Blue Chip Bigs To Watch this Travel Ball Season

Some AAU or travel all organizations have started their season, while others are set to begin in the next few weeks. Our state is home to some of the very best "bigs" in the country. A big to me is any player over six foot in the girls game and Georgia is blessed with several, all of whom are receiving serious college interests from schools all over the country. And for good reason, as these players are the most rare and hard to find. When college coaches do find them, they want to lock them in as quickly as they can. Guards, for the most part, you can always find, but girls over six feet tall that have the athletic ability and skill to compete at the highest level is still very difficult. These players are valued and coveted because they are unique.    Munchie only played in one game this season and luckily I was there to see it. Her season was cut short due to injury, but she made the most of that opportunity scoring from all three levels in limited action. Worthy has the best combination of size and skill in Georgia. She will have no problem playing on the wing or in the post in college. She has looked like a college player physically for a few years and now her game is equally as impressive. When healthy, Munchie is a matchup nightmare operating with great effect in the painted area but has the shooting ability to be a real threat out past the three point line. She handles the ball very well for a player her size and she is extremely confident when she steps between the lines. I expect Worthy to come back as the best version of herself and have a huge Spring and Summer playing in front of college coaches. She holds offers from the majority of the power programs in women's college basketball and her decision will impact the recruitment and decisions of other top "bigs" in the state. Worthy has everything she needs to have an outstanding college career with an excellent chance to play in the W.     I make no secret of the fact that I am a big believer in [player_tooltip player_id='1226988' first='Peyton' last='Frazier'] and her potential on the next level and beyond, but she has three more years to continue to develop her game and get stronger. Physically, Peyton has it all. She is over 6' tall, has incredibly long wingspan, and moves with fluidity and ease on the court. She explodes off the ground and is probably the quickest and fastest of these players. Skill wise, Peyton is silky smooth with the ball in the post. She has feet like a ballerina and a nice post-move package. Peyton has everything she needs to be one of the rare, unicorn type players who can play guard in college and potentially the WNBA at her height. She shoots the ball well out to 15 feet and routinely brought the ball up for GAC on the break after grabbing a defensive rebound. She is very good already, but far from the finished product. It would not surprise me at all if Peyton was a McDonald's All American and has her picks of the best colleges in the country to attend in three years.     Defensively and rebounding the basketball, there is not a better player in Georgia right now than Aaniyah. She completely controlled games I saw this season by erasing shots from opposing players and teams routinely as well as completely dominating the boards. What I saw more of that got me excited was Branch gaining confidence on the offensive end as the season progressed. With Munchie' absence, Branch was forced to contribute offensively and she did, scoring around the basket on outbacks, assists, and short jumpers from six to eight feet. If Branch can consistently be a factor on the offensive end, her recruitment will only pick up with the best of the best programs in the country. I am talking about teams that are in the Final Four every year. She is that good and every bit of 6'4. Aaniyah has the chance to be the best one out of this group and that is saying a lot!     Akudo's potential and trajectory is very similar to Branch's in that they both already dominate games on the boards and in the paint on defense. Ojeme is fairly new to the game and actually came to America from Austria as a tennis player. The second half of the season she was one of the very best posts in the state as she added offensive contributions to her game. Again, similar to Branch, Akudo scored most of her points at the rim cleaning up her teammates missed shots or off assist. She too showed the ability to hit jump shots out to about 12 feet. While her offensive game is still developing, the other aspects of her game have already gained the interest of several college coaches from division two to the SEC. Continued offensive development will be key, but Ojeme moves like a tennis player on the court sliding from side to side patrolling the paint. She has great mobility and beat her defender by sprinting down the court in transition regularly when I saw Providence play. The sky is the limit for Akudo and she is only a sophomore.     Lo, unlike some of her colleagues on this, already has a good a post game as any player in Georgia. She is very good on the block, using her size and length to establish position and give passers a target. Once she gets the ball, Lo has several moves in her package to get defenders off their feet or going the wrong direction before elevating a scoring. She shoots the ball very well, especially on the baseline, from ten to twelve feet. She is an opportunistic rebounder on the offensive glass where she seemed to get about six points a game on put backs. Lo has great size and skill and knows how to operate with the ball. Honestly, it's not even fair to evaluate her rebounding with Branch on her team as Aaniyah is one of the very best in the state at snatching missed shots out of the air. Murray is another player with multiple offers from the very best schools in the country. Her decision in the next two years could have a domino effect on the other players on this list.     Elle just finished her freshman season at Hebron surrounded by upperclassmen with division one talent where her playing time was limited but she performed well when she was on the court. Elle is tall and long and moves very well for her size and age. I was able to watch her play this past weekend and she looked ready to have a big travel ball season. Elle had great presence in the paint against a very good [program_tooltip program_id='1250230' first='Winners' last='United'] team. The thing that stood out most was how assertive she was when she was on the court. Almost like she had it all pinned up inside and it was ready to come out. She attacked the basketball on the glass, especially on the offensive end. She got big and posted up calling for the ball several times. She also displayed excellent footwork pivoting and drop stepping in a lot of traffic. She was active and energetic and took advantage of her touches scoring the ball on put backs and assist. She played with an edge and a little bit of grit which is something college coaches will like to see. Elle could comeback before her sophomore season having gained multiple offers after an impressive showing this Spring and Summer.     Layla had some dominant stretches at times during the games I watched Archer play this season. There were other times where she was not on the court for long periods. Consistency will be key for Layla if she wants to play at the very highest level of college basketball and beyond, something she absolutely has the physical gifts and potential to do. Adams, like Ojeme, is from Europe (Switzerland) and the physicality of the game is something that may take time to adjust to. With that being said, Layla flashed as impressively as any post player I saw this season when she was on. Blocking shots out of bounds and off the backboard, knocking down jump shots from the midrange and even a few threes without hesitation showed why some Power Four programs have already extended offers. Her potential is obvious and undeniable. Now, Layla has to put in the time, energy, and effort if she wants to become one of the nation's very best.

Some AAU or travel all organizations have started their season, while others are set to begin in the next few weeks. Our state is home to some of the very best "bigs" in the country. A big to me is any player over six foot in the girls game and Georgia is blessed with several, all of whom are receiving serious college interests from schools all over the country. And for good reason, as these players are the most rare and hard to find. When college coaches do find them, they want to lock them in as quickly as they can. Guards, for the most part, you can always find, but girls over six feet tall that have the athletic ability and skill to compete at the highest level is still very difficult. These players are valued and coveted because they are unique.