Returning All-State Post Players in 4A & 5A

The post players listed in this article are returning All-State players for the 2021-2022 season. These players are looking to have a huge impact on their team and help lead them to a state title. Check out some of the best post players in the 4A and 5A classifications.

Grayson Fairless Grayson Fairless 6'1" | C Mena | 2022 State AR | 2022 | Mena High School

Grayson is an athletic post player that plays hard on both ends of the floor. She has the quickness and foot speed to be on the front of the teams’ press disrupting passes with her anticipation and ball pressure. She runs the floor well when transitioning from defense to offense. In the half-court, she gets in a position to catch passes when teammates drive. Grayson always has her hands ready and this allows her to catch passes in traffic. She can play physically and finish at the rim in traffic and through contact.

Briley Burns Briley Burns 5'11" | PF Ozark | 2023 State AR | 2023 | Ozark High School

Briley is going to get after you on defense. She’s an aggressive defender, but is under control and understands how to pressure with her feet and not do a lot of reaching. She uses her length to her advantage by forcing the offense to throw errant passes that can be deflected or stolen by her teammates. When she gets the defensive rebound she does not have to look for the outlet, she can handle the ball well enough to start the break herself. Briley does a good job of looking up the floor in transition. She can even break the defense down off the dribble and shoot the mid-range jumper.

Alex Newland Alex Newland 5'11" | C Greenbrier | 2023 State AR | 2023 | Greenbrier High School

Post players are just expected to do things like rebound. Alex does a really good job of securing the right position to secure the rebound. When a teammate drives to the basket and her defender helps or rotates, Alex always has her hands above her waist anticipating the pass for the finish. She can catch on the low block and go to work. She shows patience on the post and can shoot the turn-around jumper.

Destiny Thomas Destiny Thomas 6'3" | C Jonesboro | 2022 State AR | 2022 | Jonesboro High School

This University of Memphis commit has plenty of size and knows how to use it to her advantage. She can secure position on the low post that allows her to be efficient. So efficient that she doesn’t have to put the ball on the floor to score. But if you double team she has the patience, vision, and passing ability to pass out of the double team and repost. She has good enough hands to be able to catch errant passes, can finish with either hand and runs the floor well.

Daedrianna Cail Daedrianna Cail 6'0" | PF Marion | 2022 State AR | 2022 | Marion High School

Daedrianna is an athletic post player that runs the floor well. She has a good face-up game from the high post. Once she catches at the high post and faces up she can get into her jabs, rips, or put the ball on the floor. She can even shoot the step back if space is needed. She has a quick first step which you can really tell with her off-ball defense when she plays the passing lanes. This allows her to get steals and deflections that lead to lay-ups.

Tyra Robinson Tyra Robinson 6'1" | C Parkveiw | 2023 State AR | 2023 | Parkview High School

When her team was in the half-court Tyra did a good job of moving without the ball. This forced the defense to always be aware of her and drew attention from multiple defenders which would lead to her teammates being able to get open shots. When on the low post, Tyra would post big and wide giving the passer an easy target where she wanted the ball. She could play in a crowd without forcing shots, finish shots through contact, and on the defensive end, she had a presence by intimidating players who drove with her size and ability to block shots.

Brooke Ross Brooke Ross 5'11" | PF Siloam Springs | 2023 State AR | 2023 | Siloam Springs High School

Brooke does a good job of running the floor in transition. On the fastbreak, she can catch on the move and go right into her finish on the fastbreak without having to dribble. Brooke has good hands and can rebound the ball in traffic. During the teams’ press break Brooke would flash to the middle to receive the pass and then handle it against the press or make the pass to the wing player running the sideline. In the half-court vs the zone, Brooke found the soft spots along the baseline to make plays for her team. She would either attack, shoot the short jumper, or make the skip pass.