2014 Memorial Weekend Showdown Tip Sheet
COUSINS ESSENCE WELLS & KAYLA WELLS
DUNCANVILLE, Texas-There was so much talent on every court at Bob Knight Fieldhouse that I even found myself caught up watching a 4th grade boys game so that should tell you something. Based on the dominance Texas showed on the USA teams, 33% from U18 and U17, you know or should have known as much as I’ve said it about the talent in Texas however teams from Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico also showed up and showed out. Here’s a list of young ladies that caught my eye at the Memorial Weekend Showdown
2015
Alexis Adams (RL-9) Adams blew me away back in October and I couldn’t believe that was her first sea+son on varsity but Adams is a game changer on defense. She’s “ultra” athletic and can simply dominate in the paint with her ability to rebound and block shots plus out jumping just about anyone. Offense is steadily coming around; she’s going to be a steal
Tatyana Perez (Cy Fair Jolivette) Perez reminds me of my first electric football game the way she zig-zags through defenses. She saw the floor and hit many of her abundance of targets for easy baskets but also showed she could score when needed and I’m talking either attacking the basket or mid to long range
Dabrasia Baty (Dallas Stars) Chelsea Warren is always a lock for a Tip Sheet but Baty was definitely a key. Her athleticism is through the roof on both ends, she defended baseline to baseline and got to the rim whenever she wanted but her court vision and outside shooting were huge in the Stars winning the Platinum Division
Yazmin Batch (Arkansas Lady Beast) Batch reminded me that I spoke with her last season about my daughter going through a knee injury like she was doing and again wanted thank me for sharing that with her. Well I want to thank her for putting on a show and she shows no signs of being injured other than the brace. She scores effortlessly from everywhere and was relentless on defense
2016
Kennedi Burks (Dream Team) the scary part is the finished product isn’t even there but Burks is electrifying with the ball. Possessing one of the quickest first steps I’ve seen this season, she simply blows by and elevates over defenders and her defense was simply exhausting. Nice outside touch and plenty of upside
Andrea Funderburke (Austin Elite) Funderburke is one of many exciting guards from AE and after watching her come up huge back to back weekends, she simply brings it every play. She brings and applies heat on both ends and with a nice change of pace dribble, she does some damage attacking or from outside
Essence Wells (Lady Big Dogs) Wells is one of those players that can simply turn it on when needed. She’s good, I don’t know if she always realizes how good she is but her ability to take over games multiple ways is something to see. She’s so smooth that it happens in the flow, on both ends and once she understands she has the package……
MADISON HATTIX-COVINGTON
2017
Kayla Wells (Arlington Swoosh) The BCS move she made keeps playing back in my head but I’ve become accustomed to seeing this exciting young lady do those types of moves for a couple of years. She’s long and explosive and with her ammunition on both ends, she’s made a tremendous jump to a BCS LOCK
Megan Valdez (South Texas Hoyas) Valdez is simply ICE, she’s cool on the court and doesn’t get flustered. She’s also more than just a long range threat and her ability to diversify her game over the years has her on the short lists of many colleges. Good ball handler that sees the floor and defend but don’t get it twisted, she can take over with cracking a smile
Kavionnia Brown ( SW Elite) I teased her and her teammate Amaya Brown about being related to Freddie Brown because of the skyscrapers from 30 feet but Kavioonia simply is a sparkplug that makes things happen. She’s lighting fast and acrobatic which enables her to not only create headaches on defense but get to the basket. Huge upside and she has nothing but time
Tori Lasker (Arkansas Mavericks 2017) Lasker was one of several young standouts on the Mavericks, this is something I’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the organization over the years but it wasn’t just her athleticism nor defense, not even her ability to steal the ball and finish, what I truly liked was how she broke down the defense time after time
Madison Hattix-Covington (Team Xpress) Hattix-Covington continues to blossom into a bright star and her length and athleticism are only overshadowed by the smoothness she shows on the floor. She can create her own shot plus she has excellent timing to block deflect on defense but like these other talented freshmen, she still has time