The Best Things I Saw This Year and an Intro

<p>If you're reading this list and think it's a little short to capture the wide array of the events that defined the 2023-24 Oklahoma Girls Basketball season, I would not argue with you. But I would point out my time as the lead for the Oklahoma branch of PrepGirlsHoops has been short as well. </p>   <p>Let me introduce myself, I'm Sam. Over the last decade, I've predominantly covered boys high school basketball in Oklahoma. I've been the current lead on the boys side of PrepHoops for a year. While my focus has been on the boys side, I've still been in the gym and watched my fair share of the high level talent that Oklahoma has produced in girls basketball. Along with the scouting, writing (whatever you want call it) gigs, I also produce basketball highlight videos and other video work for my videography project, OKHoopsTV. I've done various work on the girls side through that, including being lucky enough to document a few Class 6A Girls State Championship teams, Owasso (2018) and Edmond North (2022 & 2023). So I do have up close and personal experience with watching prospects that would go on to play at all levels of college. (And that tidbit also works as a not so shameless plug that I am available for prospect highlight videos that show more than just buckets, with charges, steals, blocks, assists often being featured in my work. As I pride myself on the attention to detail to all facets of basketball).</p>   <p>My byline started popping up on this site at the end of December when I was at the Tournament of Champions and realized the girl's coverage of it was lacking. The title game between Edmond Memorial and Lincoln Christian was a great battle between two programs that would play deep into March. It featured tremendous displays from a pair of players I was familiar with; two of the best juniors in Oklahoma. The athletic, relentless and outstanding basketball feel of [player_tooltip player_id='309983' first='Janiyah' last='Williams'] and skilled, ice cold, versatile play of Avery Hjelmsted of Edmond Memorial. Lincoln Christian's [player_tooltip player_id='572965' first='Maddi' last='Stewart'] was a new name to me. Who despite foul trouble still made a loud impact on the court with a blend of great athleticism and a skilled offensive game. It was no surprise to see she was already highly regarded, and well on her way to becoming another national name. </p>   <p>From there I made sure to work in some drop ins on girl's game that paired well with my work on the boy side. One of those was the very next day was the following day at the Mustang Holiday Classic. Which included see new faces to me at Putnam City North, a rising program that would make a run to the Class 6A State Tournament. Finally getting a chance to see the juggernaut that is Bethany Basketball. And Edmond North capturing more hardware during their ridiculous run. </p>   <p>I mixed in a handful of articles throughout January and February. Before earning the opportunity in March to be the site lead and to shine a bright light on the future college basketball women's basketball players in Oklahoma. This meandering preamble is to show the starting point and provide some background as I take the reigns. And why this "Best Of" article is more sparse than how any list would look next year. </p>   <p>I have my ideas on what to do to crank up the coverage of the talent in Oklahoma. AAU season is here! Along with that, most Oklahoma high school games are streamed and remain online. So I'll be doing some "film grinding" next week to continue to get a better understanding of all the prospects that make up Oklahoma.</p>   <p>But if you the dear reader have any ideas, please reach out via samduren@gmail.com. </p>   <p></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Best Clutch Performance</h2>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='249279' first='Ellie' last='Willard'], Lookeba-Sickles: Class A Area Championship </p>   <p>While the State Tournament was filled with clutch performances, let's get a little love to a performance that helped a team clinch a State Tournament appearance. Willard was an outstanding throughout a closely contested game. But in the final moments against Mt View Gotebo, she was sensational. It started with a tough off the dribble three to narrow the margin with about a minute left. Then regulation ended with her nailing a pair of FTs to force overtime. In the extra frame, it was Willard who win it and send her western Oklahoma town to the Big House. </p>   <p>The following week, Lookeba-Sickles would come up just short in the Class A Title Game against Lomega. But Willard would continue her clutch play, by pouring in 65 points to lead all players in scoring for Class A State Tournament. Which included a 30 point performance in the quarterfinals. Last I checked she was still unsigned, but her two way play (quick hands for stocks and attacks the defensive glass well) and relentless mindset should make her very appealing to small colleges that want players with winning mentality. