Five Breakout Players from #TheGrind in Houston
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One thing I know is talent, on and off the court, and girls’ basketball has changed dramatically since I first started paying attention around the turn of the century and if you don’t know what that means, you probably won’t…
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Continue ReadingOne thing I know is talent, on and off the court, and girls’ basketball has changed dramatically since I first started paying attention around the turn of the century and if you don’t know what that means, you probably won’t comprehend much of what I say but I try and make things as simple as possible and doing the simple things right in girls basketball has helped plenty of players grab opportunities to play at the next level so that, along with working on your skills, nothing like on the job training to implement what you learn, can help you dramatically but here are five from Saturday
Tessa Swag (Swag Elite)
Probably not her last name, I’m doing the best I can with rosters and dealing multiple numbers but she is worthy of being here simply because of the cheering section making noise when she launched the long ball which tells me she has hit some. Her shot is nice, I didn’t see any threes but I saw her attack from everywhere, create her shot under pressure and flip the script and apply pressure on the other end. When she stole the ball back times playing the passing lane, I had seen enough
2023
Makayla Evans (Cy Fair Premier Black)
Evans has taken some turns upwards offensively, yeah she caught my eye in the 7th grade playing defense baseline to baseline as well as blowing me away with her ability to play the passing lane but she’s attacking and using that same gifted athleticism on the offensive end as she glides in the air and uses her “hang time” nicely to finish, even after contact. I also love what she’s doing with the pull-up jumper, plenty of upside
Jaydan Davenport Jaydan Davenport 5'10" | PF College Station | 2023 State TX (Lady Thunder)
Davenport was the surprise of the event, not because of what she did but what she has added in a short span of time and watching her play with confidence and fire, she’s added some lighting to the Thunder. She came in off the bench and made an immediate impact not only scoring but rebounding and defending yet she also changed the momentum to help open the game up with that desire I spoke of earlier and the “you won’t outwork me” mindset and all of this stuff I’m giving you class, is simple throwback things
Elyssa Ripley (Texas Energy)
Ripley definitely made me believe it or not as she showed me a lot in the few minutes I watched the squad and the one thing that kept pulling me was the energy she brings to the team and that energy seemed to trickle down to her teammates. She creates her shot nicely under pressure and can knock the midrange down with ease. That same creativity allows her to attack the basket but another thing she showed me as I was packing up to move was how she played the passing lane effortlessly
2025
Chandler Caver Chandler Caver 5'9" | CG Hightower | 2025 State TX (Cy Fair Premier White)
Caver is way ahead of the game and the numerous times I’ve seen her at Showcases doing a good job during the skill session yet turning it completely on in the 5 on 5 at those sessions against players sometimes 5 or more years older has me dropping a very very important phrase YOU need to comprehend with approaching me about rankings or anything, “it’s not what you do, it’s who you do it against” and she has star written all over her because she can score, defend and is poised under pressure