Day 1-New Faces & Progression #PBRTXFinale

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm closing out opening day from PBR Texas Finale with 8 players, many I hadn't seen before and a couple who have elevated their games</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Charity Edwards-5'4 PG (Sam Houston) Southern Metroplex Athletics [2023]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edwards was a joy to watch through the event and if I put together an All-Tournament team, she would be in the mix. The mix is a great word because of how she mixed it up offensively to score both off the dribble and from mid to long range yet her ability to create her shot under pressure as well as knock it down in the clutch, were all huge, so was her "on the ball" defense</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Karlee Hastings- 5'10 PF (Krum) [program_tooltip program_id='715690' first='DC' last='Queens'] Krum [2023]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hastings is "long and athletic" and hopefully, you understand that is the base but many don't. What she adds is her ability to not only create her shot while being defended but also knock it down, with a hand in her face, I'm talking midrange as well as long-range. She scores off the dribble from the wing, even rebounds on both ends, and can handle the ball in the open court </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Avriana Burk-5'11 PF/C (Randall) [program_tooltip program_id='712536' first='Hoop' last='10'] United [2023]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burk falls into that always surprising me category because it seems like she adds something at each sighting. Her scoring off the dribble caught my eye a while back, she uses a deceptive first step, yet she attacks with both hands and finishes after contact. She also showed the jumper, both in the set as well as in transition </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jazmyn Johnson-5'4 SG (Robert E Lee) Lady [program_tooltip program_id='713027' first='West' last='Texas Blazers'] [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson gets the #THRO[program_tooltip program_id='715726' first='WBA' last='']CK off the top because she does something I absolutely love to see and that's "play the passing lane". As I scratch my head to see why it isn't done with regularity, I love when I see it. She created her shot nicely to either score off the dribble or drop the jumper and she also did a good job defensively </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Haven Verrett-5'8 SF (Kennedale) Southern Metroplex Athletics [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Verrett goes hard on both ends and her mindset stays the same. She dives for loose balls, battles for rebounds, and even plays strongly after being knocked down hard. Her physicality had me smiling as finished around the basket with players grabbing her but she also showed that she could knock down the short jumper</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='404749' first='Karrington' last='Jackson']-5'4 PG (Rick Reedy) [program_tooltip program_id='715690' first='DC' last='Queens'] Black 2024 [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jackson has elevated her game, hadn't seen her since her just entering middle school but the athleticism and defense were always there. Now, her ability to knock down shots, with a hand in her face stood out and I'm talking from mid to long-range. She also showed the stop-and-pop in transition and scored off the dribble</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Franz [player_tooltip player_id='509682' first='Nicole' last='Aguirre']- 5'4 PG (Rockwall) [program_tooltip program_id='715690' first='DC' last='Queens'] Black 2024 [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aguirre set the defender up nicely numerous times by using a deceptive first step to attack, with either hand. Better yet, she scored with both hands, many times using some impressive body control. She also handled the ball under pressure in the open court and saw the floor, making tough passes in traffic for assist opportunities </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cindy Foka-5'9 PF ( Glenn) CTX Lady Knights [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Foka is almost back to being what I called her a couple of seasons ago, an absolute #BEAST. If you follow me on Twitter, I'm dropping a photo that speaks a thousand words yet her #THRO[program_tooltip program_id='715726' first='WBA' last='']CK mentality in the paint just grabs me because she goes after everything off the rim. She also finishes strongly in the paint, yeah which includes after contact </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->