2021 MAYB Girls Nationals Standouts: Part 3
As I wrap up the coverage of the MAYB Girls Nationals in OKC, I have realized that perhaps trying to write something about all 100 or so teams was a bit ambitious. It is time to release some player rankings…
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Continue ReadingAs I wrap up the coverage of the MAYB Girls Nationals in OKC, I have realized that perhaps trying to write something about all 100 or so teams was a bit ambitious. It is time to release some player rankings soon and I want to allow full time and attention for them. Today, instead of going through each team individually, I will highlight all of the players on my notes that I put a star by because they were standouts in the game that I saw them play. Again, I’ll also add that if you didn’t turn your roster into the people running the tournament in time (and they’re not readily available online), then people like me have no clue who your players are and cannot write about them, no matter how well they played.
Khalayah Willis | 5-7 CG | Ardmore / OK Chaos | 2022
Khalayah has very good size and length for a guard and really stood out as a great finisher in transition. She attacks the rim and won’t let anyone stand in her way, which means she also gets a lot of time at the free throw line. She can shoot it a little bit from further out, but I wasn’t able to tell if her three-point shot is quite there or not. She has a quick first step to blow by her opponent in order to get inside. She also is a very tough defender with quick hands and forces a lot of steals against some very good ball handlers. Willis has no social media presence, so I’m not sure if or how many offers she has just yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t have at least a few NAIA or D-III offers already.
Jaida O’Connor | 6-2 G/F | Classen SAS / THSS Mavs | 2023 | @jaidaoconnor22
Jaida has come a long way in a very short amount of time. I saw her play as a freshman and the size was definitely there and there was a hint of the skill to come, but man, she has really put it all together. Of course, it helps to play with and compete in practice against the best player in the class of 2022 in Darianna Littlepage-Buggs Darianna Littlepage-Buggs 6'1" | SF Classen SAS | 2022 State #24 Nation OK , but that definitely isn’t all. Jaida has been in the gym, been at individual camps, just really been working her butt off. She can shoot it. She plays well inside. Rebounds well. Defends. Honestly, I didn’t see many flaws in her game at all – if any! Teams like OU and Texas A&M have taken notice and sometime in the near future Jaida will be moving up in the 2023 rankings from her No. 10 spot and will be moving on to play with a very good college organization somewhere who will be blessed to have her.
Willow Grimmett | 6-1 F/C | Heritage Hall / Swarm | 2022 | @WillowGrimmett
Several coaches earlier in the day had reached out to me looking for centers. By the time the match-up between the Shock and the Swarm came around, I was able to text several of them and let them know that they were going to want to come check out Willow. She goes hard all game. She is incredibly tough – built for the rigors of playing underneath the basket. She does a tremendous job (probably the best I saw all weekend) of getting turned to face the basket once she has the ball in her hands. She has tremendous touch around the rim and is a very, very good scorer. If you’re worried about your “big” getting winded and having to only play in short spurts, let me just say that she is also taking college rowing visits, so her stamina is top notch. Willow will be debuting on the rankings very soon and coaches, you are definitely going to want to catch a Heritage Hall game ASAP!