Battle in the Big Friendly: GameChangers of All Ages
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A new and recurring segment after each Prep Girls Hoops Circuit event will be our GameChangers series. Bringing you the best scorekeeping, live video streaming, and team management services of any mobile app on the market, GameChanger is a product every grassroots team in the country can use to better serve their players and their families.
So, what makes a Prep Girls Hoops “GameChanger?” Like I said after Dallas, I feel like it is a player who the team just can’t look the same without. In Oklahoma City, we got a chance to see some very good teams have to shuffle their line-ups around due to players missing games for other sporting events, prom, or church and it really helped scouts and coaches to take notice. That’s not to say to be a GameChanger you had to go missing at some point, I mean, a good scout should be able to tell regardless. So, here are the GameChangers for this weekend from the Battle in the Big Friendly.
Gentry Baldwin Gentry Baldwin 5'5" | PG Bixby | 2023 State OK | 5-5 PG | Team Griffin Elite / Bixby (OK) | 2023 | @GentryBaldwin
Gentry is the definition of a “GameChanger.” Not that Team Griffin Elite – undoubtedly one of the best teams on the PGH Circuit – struggled without her on Friday evening, but they definitely did not run as smoothly as they typically do. Yes, they still won. Yes, they still won big. It just was easy for any observer to see that this well-oiled machine was missing one of its key pieces. Baldwin is the spark plug that makes the whole thing go and I was asked by several coaches and other parents in attendance on Saturday about who she was and if she was committed anywhere. Well, who she is is one of the best pure point guards in the state of Oklahoma. She is not committed anywhere and just like I told those coaches, you need to offer her right now or you’re going to miss the boat! Handles, vision, shooting, lock-down defense – all of it were on display when she returned from her soccer commitment on Saturday and helped her team in their most difficult test against a game BTR 2023 squad that I dare say Team Griffin would not have gotten past had she not been there.
Brynleigh Graham | 6-2 F/C | Oklahoma Lady Fusion / Spiro (OK) | 2026 | @ladyfusionhoops
A 6’2″ middle school player is gonna be a head-turner, but when that youngster already knows how to put a body on someone and box out and isn’t just relying on their size for every rebound, it’s a very good sign for the future. Graham was a GameChanger because her ability to not only grab rebounds but, to know when to either kick it out or go back up with it was a difference-maker in several games that I saw. She drew contact in the paint over and over and over, picking up the “and-1” and draining her free throws. I say it a lot, but you show me a big (especially one who is this young) that can make their free throws and I’ll show you a big that’s going to be able to stretch the floor by stepping out to mid and long-range to drain some shots in the very near future. Keep an eye on Brynleigh. She’s going to be a big-time prospect!
Jada Ponce | 5-8 G/F | G.O.C 2023 / McAlester (OK) | 2024 | @Jada__Ponce
Ponce is a very tough forward who is easily comfortable playing inside and out. She moves extremely well and gets up and down the floor with ease. She is physical inside but, has the finesse moves on the wing to throw any defender off balance and drain her shots. Ponce gathered far more rebounds than you would think a 5’8″ player should and that is why I would put her in the GameChanger category. She is extremely athletic and uses that athleticism in myriad ways to help G.O.C win out there on the hardwood. She can defend all five positions and shows a true dedication to defending. She has quick hands and great balance and does a tremendous job of staying in front of her opponent. I really enjoyed watching Jada play and college coaches are going to also. I can guarantee it.
Kindyll Sandoval Kindyll Sandoval 5'6" | SG V. Sue Cleveland | 2024 State NM | 5-6 G | New Mexico Select / Cleveland (NM) | 2024 | @drxpkindyll
Sandoval was making me tired with all of her running and cutting this weekend. Coming off of screens, running through screens on the defensive side, she just never seemed to stop. The kid didn’t get tired. When it came time to let it fly, her shot was simply beautiful. A quick-release, nice follow-through, and “hand in the cookie jar” finish, then nothing but the snap of the net as the ball sailed through. Kindyll can get hot and leave the opposing coach no choice but to call a time out in hopes of slowing her down. It doesn’t usually happen. She has a flair for the dramatic and really knows when to take and make the big shot as well as when to turn up the defensive pressure and really get a stop for her New Mexico Select squad. Sandoval plays the game the right way, she does all of the little things and really is a GameChanger in every sense of the word.