New Faces At New Places Bring Excitement

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had to sleep on what new title I was using after it was announced that <strong>Duncanville </strong>would not be allowed to compete in the playoffs this season. This comes as a huge surprise as I was anticipating yet another <strong>Duncanville/Desoto </strong>dogfight as both were clearly the top two teams in their district, but Texas 6A, the largest classification in the state</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Desoto</strong> is now in a position for a threepeat as they have won it back to back years but with the state's top freshman class, they are in a position to do what only one other team has done and capture four state titles at the highest classification, something which has been done only <strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">ONCE</mark></strong>, pay attention, I said <strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">HIGHEST</mark></strong> classification and that was by <strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">Mansfield</mark></strong> led by the legendary <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color"><strong>Erin Grant</strong>,</mark> who played on the first<strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color"> GIRLS McDonald's All American team in 2002</mark></strong>, contrary to what you may have heard, that was <strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">THE FIRST YEAR</mark></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I won't get into specifics, everyone has an opinion yet I choose to go with my mine because one more time, social media has been "trouble" like I said it was going to be in girl's basketball, over a <strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">DECADE</mark></strong> ago. Yes, there is plenty of good, even great things but like that old saying,<strong> One Bad Apple </strong>can spoil the whole bunch, <strong>Donny Osmond</strong> and his brothers even made a song about it,<strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color"> GOOGLE IT</mark></strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">Here are the players </mark></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Duncanville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='533758' first='Imani' last='Morris']-6'4 C [2023]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morris is a game changer waiting to happen and with her size along with being "long and athletic," she will create some issues in the paint on both ends. She's a hard match-up offensively and with her timing, you probably don't want to challenge her attacking the basket</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='206964' first='Chloe' last='Mann']-5'9 SG [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mann made a huge jump, not only in the rankings but in her skillset. Her explosiveness off the dribble coupled with great body control had me going during <strong>Alamo City Hoops #HSShowdown</strong>. The pull-up jumper has always been there, the range has been extended, and yes I love defying gravity</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='498830' first='Mariah' last='Clayton']-6'0 SF [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clayton made her debut in this season's rankings, I had lost track of her yet she put on a show at <strong>#NBC22</strong> which is <strong>Prime Time's National Championship</strong>. At <strong>Alamo City Hoops HS#Showdown</strong>, she put on Prime Time performances showing she was hard to handle off the dribble as well as from the outside</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='516307' first='Jasmine' last='Gipson']-6'0 SF [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gipson made her debut, caught her at a <strong>Prep Girls Hoops</strong> event with her club team so she was going to be added after that anyway. She too hadn't been seen by me, yet adding to her game even more at <strong>Alamo City Hoops #HSShowdown</strong> gave me a different look. Her pull-up jumper in transition was nice, and so were her rebounding and defense, yes she scored off the dribble too</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Desoto</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='206957' first='Ma'Riya' last='Vincent']-5'10 SG/SF [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vincent left the Houston area as one of the top players in Texas yet after her club season performance in July, she was elevated which is a good word because she elevates on her jumper, the midrange was a <strong>KILLA</strong>, as well as over defenders yet her finishing after contact, sometimes acrobatically spoke volumes </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='510466' first='Rieyan' last='Desouze']-5'7 PG [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Desouze was called a <strong>#D1Lock by me in the 3rd grade</strong>, <strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">yes I'm that good,</mark></strong> and with her countless offers on the table, well her and her freshmen teammates, one more time, I was right. She understands how to control the tempo, handles the ball under pressure, and has a variety of teammates that can catch her blistering passes and score. She too can score...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='510464' first='Amari' last='Byles']-6'2 PF [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Byles keeps bringing IT and just won't settle, that is apparent by her "keep adding to her game" mentality. She can be overpowering in the paint and I love watching her score with players literally hanging on her. That speaks volumes about her strength and she's a strong rebounder that can also defend, in and outside the paint</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='510465' first='Kamora' last='Pruitt']-6'2 SG [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pruitt had me in a daze over the summer, yeah I knew she was really, really good the first time I saw her but one more time, long and athletic is the base and what she adds is a pull-up jumper that is virtually impossible to defend because she can "get it off" whenever and however she wants. She drops it consistently, mid to long-range, with a hand in her face</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='510471' first='Amayah' last='Garcia']-5'11 CG [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Garcia made a huge jump in a number of ways, first of all, she added mass. That in itself gives her countless options because she can post up smaller guards, well bigger ones as well because she has nice moves around the basket but her ability to score off the dribble as well as drop the mid to long range will create problems. Oh yeah, she sees the floor</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CE King</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='309646' first='Kennedi' last='Alexander']-6'0 SF [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexander was already in the Top 100, her deep threes at <strong>#SouthwestShowcase</strong> had me elevate her. Yeah, she's long and athletic, in case you forgot that is still the base, and what got on her on the list initially was her slicing by defenders and finishing with either hand plus playing the passing lane as well as "on the ball" defense</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='521952' first='Brooklyn' last='Alexander']-6'1 PF [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexander joined her sister on the list, she made her debut this season as both will be making one at their new school. I loved her hands and footwork around the basket and finishing strongly after contact but she also showed me the midrange at that same <strong>#SouthwestShowcase</strong>. Factor in her rebounding and defense in the paint and voila </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->