PGH Tennessee’s Christmas Stocking Stuffers
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Merry Christmas!!!! As we take a few days off from games around the state, here are a few stocking stuffers to get the hoop heads through the holidays! Maddy Newman TN #3 C #1 HEIGHT 6'2" POS C CLASS 2024…
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Continue ReadingMerry Christmas!!!! As we take a few days off from games around the state, here are a few stocking stuffers to get the hoop heads through the holidays!
Impossible to not mention a kid that went off for a career high 37 points against one of the best teams in the state in a big time upset big. If you watched this game you saw that Newman is simply devastating if she catches in the paint. Either when she caught it in transition vs Cookeville’s 2-2-1 press, or if she caught in the paint in the half court–all night she was simply drop stepping over her left shoulder and getting to her right hand. I’ve seen Newman play many times, but I’ve never seen her be this aggressive looking to get to the rim. Makes you wonder…how many points could Newman score if she were a stat-hunter instead of a win-hunter?
Admittedly, I wish I was better at my job. It’s so easy to get caught up in the player’s with high notoriety, put up big time numbers, or have big time offers….and that’s where we can lose our way. Players like Redd can easily fly under the radar because their contributions to winning don’t neccassairly show up in the box score. Redd helped Knox Catholic take home the championship of the 27th Annual Doc Maples Holiday Tournament, and in doing say was named to the all tournament team. She’s a tenacious defender, a gritty rebounder, and her offensive skill set has really grown! If you watched her in the championship game she had a beautiful rebound followed by a coast to coast layup. She went rim to rim by herself! Not a whole lot of players out there that can do that. Redd is big time underrated.
Can’t let the 2024 come in without celebrating Mains. As she led her Knox Catholic team to a Christmas tourney championship, she hit a few milestones worth mentioning: 1) she hit her 300th three-pointer of her career, and 2) she hit the 2,000 point milestone (fittingly on a made three pointer). At the half-way mark of the season, Mains has led Knox Catholic to a 13-2 record, and they looked primed to repeat as champs. She scored 26 points in the championship game taking home MVP.
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Flores has quietly been waiting in the weeds thus far this season. I’ve been following Knox Catholic closely. I think Coach Mains does a tremendous job. I think their kids play the right way. And when I saw Flores, who had a big-time scoring freshman season last year, was transferring to Catholic, I was anxious to see how it all played out regarding fit alongside the KC players that had been there a while.
Flores has played it perfectly (granted, I’m just an outsider looking in). She’s been sitting around 13 points per game this season, and I have to think that she’s been simply not forcing the issue, playing within the offense, and really putting team chemistry over stats.
And then she when off in their Christmas tourney run averaging 18 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steal. At the high school level, if you have two players that can go for 18+ on any given night, you have a real shot at making noise in the post season.
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Again….sometimes I just don’t think I’m very good at my job! I had NO IDEA how good Glasper was until recently. Watching her in the Christmas tournament versus Cookeville was a revelation! Glasper looked incredibly aggressive and confident in her abilities as a perimeter scorer.
Down 3 vs Cookeville, her coach drew up an elevator screen for her at the top of the key. She caught, pump-fake, slide step, and knocked it down to tie with under a minute to play. If Glasper is playing with this sort of confidence, this Gatlinburg team gets a lot more dangerous.
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Is there a more under-covered D1 kid out there than Camden Ward Camden Ward 6’0″ | PF Stewart’s Creek | 2025 State TN ? She’s simply a stud. She’s had a fantastic junior year averaging close to 18 and 8, and providing her team with all the intagibles a coach would hope for from their team leader. Stewarts Creek has some really nice wins as of late, and Ward is always right at the center.
She’s now sitting on 3 sitting on three Division 1 offers, and we can only assume that number will continue to grow. Her and Bernard for a really nice duo. Keep an eye out for this team.
Rolandria Dowell
Rolandria Dowell
At PGH, we really love covering players like Dowell. They are they under covered “glue kids” that play the right way, don’t care about stats, don’t care about accolades. Dowell’s counting stats aren’t eye popping: 6 points and 7 rebounds.
But her real value for this Lebanon team comes on the defensive end. She’s an undersized four that can guard 1-5 because of her unique combination of athleticism, strength, and grit.
It’s really fun to follow a player like Bernard’s career. She’s always had all the physical gifts to be special, but recently she’s taken a jump in skill that has brought her to a new level. In a huge win vs Brentwood at the Insider Exposure TN Live Christmas event, she was listed as a “Standout” performer as she put up 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. She’s turning into a game-changer on both ends of the floor.
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I really didn’t know what to expect from Hawkins statiscally for the Lady Jets after watching her this summer, but when you watch her play it’s apparent she’s a winner. Her season has been a “godlilocks” year–she hasn’t tried to do too much, hasn’t done too little, but rather many would agree her contributions have been just right. On a team with youthful scorers, and skillful veteran leadership, balancing all that can be tricky….but Hawkins has led this team incredibly well. Statistically, a PG giving you 12 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds with high level perimeter defense is game changing.