Youth Invasion In Tennessee!

As far back as I can remember, the state has had young ladies go on and represent us in the collegiate ranks. From Pat Head Summitt to future stars such as Jaloni Cambridge going to the Ohio State (next year), girls from the Volunteer state have gone on to do great things at the next level. Each year the talent keeps getting better on these hallowed hardwoods of ours. Nightly, it seems like a new star blossoms, taking the state by storm. Now granted, its not up to you nor I to say where these young ladies will end up in the collegiate ranks. However, I have been pretty impressed with the talent I have seen especially from the sensational sophomores and the dynamic freshman. The juniors and seniors are supposed to be at their prime. They've been battle tested, learned the speed and the nuances of the game, ect. But the freshman and sophomores are supposed to be the young wide eyed bushy tail kids trying to find themselves. The crazy thing, it's not like that here.   When I tell you our youngsters are taking the game by storm, this is what I mean. [player_tooltip player_id='513228' first='Kimora' last='Fields'] from Bradley Central, just went over her 1,000 point mark. We are just a little over the midway point and she hasn't finished her second full season. Crazy, you bet. She has colleges all over her and the kid just keeps getting better.   [player_tooltip player_id='821620' first='Lauren' last='Hassell'] from Clarksville Christian is finally a freshman. I say finally cause she has been competing against high school students for a few years now. You talking about battle tested, she's competed against some tough girls and then some. Her body of work speaks for itself as she is somewhat of a uniform in that she may be tall (6'3), but she can do all things. Handle the ball, beat you inside and out, defend your best player, all the while getting rebounds and blocking shots.   The private school rankings has such stars as [player_tooltip player_id='513243' first='Bella' last='Shepherd'] (Lipscomb Academy), Skyler Walden (TKA), [player_tooltip player_id='513278' first='Kayte' last='Madison Bjornstad'] (PCA), [player_tooltip player_id='513275' first='Lily' last='Morrow'] (CPA), [player_tooltip player_id='513227' first='Meeyah' last='Green'] (Webb-Knoxville), [player_tooltip player_id='821650' first='Alexis' last='Hammock'] (Grace Christian -Knoxville),  [player_tooltip player_id='636390' first='Andrea' last='Flores'] (Knoxville Catholic), and many more. These are girls who dominate their position by scoring the rock and owning one other statistical category as well. It could be steals, rebounds, assists, these girls and others leave it all out there on the floor nightly, as the compete their tails off.   I can't forget the youngsters in the public school sector. [player_tooltip player_id='821670' first='Jade' last='Watson'] (Rockvale), [player_tooltip player_id='513229' first='Faye' last='Williams'] (Bartlett), [player_tooltip player_id='513233' first='Natalya' last='Hodge'] (Bearden), [player_tooltip player_id='513236' first='Robynn' last='Thompson'] (Melrose), [player_tooltip player_id='593347' first='Chelby' last='Jordan'] (Dyersburg), [player_tooltip player_id='793953' first='Addie' last='Wilhoit'] (Tennessee), just to name a few. These girls too get after it on a nightly basis, wheeling their teams to victory with their stellar play.   Then you have the 8th grade girls waiting on deck such as MoMo (Chattanooga Christian), [player_tooltip player_id='822475' first='Ariyah' last='Huffman'] (Cleveland), [player_tooltip player_id='822474' first='Valencia' last='Hailey'] (Madison Middle), Caiden Sanders (Colonial Middle), [player_tooltip player_id='792288' first='Makynli' last='Bacon'] (Webb-Bell Buckle), and others.   As you can see, the future is bright with young stars in our state. That's not a knock on the juniors and seniors hooping right now. They too have earned their flowers. They've raised the level of play on the floor as well with their tenacious ability to hoop and get after it. Mix in the youngsters with these classy vets, this state has to be one of the most top talented ones around top to bottom. Look, I may be biased, let's just say Top 10 in the country as far as women's hoops goes (You know Cali, Texas, Florida, NC, GA) are in the mix as well. But our state is up there with them too.   I'm proud to be covering this state. Like I said from JUCO to D1, we have girls that are seniors, juniors, sophomores, freshman, and 8th graders who would be solid foundational blocks for any collegiate program. That debate topic will be saved for another article. However, as a fan, enjoy and take in the influx of talent we got going on in this state. As a hooper, keep doing what you do. Great things will surely come. Keep chasing perfection and let the chips fall where they may through your hard work and consistency. Until next time, keep holding that follow thru!

As far back as I can remember, the state has had young ladies go on and represent us in the collegiate ranks. From Pat Head Summitt to future stars such as Jaloni Cambridge going to the Ohio State (next year), girls from the Volunteer state have gone on to do great things at the next level. Each year the talent keeps getting better on these hallowed hardwoods of ours. Nightly, it seems like a new star blossoms, taking the state by storm. Now granted, its not up to you nor I to say where these young ladies will end up in the collegiate ranks. However, I have been pretty impressed with the talent I have seen especially from the sensational sophomores and the dynamic freshman. The juniors and seniors are supposed to be at their prime. They've been battle tested, learned the speed and the nuances of the game, ect. But the freshman and sophomores are supposed to be the young wide eyed bushy tail kids trying to find themselves. The crazy thing, it's not like that here.