2019 San Jacinito Intermediate Tournament
GWENDLYN McGREW
PASADENA, TEXAS
My middle school tournament weekend ended with a bang as I caught some talented players I hadn’t seen before, a few I was supposed to see before an “act of GOD” closed down an event last season and of course, some, well one, that I have seen numerous times and already labeled as a BCS Lock so I’ll start with her team
Miller
Gwendlyn McGrew caught my eye less than a year ago at an event I used to cover frequently and the first time I saw her, I thought she was heading to high school as I took a quick glance at her shooting the long ball. The second day of the event, I watched her drop over 30 from a variety of ways and angles and with her size and frame, the sky is the limit for this talented young lady. The improvement I see in Kyle Obregon shows on the court, countless three pointers in pressure situations all day Saturday and the upside and potential I see in Jaden Johnson tells me it will be another JJ bringing Good Times on the court
South Houston
Faith Calvillo jumped out at me initially, she’s long, athletic and can attack powerfully but she wasn’t the only player that took it off the dribble for her squad. Kayla Hughes and Miracle Soto also attacked; Soto also uses her body well while Hughes dies a good job on defense
Brookside
Aniyah’s last name escapes me, she showed she could score but so did Mia Phan and Emily Phen
AIMEE ANGUETA
San Jacinto
Aimee Angueta was a pleasant surprise and reminded me of the #Throwback era as she just overpowered taller opponents and finished strongly off the dribble
Redding
You want power, Dumbei Okoye, you want power and strength on the boards, Tamia Allen and if you happen to want a young lady that scored more ways than I wrote down, Logan Riley
Westbrook
The trio of Khiy Loydrake, Jasmine Garcia and Lily King all showed me something, Loydrake’s coach happens to be one of the best shooters from the area in this century and she also happens to be her aunt and is one of several former players I watched back in the day that are coaching now
Pearland South
Nyah Hardy is athletic, can shoot the three and sees the floor well and La’Niah Thornton knows how to use her body, has nice moves on the inside and is active on the court
Lake Jackson
Brooklyn Baker showed #sizedontmatter as her ballhandling and athleticism helped her get to the rim numerous times and Hannah Bartlett with the “put backs” told me a lot
McNair
Chimago Nwokedi is athletic, long and attacks relentlessly, her upside is going to be scary as she’s showing signs of doing some damage
KAYLA CARTER
Aldine Jones
Coach Alicia Seay is another coach I had the privilege of watching, the heat she brought on both ends still has me smh and Kayla Carter is on the verge of breaking out. Attacked from the baseline to hit the pull-up, not just once, that’s a hard shot but she gets to the basket effortlessly and hits the mid. Sariyah Slater understands something very important, how to play the passing lane. Nice upside from Delaney Calhoun as this DC has the potential to Marvel you
Dickinson
Plenty of talent and athleticism spread out, I’ll add names later
Thompson
Won the championship as Amyiah Cotton went on a scoring rampage, love how she can create her shot under pressure but her desire and never give up mentality shows as she is a battler. Trinity Maxwell has good hands, stole the ball numerous times and plays passing lane and also scored multiple ways. Mackenna Houston showed a lot of potential, she’s athletic and gets it, Belle Perridon attacks well, uses her athleticism nicely and plays the passing lane but when you add powerful finishes to go along with playing that passing lane, Brooklyn Bush did it over and over