Class of 2025’s Top 5 Players
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There was a big shake-up in the top 5 after Kilah Dandridge Kilah Dandridge 5'8" | CG Saint Maria Goretti (Maryland) | 2025 WV transferred to an out-of-state school and thanks to the many improvements made by Dria Parker Dria…
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Continue ReadingThere was a big shake-up in the top 5 after Kilah Dandridge Kilah Dandridge 5'8" | CG Saint Maria Goretti (Maryland) | 2025 WV transferred to an out-of-state school and thanks to the many improvements made by Dria Parker Dria Parker 5'10" | SF Spring Valley | 2025 State WV , Brooke Adkins Brooke Adkins 6'0" | PG Wayne | 2025 State WV , and LaLa Woods during the AAU season. Here’s why the Top 5 looks the way it does right now:
1 Zaniah Zellous Zaniah Zellous 6'2" | PF George Washington | 2025 State WV , George Washington, PF, 6-2, Jr. – Zellous is arguably the most athletic and dynamic post player in the state. Her length allows her the opportunity to take her game to levels other players in the state just can’t reach. She’s a quick defender who adds in a great blend of ball-handing, rebounding, and scoring. Her ballhandling really makes her another threat on top of everything else. She can run the floor, then set up on the offensive end and utilize any number of options to make life difficult for her opponent. If you let her around the rim, she’s going to shoot over you with little struggle. She may end up being the most decorated high school athlete in terms of D-I offers when she finally commits to a Power 5 college.
2 Brooke Adkins Brooke Adkins 6'0" | PG Wayne | 2025 State WV , Wayne, CG, 6-1, Jr. – Adkins displays all the great things any college coach should want in the combo guard. She understands how to play both the point guard and shooting guard position. Better yet, she can cause trouble on the offensive ends from both positions. It is possible for her to rain 3s and long 2s from the point guard position, but she can just as easily attack the rim with a multitude of weapons at the 2 spot. With a first step that usually throws her defender off balance, she’s than free to blow by her opponent and take advantage of any mismatches she may find in the post. Nine times out of ten, there will be a mismatch as she can simply use her length for a quick pop up jumper, or she can kick to an open teammates after the defense collapsed inward to stop her from scoring an easy bucket. Oh, I almost forgot her defense. It is superb.
3 Alexis Bordas Alexis Bordas 5'8" | SG Wheeling Park | 2025 State WV , Wheeling Park, SG, 5-8, Jr. – Bordas (at left) brings value to any team’s offensive game thanks to her abilities to A) Create her own shot, B) Shoot accurately without setting her feet, and C) consistently hit from 3-point range. You may think you have her shut down, but she’s going to make life harder on her defender as she turns to her teammates to start chaos. Once she gets a screen, she’s going to shoot, shoot, shoot. There’s not a lot you can do to stop her. She also moves so well without the ball that if a defender gets lazy, she’ll make an opposing team pay with her quick shot. Her defense is vastly underrated in my mind, she understands multiple schemes and excels in the help, man-to-man and zone varieties.
4 Dria Parker Dria Parker 5'10" | SF Spring Valley | 2025 State WV , Spring Valley, SF, 5-10, Jr. – Parker is the best defender in the class. Plain and simple. Any offensive player matched up on her is going to have a bad time. In every game I watched her play with the Thunder this summer, she used her body to maximum effort. Furthermore, she excels at the head of a press defense as the inbound defender. She doesn’t always attack or cause trouble for the inbounder, but once the ball is in play she quickly snaps to the ballhandler and makes life hard with her helper. She moves her feet so well that it is virtually impossible for a ballhandler to not pick up her dribble and find herself stuck in the backcourt, desperate for help. Offensively, she’s a well-rounded scorer, one with sneaky good rebounding instincts.
5 Lala Woods, Wheeling Park, CG, 5-6, Jr. – Woods presents as a unique point guard, who can take over a game, keep her team in a game, or she can be the ultimate facilitator. Even more basketball smart thanks to having watched her sister Shanley play hoops, Woods uses her high IQ to make life difficult for opponents. She understands her teammates capabilities and usually sets her teammates up with the best scoring opportunity for them. Sneakily, she is one of the most explosive scorers in the state. She can be quiet one minute and explode for 15 points in the next few minutes. She was largely responsible for helping the Patriots overcome Spring Mills’ 15-point lead in the second half of a state tournament semi-final. She also has the tools to play at shooting guard as she isn’t always the point guard on her AAU team, as she shares the position with one of the top PGs in the state of PA.