Top Performers #TexasInvitational day 1

Although my daughter never played in this event, for whatever reasoning I don’t have a clue, even though her high school team now plays every year, for over a decade I have been attending and the lasting memories are just overwhelming because I’ve watched several changes "in the game" yet one thing that will never change and that’s "talent is everywhere" so some players just went "over and beyond" on opening day but rest assured I have double-digit stories coming from the event and that’s just opening day <strong>2022</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135362" first="Sydney" last="Love"]-5’8 G (Cibolo Steele)</strong> Love signed with the University Of Seattle, that’s the even bigger news however what she does on the floor every time I see her just amazes me. I remember speaking with Steele HC Jeffery Chatman the first time I actually met him and his exact words were "I have a freshman that you are going to love, she’s truly special" and like all of her talks, I came away with some valuable information because she is definitely that. One of the best mid-range shooters in Texas, yet also one of the best "SCORERS" in Texas as she finds ways to put the ball in the basket and watching her put her team "on her back" down the stretch and show her will to win was just amazing <strong>Samora Watson-5’7 CG (Clear Falls)</strong> Watson is one of the top unsigned guards in Texas, trust me there’s a lot to choose from and she chooses to put the ball in the basket numerous ways yet watching her drop the "stop and pop" in transition kept me on the edge of my seat not to leave out her explosive first step to attack and finish strongly after contact <strong>Kaitlyn Duhon-6’0 G (Summer Creek)</strong> Duhon simply amazes me because not only is she "long and athletic" she falls into a different category because she is ULTRA ATHLETIC and what she did brought back memories of yesteryear yet she also can play and her moves around the basket combined with that pull-up jumper were just thrilling to see bit so was her defending baseline to baseline and playing the passing lane <strong>2023</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134035" first="Chelsey" last="Singleton"]-5’7 PG (Cy Ranch)</strong> Singleton thanked me for a tweet I recently made and I told her that I should be thanking her for proving me right as I caught her for 2 minutes in a club basketball game in the 8th grade and placed her on my PGH Texas Watchlist, 2 minutes, that’s all I need and evidently that’s all she needed to turn the game around and put on a display of shooting that closed my day with a bang. Three 3 pointers, in the first 3 minutes of the 3rd quarter, I can’t make this stuff up and as the momentum changed, what was a deficit quickly changed gears yet she does that as well in the open court while attacking the rim <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134036" first="Kylie" last="Marshall"]-5’11 G (Mansfield Lake Ridge)</strong> Marshall lays down the Law when she steps on the court yet her 2nd half performance on opening day sort of set the tone and she showed how explosive her first step is, even cuffed the ball attacking the rim and dropping the "float" you can’t teach that nor can you teach her desire to apply heat, as well as rebounding on both ends as she battles for everything <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134061" first="Shalayne" last="Morgan"]-5’8 G (North Shore)</strong> Morgan had close to 20 points, in the first half on opening day in her opening game and I’ve loved her game since I wasn’t given a roster when she went completely off in elementary school, yet that was one of those rare instances I found out who her parent was and asked, why, because I knew what she was going to become yet she did it silently if you can comprehend that, I’m talking about the 20 because it was "in the flow" yet her ability to score off the dribble, whether attacking or dropping the jumper was just ON <strong>Addison Iden-6’0 PF (San Antonio Johnson)</strong> Iden had me scratching my head because I knew I had seen her so I used what I tell others to use, the search bar, and voila yet her progression left me somewhat speechless because she opened up the game in a zone dropping the long ball and the opposing team wasn’t even in a zone but she has a nice release, in fact, she showed the "catch and shoot" but 4 threes to open the quarter, well 3, one rimmed out, was enough for me <strong>2024</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="158879" first="La’Niah" last="Thornton"]-5’9 SF/PF (Pearland)</strong> Thornton plays with 2 D1 posts, [player_tooltip player_id="314168" first="Aryelle" last="Stevens"] and Ry’Lee Grays yet she manages to add to what her squad brings to the table on the inside with her powerful finishes as well as her rebounding over taller players yet she "sets the table" with her ability to open things up on the inside because she can drop the jumper and boy oh boy, she was dropping to the left. to the left or however you wanted it