2013 College Prep Challenge Tip Sheet
CHELSEA WARREN (DALLAS STARS)
The College Prep Challenge name spoke for itself this past weekend as several young prep stars will be playing in college. I love identifying new talent, I think I’m an excellent judge of talent and more importantly I’m usually on point when I do an evaluation. Talent is everywhere in Texas, I’ve said that before and I’ll continue to say it because sometimes people miss it which is why I try to get around to various places so I can see what others may have missed. Here are some of the players that stood out and believe me I had an abundance of names to choose from as there were several stars over the two days. Keep in mind I’ll be back for Prime Time Nationals next month and you can always find out where I’ll be simply by checking under events on the main website
2014
Ellan Baker-5’8 guard-Texas Lady Vols
This young lady happens to attend Rockwall High School and when I saw the school team playing together a few weeks ago, their coach mentioned they were missing a couple that I might want to see as well and she was correct. Baker is a scorer and by that I mean she can put the ball in the basket multiple ways. She can also handles the ball and rebound well but even with all that she has the ability to simply explode off the dribble or jumping for rebounds
2015
Chelsea Warren-6’0 forward-Dallas Stars
I don’t know if she’s 6’0 or not however when you’re a throwback that simply battles on every possession like Warren does, you’re getting that fraction of an inch. I saw improvement in her game last month and even more against even better competition. Warren was a scoring and rebounding machine over the weekend and controlled the semifinal game during several stretches on both ends
Arielle Brown-5’10 forward-Athletic Elite
I missed seeing her play on opening day but it was something about her demeanor that told me she was a player. I’m not always right when I make this assumption but I’m seldom wrong and I wasn’t disappointed. This young lady is a coaches dre3am, she never takes a play off and she’s also the type of player I need to get my adrenaline going. Long and athletic, she goes wherever she wants almost at will. She anticipates, can go coast to coast and she does it not only fast but under control. When she nailed a couple of 25 footers, it was no doubt
TAJSHIA MOORE (TEXAS ICE)
2016
Renecia Simpson-5’10 forward-ET Freeze
I liked her when I thought she was a junior however when you have the time that she has left, I’m expecting her value to go up even higher. I caught her opening day showing me all sorts of things like blocking shots and getting put backs as she used her athleticism to her advantage. She also showed she could hit the midrange but what I really liked was her ability to adjust after going for a steal and not getting it. She also played tough D, which is always a plus
Tajshia Moore-6’0 post-Texas Ice
Let’s see, good body that can take punishment, excellent hands, nice footwork and already at the magic number that college coaches love usually is enough to get you to the next level. Add the fact that she can finish on a variety of ways is an added bonus and although I didn’t see her face the basket to score much, the times she did, well she did
2017
Aakilah Caldwell-Tyle-5’9 guard-Cy Fair Nike AC
What can I say other than this young lady has almost made my Tip Sheet three times as well as several of her teammates but talk about big upside, Caldwell-Tyle has it. Let me put this way, she’s a next level player right now, no question but how high she goes is up to her and I’m talking off the court because she goes up after everything on it. She can score and defend, not to mention great aptitude but when your initials are ACT, well…….
Alesa Gerald-5’6 guard-Arlington Swoosh
This is another young lady that plays on a very young team with multiple next level players and Gerald showed me even more on Championship Sunday. I knew she was fast and could get wherever she wanted, not to mention defend however she controlled the tempo which helped her squad pull out some tight ones against the “big girls” and also put her team in a position to more than compete for the Grand Championship
2018
Kennedy Taylor-5’4 guard-Lady Big Dogs
Taylor also plays on the younger team however she wasn’t fazed one bit by playing with and against the older girls. Four or five players were in contention for the “Tip Sheet” however if you want to get my attention, throw back to back no looks through traffic for baskets, I’m talking from over 20 feet. That, along with her ability to turn on the turbo was enough for me but there’s even more in her arsenal as this young lady has a very bright future