Rankings Review: 2021 Power Forwards
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Texas Top 10 PGH Power Forwards, based on who I have personally seen well 11, I had to get AB in this Jada Malone Jada Malone 6'3" | PF The Village School | 2021 State #30 Nation TX -6’3 The…
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Continue ReadingTexas Top 10 PGH Power Forwards, based on who I have personally seen well 11, I had to get AB in this
Jada Malone Jada Malone 6'3" | PF The Village School | 2021 State #30 Nation TX -6’3 The Village School (Texas A&M)
Going from a back-to-the-basket decoy player is something a lot of young tall players endure yet when they have the drive to be more than that, those players usually excel and that is definitely what Malone has done. A TAPPS-6A State Championship sandwiched between a couple of runner-ups says a lot but watching her not only score at will on the inside to drop the mid to long as well as handling the ball in the open court has brightened many of my days. Her rebounding, on both ends, and her defense, inside and outside the paint shot up every season, which speaks volumes
Aniyah Johnson Aniyah Johnson 6'0" | PF Red Oak | 2021 State TX -6’0 Red Oak (North Texas)
Her athleticism just jumps right at you, kind of like she does after the ball off the glass, which she follows or when she plays the passing lane and being long and athletic as well as able to handle the ball, that led to baskets going the other way. She has good timing to change shots, well deflect and posterized blocks but her finishes, acrobatic after contact are very nice
Zoe Nelson Zoe Nelson 6'1" | PF Hendrickson | 2021 State TX -6’1 Hendrickson (Stephen F Austin)
Nelson saved her best for last as she helped lead her team on a fantastic run in the state playoffs. I was amazed at watching her play all 5 positions before high school and she did the same after entering it and why not, she handles the ball, sees the floor, attacks strongly and finishes, and can shoot the mid to long but this season, she put her team on her back and that ” will to win” us something that can’t be taught
Amani Bartlett Amani Bartlett 6'1" | PF Houston Christian | 2021 State #88 Nation TX -6’3 Houston Christian (Syracuse)
When you commit to a BCS program, Tennessee, in the 8th grade, shall I stop? No, because she didn’t and after reconsidering, she battled injuries yet she persevered and wound up scoring over 1000 points in a couple of years and got back to BCS status but with her frame and her power not to mention her outside shooting as well as taking defenders from the wing or straight down the middle, she has been a joy
Zarria Carter Zarria Carter 5'8" | PF Mansfield | 2021 State TX -5’8 Mansfield (Texas Wesleyan)
I wrote she has that #THROWBACK mentality I used to see abundantly and when you have that “you won’t outwork me” mindset, well and a nice skillset, she just puts together complete games on both ends. She understands positioning, she outrebounds players much taller on both ends, she attacks and finishes after contact and she applies so much pressure on defense that I was sweating
Jade Goynes Jade Goynes 5'10" | PF North Crowley | 2021 State TX -5’10 North Crowley
Goynes does quite a few things quite well, her first step enables her to keep defenders guessing because she can attack powerfully and finish after contact yet she can also drop the midrange consistently but she also rebounds and zig zags coast to coast with the ball and trying to stop her in the open court is hard to do because she goes hard, that’s the same way she plays defense by the way
Da’Necia Trusty Da’Necia Trusty 6'0" | PF Hastings | 2021 State TX -6’0 Hastings (Missouri)
Coming back from a knee injury is different for every player but she’s long and athletic and her desire to grab the ball off the glass is what first grabbed my attention and that in itself told me she’d come back strong. She has good timing for blocks, she can play interior or perimeter defense, and watching her play the passing lane is something to see. Her offense around the basket gives her another dimension and she still has plenty of upside
Zaria Rufus Zaria Rufus 5'11" | PF Duncanville | 2021 State TX -5’11 Duncanville
Helped her team win the UIL 6A State Championship as a junior and for that, she was named to the All Tournament team but her poise has always stood out, and scoring in the clutch in the playoffs to help secure the championship isn’t something that just happened as she’s always been a player that hit big shots yet she understands how to get hers in the flow and make things happen without even touching the ball
Asjha Leake Asjha Leake 6'0" | PF Steele | 2021 State TX -6’1 Cibolo Steele (Southern Mississippi)
Power in the paint and watching that power progress over the years told me she had put in a lot of work yet last summer, two things, her midrange was really impressive but when she attacked the rim from 12 feet over and over, that, combined with her frame just jumped out at me because that was next-level stuff. Solid rebounder and defends well in the paint
Alexis Babineaux Alexis Babineaux 6'1" | PF Westfield | 2021 State TX -6’1 Westfield (Abilene Christian)
Another player that started out with her back to the basket yet she was athletic and scored frequently by just outworking others. A growth spurt, she added muscle as well but that wasn’t all she added as she still had that ability and mindset to BATTLE on the inside but seeing her add the midrange, as well as attack off the dribble and finish, has been very good to see
Asia Broughton Asia Broughton 6'1" | PF Cypress Ridge | 2021 State TX -6’1 Cy Ridge (Southern Mississippi)
Yet another back-to-the-basket player that put in so much work and a few weeks ago, I made it a point to catch her before college and I was speechless. Yeah, I know how powerful she inside but watching her attack relentlessly in the open court a couple of seasons ago had me stand up yet this season, she was spinning in the paint finishing with both hands as well as showing the stop and pop jumper