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Best Team Performance</h2>   <p>El Reno Lady Indians vs Coweta: Shawnee Tournament </p>   <p>A few weeks ago, El Reno would finish the mission with an undefeated season that was capped up with revenge over Sapulpa in the Class 5A State Title game. Along the way, they had a lot highs. One of those came when they would absolutely demolish Coweta 79-23. Considering that Coweta would go on to reach the Class 5A Semifinals, where El Reno would beat them again in a closer contest, the Lady Indians were firing on all cylinders that night. They hounded the Coweta with outstanding full court pressure, their forwards dominated the paint and the ball movement from the whole team was on point. <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2024/01/spotlight-el-reno/">It was even the game that [player_tooltip player_id='630454' first='Pauline' last='Black-Harmon'] would break the record for most rebounds in El Reno history. </a> It was a great display of a great team at the peak of their powers during a historic run. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Best Senior </h2>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='238724' first='Zya' last='Vann'], Bethany</p>   <p>The two viewings of the Oklahoma bound senior were nothing certain of amazing. It's not just that she's quick, she's skilled with the feel to make her a complete scoring threat. One play she'll use pure speed and quickness to blow by defenders. The next, Vann would set them up with hesitation moves or stop on a dime for a pull up jumper. It doesn't take me to say she's a BIG TIME prospect, the Gold Balls she won and the letter of intent she signed to head to OU, speak much louder. But with a lot of really good seniors I saw this year, Vann was the one that impressed me the most. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Best Prospect Who Wasn't in the Database</h2>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='876592' first='Saniyah' last='Morrison'], Tulsa Rogers</p>   <p>The current database of prospects is deep with names, which made my job easier as I got a handle on all the prospects in the state. So it would be a surprise when I went to plugged in a name and the player didn't appear right away. Especially after watching the electric [player_tooltip player_id='876592' first='Saniyah' last='Morrison']. The junior is quick, tough and skilled. In her 5A quarterfinal performance she played bigger than her size with double digit rebounds, while her change of direction abilities with her tight handles often left defenders in the dust. <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2024/03/class-5a-quarterfinals-the-prospects-to-know/"> My first scout on Morrison is tucked at the bottom of the article highlighting all four 5A quarterfinals games, but her star making performance deserves more recognition. </a></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Best Scorer </h2>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='309980' first='Keeley' last='Parks'], Norman</p>   <p>The Norman junior had some outrageous individual performances. She was recently named Gatorade Player of the Year for these performances. With included clutch makes, where she put the team on her BACK. There was even this ridiculous shot that forced OT to keep Norman's season alive in Area. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KREFsportsTV/status/1763411577313624424 </div></figure>   <p>Parks' three point shooting ability is outrageous. But that's not the only outrageous part of her game, her ball handling and ability to unlock defenses on drives appears to be unmatched in Oklahoma. Even when she doesn't get seperation from defenders, the Norman Lady Tiger can hit circus shots around the rim. It was always fun to catch Parks this year, and looking forward to another year of her scoring all over the court. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Best Thing I Didn't See This Year</h2>   <p>Douglass Trojanetts</p>   <p>I'm sure there are a lot of great candidates for this portion as my current education on the girls basketball side is far from complete. But the Trojanettes are one team in particular I wished I had sought out and watched more during the season. I caught portions of their regular season games against Classen in December and Millwood in January, but I wasn't locked in from a "scouting" point of view to provide good feedback from either game. That was a mistake as Douglass was criminally under-ranked all year, as they would reach the Class 4A semifinals. There's a list of teams and games from this past year that I'm eager to check out via the wide availability streaming of games, and Douglass is at the very top. Look for some coverage of the Trojanettes early next week. </p>   <p></p>   <p></p>

If you're reading this list and think it's a little short to capture the wide array of the events that defined the 2023-24 Oklahoma Girls Basketball season, I would not argue with you. But I would point out my time as the lead for the Oklahoma branch of PrepGirlsHoops has been short as well.