Cy Fair Premier National 16U

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love writing that I look for<strong> NEW FACES</strong> as well as <strong>PROGRESSION</strong> from players I have seen, this event gave me both and this team surely left me with some surprises </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maknnah Alexis [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexis falls into that category of players I have called "The Baby" for a number of reasons. Mainly because her older sister [player_tooltip player_id='158878' first='Aniah' last='Alexis'] is one of the top players in Texas yet her performance during the playoffs with Cy Lakes as well as what she showed at the event has me dropping that, sort of like she was dropping the jumper. Her stop-and-pop in transition was nice, and so was her creating the pull-up yet her first step enabled her to attack the rim with ease</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='842803' first='Amyah' last='Hall'] [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hall is one of those players I have written saying "you may not be related to Arsenio or Carnegie, yet you're going to be a hit" and that was because she was long and athletic, which is the base, and I saw her upside, I'm that good. She showed good timing on defense, she rebounded on both ends and she even hit the "turnaround" jumper with a hand in her face. All of that was nice, yet her SPIN to score in the paint had me SMH</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gemma Johnson [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson got after it immediately with her "on the ball" defense and I love things you can't teach. She was on her man baseline to baseline and was smothering at times as she created turnovers but she also has a deceptive first step which enabled her to attack and score. She also understands how to create her shot under pressure for the jumper </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lovie Bien [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bien mixed it up nicely for me and her going C2C, that's coast to coast, after rebounding to score showed me quite a bit right there because she handled the ball in the open court, under pressure, which is always a good sign. She has a variety of fakes and moves to take the defender off the dribble and she also has a pull-up jumper. Nice hands n defense and she plays the passing lane </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kate Nobles [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nobles also did a good job playing the passing lane, again I love things you can't teach, and effort and desire always get the #THROWBACK hashtag. Another thing that goes into that hashtag is she understands how to score "in the flow and her playing within herself and making good decisions were also pluses </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fife Adene [2026]</strong><br>Adene did a good job on defense, well more than a good job because she applies what falls into smothering heat but she also is "on the ball" full court or in the set. She did a good job reading the floor, this got her some steals as she played the passing lane but she also saw the floor and scored off the dribble</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nife Adene [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adene also brought the heat on defense but watching her handle the ball under pressure and just as importantly see the floor and make tough passes look easy was nice. She has a nice first step, which enabled her to get by the defender and she also showed good body control on her finishes, yes after contact </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='331965' first='Claudia' last='Keene'] [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keene caught my eye at the <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2021/09/texas-pgh-top-250-expo-2025-breakouts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PGH Top 250 Expo 2025</a></strong> a couple of years ago so let's go back t the opening paragraph where I talk about what I look for, PROGRESSION, in case you can't find it. She definitely has FOUND IT as she does a good job defending, especially on "help defense" and understanding how to force players into the trap is big, so was her creating her shot to attack and finish or drop the jumper</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marc'kalia Celestine [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Celestine stands around "the magic number" which is 6'0 and the magic continues with her being long and athletic with good timing. She even played the passing lane and not only did she defend inside the paint, but she also used her athleticism to do it outside the paint. What really grabs me is how she reacts and does things instinctively, very nice upside </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->