Week 1 Scouting Report: Standout Bigs

The high school basketball season is officially underway in Texas! I had the opportunity to attend two Week 1 matchups. The Hebron Hawks hosted and defeated the Frisco Reedy Lions 54-46 on Tuesday, and the Melissa Cardinals lost a home contest to the McKinney North Bulldogs 61-47 on Friday. Here are five standout bigs from this past week’s action: <strong>Camille Thomas | 2021 | 5’11’’ Power Forward | Hebron HS</strong> - Hebron is without several key players from last year’s team. Thomas appears to have established herself as the senior leader of the Hawks’ current roster. The 5-foot-11-inch forward plays with confidence and a bit of an edge. She is an athletic four who runs the floor in transition and goes up quickly and decisively when she gets a touch near the basket. Her strength and willingness to sacrifice her body on the way to the hoop usually leads to either a bucket or a trip to the foul line. Thomas produces on the boards as well. Her two-way performance in the fourth quarter on Tuesday vs. Frisco Reedy significantly helped Hebron get a win at home. <strong>Katie Sparks | 2021 | 5’10’’ Power Forward | Melissa HS</strong> - Sparks is a skilled big at the four spot. She showed that she has the ability to stretch out and hit mid-range shots, drilling a baseline jumper from the catch for a deep two against McKinney Boyd.  The senior forward also threaded the needle to a cutting teammate, resulting in a gorgeous assist. On defense, Sparks did a good job challenging shots in the paint and sneaking into passing lanes for steals and deflections. She should emerge as one of the central pieces for Melissa this season. <strong>Avery Jackson | 2021 | Center | Frisco Reedy HS</strong> - Jackson’s measurables are not available anywhere online. I’m not a fan of eyeballing a prospect’s height, so all I will say is that she seemed to be about the same height as Hebron’s <strong>Camille Thomas</strong> who is listed at 5-feet-11-inches. Jackson possesses a strong build. However, the Frisco Reedy center is light on her feet and displayed excellent footwork in the post. She does a great job of positioning herself in the paint and making every one of her touches count. Additionally, Jackson has a nice-looking jumper and proved that she can bury shots from both mid-range and behind the three-point line. She is a weapon on offense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="202482" first="Samantha" last="Ising"] | 2022 | 6’3’’ Center | Hebron HS</strong> - Ising boasts tremendous height at 6-feet-3-inches. Her size allows her to finish over the top of defenders with ease, especially when opposing teams don’t have a player big enough to match up with her. She is productive on the glass at both ends and a solid interior defender who isn’t afraid to get physical when protecting the rim. Although she did not have the best night offensively vs. the Lions, Ising showed flashes of just how dominant she can be at that end of the floor. Her upside is through the roof. <strong>Harley Harbour | 2022 | 5’11’’ Power Forward | Frisco Reedy HS</strong> - Harbour’s overall effort and physicality really impressed me at <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2020/07/the-grand-finale-standout-bigs/">The Grand Finale</a> back in July. She showed off some of her other strengths on Tuesday. The junior power forward consistently made smart and accurate passes, both on the perimeter and down low. She also displayed the ability to score over taller post players with some crafty finishes at the basket. She can handle the ball a little bit on the perimeter as well. Defensively, Harbour defended the paint well without committing unnecessary fouls.