teammates.
When aggressive she stresses defenses from all over the court. Her primary scoring option seems to be attacking the rim. Even as one of the smaller players on the court she absorbs contact and finishes at a high rate and draws fouls. She connects on more than 80% of her free throws in most of her games. She doesn’t exhibit much of a midrange but from three her smooth jump shot connects with ease.
Maya Devance Rowlett High School 2020
Clocking in at a shade under Maya is an undersized post with a nose for the ball. When engaged it’s hard to not see the ball and Maya less than three feet away.
She knows how to use her size in the post on offense. She favors her right on both sides of the block and knows how to wedge her body between defenders to protect her shot.
Devance is so light on her feet yet so forceful she looks like an expressive dancer a time. Within five feet of the post, she’s looking to score using drop steps and spin moves to get where wants. She understands angles and invites contact knowing she can get to the free throw line where she went 6-6. The free throws may be a sign of things to as she confidently launched a deep three that rimmed in and out.
Maya doesn’t only have sweet feet in the post but on the perimeter. Though she was used sparingly on the wing, she executed a head fake dribble drive that got her into the paint for kick outs to wide open teammates.
Though she wasn’t the tallest person on the court, she’s understanding the rules of verticality. She received three fouls when going vertical but encroaching in the shooter’s space but when her feet are set she makes it really hard for taller competition and driving opponents to shoot over her. Her defensive awareness was welcomed as she stepped over for a timely charge down the stretch of the game.
Kisa Unruh Kansas Gameball 2021
Kisa is the engine that makes the Kansas Gameball run. The 5′ 8” guard leads her team to double digit victory flashing lead guard instincts throughout.
She showed confidence in her jump shot even through all of her points came at the hoop. When catching the ball on the perimeter she used head fakes to send defenders on the closeout flying past her.
The rising junior’s court vision separates her from her competition. She threw teammates open before they knew it catching them by surprise. Her box score is a bit misleading especially when you look at her assist and turnovers. The 5 turnovers she recorded are inflated by two passes meant for cutting teammates that would have been wide open to shoot.
The Kansas native had one of the best handles on the opening day of the National Basketball Championship. She split defenses and calmly escaped traps that the other team set. On several occasions, she presses using hesitations dribbles to slip through traffic.
Kisa also relies on a consistent jumper that teams find it hard to key on thanks to her ball handling. She shot in the upper thirties from three for the tournament and mixed in a few dribble drive pull-ups from midrange.
Aniyah Johnson Lady Drive Nation 2021
Aniyah Johnson is one of the most versatile 2021s at the National Basketball Championship event. She’s showed glimpses of 1-5 but thanks to her size will ultimately stick as a combo for most of high school career.
Usually the tallest player on the court she doesn’t rely on guards to bring the ball up the court opting to go coast to coast when she gets the rebound. From there she attacks the basket with a full head of steam charging to the rim. As forceful as that sounds her ball skills make her elusive on the break. She uses both hands to maneuver before finishing softly off the rim.
On the off chance, Aniyah Johnson doesn’t beat the offense she dives into the left post where she has a few pet moves she goes into. With a solid base, her go to move is the left hook which she tries to get to whether she goes left shoulder or right. When neither of those are feasible she has a fade-away that at this level few can contest. When scoring isn’t an option, she’s not afraid to take a retreat dribble and reset the offense with a kick out to the guard.
She not only uses her size to create baskets she uses it to protect the paint. Between the semi-final and final, she earned double digit blocks without leaving her feet. Against better competition, she may run into fouls trouble when she doesn’t use her verticality but for now, the extension of her long arms curtails any would be layups.
Mollie Daniel Team Platinum
Mollie Daniel is an offensive dynamo. She controls the pace of the game and without her team sputters. With the ball on her hands, she’s engaged and constantly looking for a way to score.
She orchestrates everything from the pick and roll to wing isolation in an efficient way that more often than not leads to a bucket or a trip to the free throw line. She’s set on scoring the ball at almost any cost.
She’s a confident ball handler who sizes defenders up with one to two dribble moves before slashing to the rim. Her creativity off the bounce uses more than just her pet move, hesitation right to left cross, to create for herself and others.
Daniel’s uses her time off the ball to catch her breath but stays in position for a teammate’s kick out. At this level, she’s so dynamic on offense that even without the ball she has so much gravity that she opens up lanes for her team.
In the semis and finals, she didn’t show off her jump shot only shooting 5 between the two games but she didn’t really have to most of her points came from the paint. Daniel’s a two time state champion is entering her freshman year at Eastern Texas Baptist University where she plans to continue her winning ways.
Bowden Janecek Lee Green Basketball 2020
Bowden is a confident two-way player. She’s best used off ball where her IQ and shooting shines the brightest. When tasked with ball handling duties she’s economic with her dribbles looking for the next play or the lead guard ready to reset the offense.
Bowden’s game starts on the defensive side where she drapes over her matchup like a wet blanket. She was tasked with guarding each team’s best perimeter players eliminating them from the offense with tough face guarding.
When her matchup does get the ball she’s in perfect position shadowing her opponent within an inch of their movements. Her long arms allow the high school sophomore to stay in the pocket of the ball handler occasionally forcing them to pick up the ball. Bowden’s impact on defense isn’t reflected in the box score even though she left each game with 1 to 2 steals but she’s more than effective in limiting wing scoring threats.
Janecek stalks the three point line on offense. The rising sophomore was one of the best shooters from deep shooting about 35% from deep for the tournament.
She’s the perfect player to partner a dominant big with and that’s just how her team is set up. She’s a constant threat from deep opening a ton of real estate the big to work. When the big returns the favor she’s there to make the kick out. She’s even showed a solid base for the re-entry pass hitting the post right in their pocket.