2025 Watch- Alamo City Hoops #ThanksgivingThrowdown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm dropping the top performers from the 2024 class plus some players I already know about under <strong><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">Honorable Mention</mark></strong>. I'm also adding some up-and-comers on that same <strong><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">HM</mark></strong> list so here's my Elite 8 from the Alamo City Hoops Thanksgiving Throwdown</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='307760' first='Niyah' last='Waters']-5'10 G (Hendrickson)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waters smoothly creates problems in the flow and after the game, she has filled up the stat sheet. She can create problems without even scoring, after all, she's long and athletic, has good timing, and plays the passing lane. Here's the kicker, she elevates over defenders for her mid to long range and uses that same elevation to score off the dribble </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='879810' first='Kayla' last='Phillips'] (Houston Christian)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Phillips came in and just battled for everything off the rim as well as loose balls so to say she made an impact would be an understatement. Her moves around the basket to score, especially on putbacks speaks volumes about her progression because contact was irrelevant. She also scored off the dribble yet on day 2, the hands and footwork thing was in full effect </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Emma Shumacher (Kerrville Tivy)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shumacher has the same last name as my 5th-grade teacher yet she taught defenders not to give her an inch because she not only did a good job scoring around the basket, she mixed it up by attacking off the dribble from outside the paint. With that being said, she also dropped jumpers from outside the paint, mid to long range </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='825294' first='Kamryn' last='McLaurin'] (Clear Brook)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McLaurin is also long and athletic, did I mention that's the base, well it is. She has good timing to block shots, she also scored nicely off the dribble as well as the pull-up jumper. Her finishes were strong and she scored after contact yet her "on the ball" defense was pretty good and so is her upside </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chardell Terrell (Clear Brook)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Terrell is also "long and athletic" see above for why it's so important. Her intangibles that go along with it are for one thing she goes after the ball off the rim, which is sometimes a lost art. She also scored off the dribble yet watching her run the floor on both ends was nice, and so was the pressure she applied defensively </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='307758' first='Rezia' last='Castillo']- (Clear Brook) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Castillo is one of the youngest players I've dropped #D1Lock on she was in the 2nd grade and until I'm wrong, never correct me because I saw what was coming even back then. Her ability to not only run a team and get her teammates involved is one thing yet she also has a variety of moves to not only get to the basket and score but drop the jumper</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='514426' first='Brooklyn' last='King']-6'0 PF (Cedar Hill)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>King continues to elevate and expand her game and one sequence where she showed a power block, took me back to her sensational showing at the<strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2022/09/pgh-texas-top-250-expo-first-team/"> PGH Texas Top 250 Expo.</a></strong> Her upside continues to be impressive as her "hands and footwork" inside the paint is taking off yet her finishes with either hand after the lick is creating some problems </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='880772' first='Londyn' last='Harper']-5'8 CG (Coppell)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harper has me thinking Londyn's bridge is nowhere near falling down after her showing. I used the search bar on here as well as on my <strong><a href="http://girlzprepreport.com/">website </a></strong>and if she was where I was, I didn't have a roster and kept it moving. She's athletic with an impressive first step yet her body control and acrobatic finishes JUST DID IT for me. She gets the #THROWBACK not for snagging rebounds with one hand but for FOLLOWING HER SHOT which is another lost art. She has UPS, creates her shot under pressure, and defends "on the ball" baseline to baseline </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">Honorable Mention</mark></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Landry Sherrer-5'9 F (Coppell)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trinity Thomas-5'5 G (Cedar Hill)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jada Clemons-5'9 G/F (Cedar Hill)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Galacia Bernard (Clear Brook)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Emily Pham (Clear Brook) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ryliegh Hackman (Clear Brook)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='516311' first='Emani' last='Gibbs']-5'4 G (Brennan) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sariah Fuentes (Houston Christian)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1054658' first='Jaycee' last='Ingram'] (Houston Christian)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Annika Vanninen (Kerrville Tivy)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kyra Wheatfall (Kerrville Tivy)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Madelyn Fielder (Kerrville Tivy)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->