PGH Roll Tide Rumble – Akiem’s Standout Youngsters (Part 1)

The second weekend of April would see a grand total of four Prep Girls Hoops Circuit events take place. In addition to events in Houston, Wisconsin and Indiana, Alabama was also a focal point this past weekend.    The Roll Tide Rumble was the first of three events as part of the Circuit's Triumph Region that made its return to its schedule. Games were split between the Guntersville Recreation Center which mostly hosted younger teams as well as Supreme Courts where the floor mostly belonged to the 17U and 16U field.    There were a few teams from younger classifications that were on hand as well. Here are a few of those youngsters that raised eyebrows this past weekend.     Among the laundry list of talent that was on display at the lake and mountains of Guntersville this past weekend were plenty of towering bigs. One of those happened to be on Team Elite Hubbard 15U 3SSB – and she stands at a towering 6-foot-4. When watching how the Golden Bears' standout performs, one can see why Holy Innocents concluded last season with a 25-2 record. Her versatility proves itself in that she can attack the basket as if she were a guard. Branch threw down an emphatic dunk at the conclusion of last season's 2A state championship game in Macon against Hebron Christian and her club play is displaying that Branch is just getting started.     The play of Parish was instrumental in ensuring 6A Campbell would indeed continue its winning ways. She finished her freshman season having been part of a team that went 23-5 this past season en route to a berth in the state playoffs. Parish is another rising talent that fuses together an already impressive skillset with plenty of youth on her side. She primarily plays at the four even though she can also make plays as a combo guard. In Prep Girls Hoops' latest 2028 rankings, she in our top 35 Georgia freshman for a reason – and she appears to be just getting started as well.     Speaking of Georgia freshman players with plenty of height that happen to be from 6A schools, Everett also fits that description. She is listed at 5-foot-9 and recently wrapped up her freshman campaign at Marietta following a 15-14 record. In Team Elite Hubbard 15U 3SSB's victory over Mississippi Jazz Elite 15U, Everett tallied 14 points in the offensive onslaught. Her team hit a total of four 3-pointers in that game on Saturday. Two of those 3-pointers were courtesy of Everett. In addition to long range accuracy, the ability to haul in plenty of rebounds is another key aspect to her game.     In a game where Mississippi Jazz Elite 15U encountered plenty of hard luck against Team Elite Hubbard 15U 3SSB, Harper still did everything she could to get her team in the win column. In that contest, she led all point-getters for Mississippi Jazz Elite 15U with nine. Harper is not by herself in flying the East Rankin colors as the Patriots have two standouts currently as part of the Mississippi Jazz Elite 15U roster. That East Rankin team finished the 2024-25 campaign with a record of 36-3. Her team only made one 3-pointer in that game – it departed from Harper's hands.     Hale's OMG Academy 15U team did not play its first game at the Roll Tide Rumble until late in the afternoon. It was well worth the wait as Hale tallied 11 points to put her team in the win column by virtue of a 63-44 decision over Fly Girls Tamara 15U. Much of the damage she did occurred in the first half as Hale placed eight of her 11 on the scoreboard. Along with helping her teammate on the scoreboard, she stayed away from the whistle for the most part as she was only called for one personal foul for that entire contest. OMG is short for On My Grind – Hale was certainly on hers from the opening tip to the final buzzer.     As the afternoon wore on, Pratt's Fly Girls Tamara 15U team was in a tough contest against OMG Academy 15U. While the offensive firepower of Pratt's adversaries proved to be too much to handle, Pratt did everything she could to get the win. She scored 23 points to lead her team. A major reason why Pratt managed to tally 23 was because of how unafraid of contact she was. Pratt had no issues drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. Much of Pratt's success occurred because of her ability to finish strong at the rim – she only had one 3-pointer in the contest with OMG Academy.     If one has played their first season at the varsity level as a seventh grader, one is certainly doing something correct with their career. That applies to Leonard who is playing up in class on the grassroots circuit as she has been playing up in class (and thriving) with 6A Spain Park. Leonard averaged nearly 10 points per game last season with the Jaguars and one can see with how creative she can be with her scoring capabilities exactly how she puts up such impressive numbers. Much of that is also due to her defense. As formidable a defender as she is, one has to understand with Leonard on the defensive end that another offensive possession for her team could occur at any second.     Listed at 5-foot-4, Ivy is the lone representative from New Hope on this season's Fly Girls Tamara 15U roster. Ivy's bunch may have been on the receiving end of a 65-44 decision at the hands of OMG Academy 15U but Ivy still placed 10 points on the scoreboard to give her team a lift. One thing that Ivy does not shy away from is contact – she will take her opportunities at the free throw line and she attempted plenty of shots from the charity stripe in that contest. While operating primarily as a guard, she also can be versatile where she can play a bit closer to the rim. Last season's 5A New Hope rendition finished with a 17-8 record.

The second weekend of April would see a grand total of four Prep Girls Hoops Circuit events take place. In addition to events in Houston, Wisconsin and Indiana, Alabama was also a focal point this past weekend.