Simmie’s Standouts-Dynasty Region Kickoff-pt 1
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When you have a whole lot of teams, you also will have tons of players, and over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing stars galore, including my own daughter yet I’ve also caught players on the verge of…
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Continue ReadingWhen you have a whole lot of teams, you also will have tons of players, and over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing stars galore, including my own daughter yet I’ve also caught players on the verge of breaking out and taking their games to another level so here are some others that stood out
Tay’ja Butler
Tay’ja Butler
Butler is an athletic guard that brought heat on both ends of the court. Her “on the ball” defense was smothering at times and helped to create turnovers because she forces the offensive player into traps and also uses her hands to come away with steals. She also reads the court and did a good job playing the passing lane yet her attacking the basket strongly off the dribble and finishing after contact was nice, so was her stop and pop jumper in transition
Bridgette Murphy
Bridgette Murphy
Murphy’s upside is intriguing for a number of reasons and first of all, her standing over “the magic number” which is 6’0 will have several college coaches placing her on their radar, that’s just the way it works and speaking of “working” her progression is showing after catching her a few weeks ago. I love seeing players so things “you can’t teach” and her DESIRE to go after the ball off the rim stands out, so is her energy on the defensive end. She’s also finishing stronger
Watkins caught my eye a few years ago at an Individual Showcase I covered in Oklahoma and her being “long and athletic” immediately grabbed my attention because I knew by her doing things instinctively, she was on her way. She plays the passing lane and handles the ball afterward, she has good timing to block shots, she rebounds on both ends and she defends, in and outside the paint. She also scores off the dribble and even dropped it from outside
Taylor Wilson Taylor Wilson 5'10" | SF Copperas Cove | 2024 State TX
Taylor Wilson Taylor Wilson 5'10" | SF Copperas Cove | 2024 State TX
Wilson is one of those “you won’t outwork me” type of players and watching her go after everything off the rim takes me back to another era, so she gets the #THROWBACK hashtag for that. She also understands positioning which is very important and did a good job defending inside the paint. She also dove for loose balls, still from another era, and she finished around the basket after contact
Olivia Benitez
Olivia Benitez
Benitez is one of those players that can create a spark to change the momentum of games and her showing she score under pressure had me smiling. She creates her shot nicely, her deceptive first step got her to the basket to score and (or) dish but she also dropped the mid to long-range jumper. What was equally impressive was her ability to drop the long ball using the “catch and shoot” with accuracy
Moore continues to show me MORE whenever I see her yet watching her create her shot under pressure and knock it down with a hand in her face always gets my adrenaline going. She can attack the basket with either hand, and finish the same way, after contact but her court vision, especially in the open court needs to be mentioned because she hit teammates on the money going full speed. She also showed the “stop and pop” jumper in transition
Highlights
Mitchell caught my eye at the PGH Texas Freshman Showcase and continued keep both wide open yet her performance with her House4Hoops 2024 squad showed me she is going to have a breakout club season. She outrebounded taller players, even scored on putbacks against them but her aggressive defense helped create turnovers. She also did a good job of setting the defender up to create her shot and knock it down from outside