Rocky Mountain Mayhem: GameChangers
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?" Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I beheld a lot of beauty on the courts out in Denver where the Rocky Mountain air clearly is giving life to some big-time ballers! Here are five players who literally changed the game for their teams just by their mere presence on the court. I’ll explain why. Enjoy!
Aiyana Mitchell
Aiyana
Mitchell
6'4" | C
Fountain-Fort Carson | 2023
State
CO
| 6-3 P | Colorado Basketball Club 2023 UAA / Fountain Fort Carson | 2023 | @AiyanaMitchell7
Aiyana is the definition of a "GameChanger." When she is in the game, the other team has to completely focus on her inside. She is not only extremely tall, she is very, very mobile. This is not a big who is just "big for no reason." One of those players that just kind of hangs out down in the post and tries to swat shots and then can’t get down the court. Mitchell can move! She is agile, quick, and everything that a Division-I post player should be. It’s no wonder that she is absolutely LOADED with D-I offers. Aiyana knows how to use her size better than most 2023s that I have seen all circuit season. She can hit her free throws, which is obviously important for a big who is going to draw a lot of contact but is also important for her future prospects of being able to step out and hit from mid or long-range. On the defensive end, she not only makes a lot of defensive plays, she makes a lot of high IQ defensive plays. She reads the offense really well and is in the right place at the right time. Just a tremendous all-around player.
Soniah Evans | 5-3 G | Rising Stars 2023 / Fountain Fort Carson | 2023
Soniah is the definition of a GameChanger. Her Rising Stars squad played a lot of close games and though she was surrounded by a lot of really good players, she was the one who was counted on to get big buckets at very important times. When she drove to the hoop, you could just count it. She was gonna make it. It might be some acrobatic, twirling, spinning, just throw it up and pray shot, but it was going in. Some people just have it like that. Soniah is one of them. On top of making clutch buckets, Evans has clutch defense. She just stepped it up at the right time. If you’re in a close game, put her on the ballhandler and you can count on her a.) not fouling and b.) most likely getting the steal. Don’t let her height fool you. Soniah is a BIG TIME player!
Shyann Farbes
Shyann
Farbes
5'8" | CG
Eaglecrest | 2024
State
CO
| 5-8 G | Colorado Hoopsters 2023 White / Eaglecrest | 2024 | @ShyFarbes5
From the outset, I had Shyann down in my notebook as a GameChanger. No matter what her point total was, no matter what else happened the rest of the weekend from the first two games that I saw, Shyann was going to be in this piece. She runs the show for her squad. Farbes has really good handles that had even the best defenders on roller skates. She is lightning quick and as she grows in the game and learns to use her change of pace a little better, she is going to absolutely destroy some defenders. Slowing down just a hair will lead to a smoothness that even she didn’t know she possessed just yet. She is a dedicated defender that relishes the opportunity to go one-on-one with the opposing guard. When you see her reach down and pull her shorts up a little, it might as well be a guard from the 1991 Duke Blue Devils slapping the floor because she just laid down the gauntlet on you. You can come at her if you want. You’re probably going to get your pocket picked.
Rachel Flipse | 6-0 F | Colorado Lady Lightning 2023 Zim / Elizabeth | 2022 | Hudl
This kid is the reason we have GameChanger articles. Rachel is a senior who is uncommitted and deserves to be playing somewhere. A true six-footer who has a plethora of post moves and the ability to absolutely take over a game for her team. Give her the ball at the free-throw line and even a hint of a path to the basket and you have made a big mistake. It takes a split second for her to accelerate to the rim and finish. On the defensive end, her length is a GameChanger as well. She is a shot swatter who works hard to own the paint. Flipse is a smart defender who moves very well and is able to cover a lot of ground. There is absolutely no reason that a player of this quality should not be playing after she graduates high school in the coming months. Coaches, take a look at Hudl. You won’t be disappointed. If you can’t reach her through her high school coach, I can help.
Aiyana Mitchell
Aiyana
Mitchell
6'4" | C
Fountain-Fort Carson | 2023
State
CO
| 6-3 P | Colorado Basketball Club 2023 UAA / Fountain Fort Carson | 2023 | @AiyanaMitchell7
Aiyana is the definition of a "GameChanger." When she is in the game, the other team has to completely focus on her inside. She is not only extremely tall, she is very, very mobile. This is not a big who is just "big for no reason." One of those players that just kind of hangs out down in the post and tries to swat shots and then can’t get down the court. Mitchell can move! She is agile, quick, and everything that a Division-I post player should be. It’s no wonder that she is absolutely LOADED with D-I offers. Aiyana knows how to use her size better than most 2023s that I have seen all circuit season. She can hit her free throws, which is obviously important for a big who is going to draw a lot of contact but is also important for her future prospects of being able to step out and hit from mid or long-range. On the defensive end, she not only makes a lot of defensive plays, she makes a lot of high IQ defensive plays. She reads the offense really well and is in the right place at the right time. Just a tremendous all-around player.
Soniah Evans | 5-3 G | Rising Stars 2023 / Fountain Fort Carson | 2023
Soniah is the definition of a GameChanger. Her Rising Stars squad played a lot of close games and though she was surrounded by a lot of really good players, she was the one who was counted on to get big buckets at very important times. When she drove to the hoop, you could just count it. She was gonna make it. It might be some acrobatic, twirling, spinning, just throw it up and pray shot, but it was going in. Some people just have it like that. Soniah is one of them. On top of making clutch buckets, Evans has clutch defense. She just stepped it up at the right time. If you’re in a close game, put her on the ballhandler and you can count on her a.) not fouling and b.) most likely getting the steal. Don’t let her height fool you. Soniah is a BIG TIME player!
Shyann Farbes
Shyann
Farbes
5'8" | CG
Eaglecrest | 2024
State
CO
| 5-8 G | Colorado Hoopsters 2023 White / Eaglecrest | 2024 | @ShyFarbes5
From the outset, I had Shyann down in my notebook as a GameChanger. No matter what her point total was, no matter what else happened the rest of the weekend from the first two games that I saw, Shyann was going to be in this piece. She runs the show for her squad. Farbes has really good handles that had even the best defenders on roller skates. She is lightning quick and as she grows in the game and learns to use her change of pace a little better, she is going to absolutely destroy some defenders. Slowing down just a hair will lead to a smoothness that even she didn’t know she possessed just yet. She is a dedicated defender that relishes the opportunity to go one-on-one with the opposing guard. When you see her reach down and pull her shorts up a little, it might as well be a guard from the 1991 Duke Blue Devils slapping the floor because she just laid down the gauntlet on you. You can come at her if you want. You’re probably going to get your pocket picked.
Rachel Flipse | 6-0 F | Colorado Lady Lightning 2023 Zim / Elizabeth | 2022 | Hudl
This kid is the reason we have GameChanger articles. Rachel is a senior who is uncommitted and deserves to be playing somewhere. A true six-footer who has a plethora of post moves and the ability to absolutely take over a game for her team. Give her the ball at the free-throw line and even a hint of a path to the basket and you have made a big mistake. It takes a split second for her to accelerate to the rim and finish. On the defensive end, her length is a GameChanger as well. She is a shot swatter who works hard to own the paint. Flipse is a smart defender who moves very well and is able to cover a lot of ground. There is absolutely no reason that a player of this quality should not be playing after she graduates high school in the coming months. Coaches, take a look at Hudl. You won’t be disappointed. If you can’t reach her through her high school coach, I can help.
