2017 Queen of the South
ALEXANDRIA CRAIN (URBAN HEROES ELITE ALEXANDER)
ARLINGTON, Texas- The inaugural Queen of the South hosted by Nike Pro Skills, Missouri Phenoms and Urban Heroes was definitely a success, especially for me because I saw many new faces, caught up with some old ones and saw progression in many but more importantly than any of that were the number of players that were capable of playing at the next level and getting an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of a variety of college coaches.
I already had an event on my calendar however since this event started the night before, I had a chance to come by and see some of the action especially since it would be one of my last looks at Diamond Atchinson, who I’ve known from almost day one on earth and as she watched her sister do amazing things over the years, you just knew the basketball bug would rub off. I also waited around the next day just to see the return of a young lady, Sarah Andrews, that I knew would be off the chain when she was only in the 5th grade and of course, as always I was on the money ….. Many of these players were evaluated a couple of weeks ago at #IronSharpensIron so you can check that Tip Sheet for a recap
2018
Shakayla Johnson-5’5 guard (Team Strive Blue) handles ball and creates shot under pressure, nice pull-up, attacks and finishes with contact, athletic and acrobatic
Diamond Atchinson-5’5 PG (Nike Pro Skills 17U Red) Atchinson is fast, with the ball, knows how to run a team, control the tempo and is very vocal on the floor. Does a good job creating for her teammates, defends and scores if needed
Alexandria Crain-5’10 PG (Urban Heroes Elite Alexander) sees the floor extremely well, reads plays ahead of time and can score in droves, love the step back
Aulexus Pickens-6’1 PF (Urban DFW Top Prospects) physical in the paint, rebounds well on both ends, can score with back to basket or facing the basket, also defends on perimeter
Ta’Naiya Norwood-6’1 PF (Elite III Red) love the energy and she definitely fit the “never takes a play-off” saying. Ultra-athletic, explodes off the ground, scores from mid to long range, fluid shot and defends
Elease Stafford-5’11 PF (Missouri Phenoms KC) strong body, loves physicality both giving and taking, finishes strong and can hit the mid and long range with ease. Rebounds and defends
Tony Cuellar-5’9 SG (SA Finest Taybo) been watching this young lady a long, long time, progressed each year and then a growth spurt. Good shooter from all over the court, knows how to create shot under pressure, rebounds well
Jada Lake-5’11 forward (Texas Elite Adidas 832) very athletic, high energy and simply battles for rebounds, on both ends, and dives for loose balls. Defends baseline to baseline and can score from wing attacking or pulling up
ARIYANNA HALL (ARKANSAS ICE NATIONAL 17U)
2019
Ariyanna Hall- 5’6 PG (Arkansas Ice National 17U) handles ball well under pressure, creates for herself and teammates, gets to the rim and finishes with contact, love the midrange and she stepped on my toe going for a loose ball and said excuse me, all in one motion
Tailor Broussard-5’11 SF (UTLB Elite Green) very athletic, battles on both ends for rebounds, finishes strong with contact, defends in paint and on perimeter, plenty of upside
2020
Asha Thompson-5’11 PF (Nike Pro Skills 15U EYBL) all I can see is this squad is loaded watched them around 5 minutes but that’s all I needed. Thompson’s stroke was definitely something to see, dropped three 3’s in that span, nice pull-up and plays passing lane
Sarah Andrews-5’8 PG (Nike Proskills 17U EYBL) I said she’d be in the running for McDonald’s when she was in the 5th grade and I wasn’t talking about jogging to get a Big Mac. The poise she showed then as well as her ability would have enabled her to PLAY on just about every varsity team back in the day so fast forward to now. As good as she was, she’s even better and by that she makes those around her better. Very unselfish, she could drop 30 plus at this level whenever she wanted but she gets hers in the flow. It would be easier to write what she can’t do and I can’t think of anything other than dunking but she just came back so who knows