2021 Rankings Update: Newcomers pt 1

I'll break this down into 3 parts starting off with forwards and posts and a couple of these players were caught by me checking out the UIL State Championship Playoffs. I'm just having a moment writing about [player_tooltip player_id="263333" first="Gabby" last="Owens"] and I think back to this talented young lady capturing my eye in the 7th grade and <a href="https://girlzprepreport.blogspot.com/2016/05/lmba-2021-ccclassic.html">if you read the article</a>, you will see what I saw in 2016 <strong>No. 84 [player_tooltip player_id="263333" first="Gabby" last="Owens"]-5'10 SF (George Ranch)</strong> One thing I always look for is progression and Owens was overpowering in the 7th grade, she rebounded and finished yet guess what, season after season, she kept adding to her game to become more than just a back-to-the-basket player. She stepped outside of the paint to show the midrange, then she worked on her handle and attacked with either hand and with her strength, finishing with contact was noting so when she added the 3, I smh watching how she had grown thinking what else could she show me, well the step back and all I could do was smile <strong>No. 86 [player_tooltip player_id="263334" first="Gwen" last="Gilmore"]-6'1 P (Austin Westlake)</strong> I used a play a lot of dominoes with older men coming up and the banter still sticks in my head from one who used to say "you're on Mr. Gilmore's property" so let me flip that because in my last article on this young lady I wrote I hadn't seen her yet not taking my own advice and using the search bar, I had over the years on multiple club teams and the constant was "don't come in Miss Gilmore's property" because, inside the paint, you can almost forget about it, on both ends and her hands and footwork, not mention finishing after contact as well as tough defense makes her hard to handle <strong>No. 94 [player_tooltip player_id="263336" first="Journie" last="Hilliard"]-6'3 P (Dodd City)</strong> I watched her help lead her team to the Texas State UIL 1A Championship as they won 30-21 and she was named MVP and although the game was low scoring, she was virtually unstoppable in the first half scoring 11 of her teams first 15 points. I'll be honest, I haven't paid attention to the smaller classification state games in my 20 years of observing yet she opened my eyes to a lot of things. Her hands and footwork, I love THROWBACK stuff that I was once accustomed to seeing regularly, her soft around the rim or just finishing strongly <strong>No. 96 [player_tooltip player_id="263337" first="Maggie" last="Peacock"]-6'1 P (Lipan)</strong> Those solid basic moves keep me glued on players because I'm a, how can I put this, lover of fundamentals because like long and athletic, that too is the base. She was also another player that was added not only because of her hands and footwork and the fact that she finished after contact yet she's agile and does things fluidly but she keeps the ball high and that gives her options for a nice turnaround jumper in the paint as well as hitting teammates darting to the basket yet it also enables her to start the outlet. Not only did she help lead her team to a UIL 2A State Championship, the was named to the All-Tournament team <strong>No. 100 [player_tooltip player_id="263338" first="Ajailah" last="Ogiemwonyi"]-5'10 SF (John Cooper) </strong> I saw her doing some powerful stuff in my initial sighting and her DESIRE was something that couldn't be taught as well as her BATTLING against taller players for rebounds yet over the offseason, I stopped by  <a href="https://girlzprepreport.blogspot.com/2016/05/lmba-2021-ccclassic.html">Tha Hoop Spot</a> and couldn't believe the transformation as she added more guard skills, that pull-up in transition or just elevating over players for the turnaround jumper made me smile and I was in attendance to see her score her 1000th point en route to leading John Cooper to it's first-ever South Zone Championship as well as being All SPC 3 times