Season Rewind: Best Playmakers (2021s)

The Texas high school basketball season is now officially in the books. That makes this a good time to take a look back at some of the prospects that impressed me the most. Scorers typically get all of the headlines, but those who can distribute the ball are just as important to the success of a team. I’ve had the luxury of seeing a ton of dynamic playmakers this season, all of whom had a knack for getting their teammates involved on the offensive end. With that in mind, here are six of the best senior passers from the Dallas-Fort Worth area: <strong>Wendy Clemmons | 2021 | 5’6’’ Point Guard | Melissa HS</strong> - Clemmons was Melissa’s leading scorer, but she was also their leading assist-getter, averaging five dimes per game. The Arkansas Tech commit was a great decision maker in the pick-and-roll and was great at twisting her body in order to get passes through the defense and into the hands of her teammates. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135375" first="Zoe" last="Jackson"] | 2021 | 5’7’’ Point Guard | Allen HS</strong> - Jackson’s passing ability pairs well with her quickness as a ball handler. She sees the floor well, makes a variety of different types of passes, and delivers the ball with incredible accuracy. The Butler commit should be able to contribute immediately at the next level thanks to her skill as a distributor. <strong>Kennadi Archibald | 2021 | 5’9’’ Combo Guard | Grapevine HS</strong> - Archibald is athletic and twitchy when the ball is in her hands. That allowed her to suck in defenders and pass out of double teams, which she successfully did with regularity. She was fantastic at finding shooters in drive-and-kick scenarios and was good at leading cutters to the rim with on-the-money dimes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22370" first="Kendall" last="Brown"] | 2021 | 5’9’’ Combo Guard | DeSoto HS</strong> - Brown’s unselfishness as DeSoto’s senior leader was a huge component in her teams’ championship run. She was the glue of that team, keeping her talented bigs and wings involved at all times. Her toughness and basketball IQ were exceptional as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136315" first="Isabella" last="Earle"] | 2021 | 5’10’’ Combo Guard | Denton Guyer HS</strong> - Earle is another terrific playmaker who led her team in scoring. However, it has always been her craftiness as a facilitator that separated her from the pack in my opinion. The Abilene Christian commit consistently played with swagger on offense, and that was often illustrated through her flashy deliveries as a passer. <strong>Zyniah Thomas | 2021 | 5’6’’ Point Guard | Dallas Skyline HS</strong> - Thomas was electric in the open court. Her ability to accelerate attracted numerous defenders whenever she went to the basket, and that allowed her drop off passes to her bigs down low for high percentage looks. She ended the season averaging four assists per game.