Bigs Monday – Standouts from Week 3
I saw a few talented Bigs this week. Two unranked Freshmen who need to be added to our player rankings at the next opportunity and a Junior with multiple Division 1 offers. When I asked her to fill out a…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingI saw a few talented Bigs this week. Two unranked Freshmen who need to be added to our player rankings at the next opportunity and a Junior with multiple Division 1 offers.
When I asked her to fill out a form I use to get to know players better that has a question about which colleges have contacted them or made offers, Xaviara Smalley Xaviara Smalley 6'3" | C Bethlehem | 2023 State KY , asked if she could just list 6 schools instead of trying to remember all of them.
That’s how many offers she has. So many that she can’t remember them all or just didn’t want to develop a hand cramp writing them all down, or maybe she just wanted to start practice. But she asked politely and what could I say? NO? She doesn’t even have to fill out the form at all if she doesn’t want to. It is voluntary.
For the record, the 6 schools she wrote down were Cincinnati, Kentucky, Penn State, Southern Miss, Western Kentucky, and Virginia
Xaviara Smalley Xaviara Smalley 6'3" | C Bethlehem | 2023 State KY – ’23 6’3″/C – Bethlehem
Smalley is averaging almost a Double-Double for the season at 10.75 points and 9.25 rebounds per game and this week she got one scoring 12 and grabbing 10, She also blocked 5 shots (including 3 in the 1st Quarter) and challenged so many more.
She scored on a short jumper in the post through contact, cut to get open and score twice on an inbounds play, received a very high lob pass in the paint for 2 more, and put in what would ultimately be the winning bucket by rebounding a teammates’ missed free throw. She was also critical in relieving pressure against the press by receiving the ball just over mid-court, turning and redistributing it to start the offense
Khania Jones – ’25 5’9″/SF – Central Hardin
Jones is going to be very interesting to watch as she develops next year. Which way will she go? How will she turn out?
She is a versatile player currently playing a specific role for her team as a rebounder and shot-blocking threat but she also fills the gap between the Guards and Bigs on her team at Small Forward. And maybe that is her position in the future but she may end up being more of a Guard or more of a Power Forward or Center as she develops. So for now I will be placing her where she is as a Small Forward in our rankings at our next update.
She is currently averaging 7.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and tallied 11 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. She is a long, athletic, out-of-zone rebounder, that can go get the ball, shoot the elbow jumper, and has quick, active hands for batting balls away on defense and getting tie-ups. She also made a great cross-post pass for an assist and scored on a hustle rebound putback while running the floor in transition,
Jones has a shot-blockers mentality that I hope she never loses for my own enjoyment but she has yet to fully develop her timing and draws most of her fouls by being a bit too out of control. Not clumsily out of control just a bit too much follow-through with the arm and/or body. In one of the best plays I saw this week, she made a flying block near the corner of the backboard taking off from the center of the lane. Even though she fouled on the attempt it was still impressive.
Addison Soutar – ’25 6’0″/C – North Bullitt
Soutar is still growing into her height and may still be growing but she is getting better every day. I first saw her in a North Bullitt practice a few weeks before the season and she has definitely steadied out. Her long thin frame make her a prospect and she should be ranked somewhere among the rest of the class of ’25.
She grabbed 12 boards and is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game. She scored off a pass deep in the lane and had an assist feed to a teammate on a shuffle cut.