2020 Prime Time Nationals day 1 #NBC20
ESSENCE WATKINS & EMORI DAVIS
GRAPEVINE-TX- I heard it through the grapevine that there would be some talented players, many I hadn’t seen before on opening day and this came from the man himself who runs Prime Time so I made a plan to spend all day and as usual, Mr. Stephens was on the money so the 11th/12th Grade Division winners are DC Queens Cen-Tex, I already did a special on them on here as well as a Player Spotlight on one of their star 2021 players, Valerie Panuco, on my blog and I’ll be doing another team spotlight on the Katy Sting who won the 9th/10th Grade Division, that too will be on my blog sometime next week but here are some of the standouts I caught on opening day
Kaitlyn Martinez -guard (Hoyas Elite)
Martinez left a lasting first impression because not only could she shoot the long ball, her ability to catch and shoot while being defended just got me going and pumped to start the day but she also defended and attacked the basket
Makayla Twyman-forward (Hoyas Elite)
Twyman is long and athletic, played the passing lane and was yet another Hoyas player that shot the long ball well but her first step set everything up for her offensively as she could take defenders to the rim or shoot the pull up jumper
Makayla Abdulah-guard (Hoyas Elite)
Abdullah was dropping the long ball, I thought I was watching the Pleasantville trailer when I walked in on this squad, but she’s athletic, she defended and she made big plays on both ends of the court not leave out handled the ball and saw the floor
Madison Martin-guard (DC Queens Denton)
Martin has made multiple Tip Sheets from me before high school and this one adds to the list as she is only a 2024. She brings so much to the table but her poise sold me a long time ago and her ability to run the one is more than solid as she understands how to run a team as well as take over a game with her explosiveness and she too plays the passing lane
Rodnyesha McMillan-forward (DC Queens Denton)
McMillan showed plenty of power in the paint as she finished constantly with players hanging on her and when you add that she rebounded well on both ends of the court, got the outlet going, ran the floor as well as defended strongly, well that’s a mouthful
Gracie Hunter (DC Queens Denton)
Hunter shot the long ball well on opening day and she hit some big shots in the clutch to keep teams honest from trying to double the post as well as relieve some of the pressure on the point but her ability to attack as well as defend added to the team effort
SANIA THOMAS
Sania Thomas-forward (Principles 1st Select Black)
Thomas is long and athletic, I speak about that being the base over and over because it is and watching her play the passing lane as well as alter, deflect or block shots only adds to the equation however she made my Tio Sheet at the Katy Classic and has expanded her offensive game even more as she is not only attacking stronger, she’s facing the basket and scoring
Amaya Petit (Principles 1st Select Black)-guard
Petit was dropping the long ball consistently on opening day but she also understood how to mix it up by attacking the basket. She did a good job of not only creating her shot but catching and shooting it under pressure
Breanna Daniels-guard (Principles 1st Select Black)
Daniels impressed me early by seeing the floor and making tight passes on the money yet she also attacked the basket strongly and was an “and one” waiting to happen at times but she also shot the long ball, hold on, shot it well along with playing the ever so important passing lane
Kelsey Ground-guard (DFW Hawks)
Ground was up in the air after putting on one of the best opening day clutch scoring performances I’ve seen on an opening day at Prime Time Nationals as she simply found ways to put the ball in the basket by attacking the rim or hitting the mid to long-range
Tatum Poppe (Katy Sting)
Poppe was balling hard before she took a hard hit but guess what, she came right back and she understands how to create her shot as well as shoot the long ball under pressure. Her pull-up jumper in transition, as well as her finishing with contact, stood out
Audrey Hernandez (Katy Sting)
Hernandez does plenty of things well but she gets the team going with her ability to push the ball and hit the open man. Seeing the floor well is always big but she also attacks the rim and finishes strong even after contact
Kayla Boven (Katy Sting)
Boven just was overpowering at times and her aggressiveness on both ends of the floor was an eye-opener for a number of reasons as she applied pressure and took it as well but watching her finish over and over after the lick was neat
Samantha Ketter (Principles Select)
Ketter used her athletic ability nicely as she not only rebounded strongly on both ends of the court, she also defended under the basket and outside the paint. She also showed she was a legitimate scoring threat with her back to the basket
Tatiannya Washington (Principles Select)
Washington is long and athletic, remember that’s the base and she keeps the ball high, understands the simple things and she showed she could attack the basket
Olivia Higgins (Principles Select)
Higgins is a speedy guard that handles the ball under pressure, I can’t emphasize how important that is because when you’re fast and under control, good things will happen
JALYN WHITE
Jalyn White (Burk City)
White is long and athletic, she attacks the basket effortlessly while being guarded and finished strongly after contact but her energy trickled down to her teammates as they made an impression to finish 4th in the 11/12 Grade Division but she didn’t just attack the basket, she showed she could knock the long ball down
Eternity Hull (Burk City)
Hull also attacked the basket, relentlessly and understood how to not only create contact from the defense with a nice hesitation, she relished the contact and finished after the lick. The pressure wasn’t one-sided as she applied it as well
Sahni Sanders (Team Takeover Black)
Sanders is an athletic guard that sees the floor, has a nice pull-up jumper and attacks the basket strongly from, well everywhere but she also finishes just as strong as she attacks and showed she could handle the ball and see the floor
Kasja Johnson (Team Takeover Black)
Johnson is long and athletic, one more time, that is the base and she did several things that just popped out, like grabbing the rebound and going coast to coast to finish but what I love seeing players is something that isn’t being taught as it should, she follows her shot
Nekayla Williams (Team Takeover Black)
Williams has several positives going for her other than her strong frame and power on the inside and one of them is her “blue-collar mindset” of “you won’t outwork me” Her defense, is just solid, she takes the charge, can defend inside or out and she blocks shots, so her rebounding on both ends wasn’t a surprise but her passing was, she sees the floor very well and she can score with players hanging on her
MIAH THOMAS
Miah Thomas (Rose City Lady Warriors)
Thomas falls into that long and athletic group I talk about over and over and her athleticism jumped right away at me because I wrote “ups” almost immediately as she elevated over everyone but watching her play the passing lane and show nice post up moved was great yet her attacking the rim and defying gravity left me somewhat speechless
Khayla Simmons (Rose City Lady Warriors)
Simmons did a spin move that brought back memories, of me, yet her athleticism was on full display as she attacked strongly from just about every angle. Her shot is fluid and speaking of shot, she was another player I saw following her own over and over
Asia Parker (Rose City Lady Warriors)
Parker attacked the basket hard, she’s long and athletic, she brought plenty of heat on the defensive end and she seemed to enjoy applying pressure which often led to a turnover. She understands positioning, did a good job rebounding on both ends
Rachae Fowler (Lady Bulldogs)
Fowler has an abundance of offensive tools and she had them on full display early because not only can she attack but she sees the floor and makes the pass off the dribble but her handling of the ball was solid under pressure, so was her pull-up jumper
Laney Mitchell (Lady Bulldogs)
Mitchell would make my “All Battle” team because she’s another player that refuses to be outworked and with that mindset, good things will happen so her athletic ability helped apply pressure on defense and she finished strong
Taylor Maag (Lady Bulldogs)
Maag understands how to use her body to her advantage, on both ends of the floor and her ability to finish, after the lick, was consistent which is also the same way she rebounded the ball, on both ends of the court
Ivory Scott (287 Elite)
Scott is one of those players you go ask “who is she” and I wrote 2025 down and if that’s her class, OMG yet that’s why non-erroneous rosters are important but she’s athletic, attacks, plays the passing lane and has a solid jumper
ADDISON KNOTT
Anna Nagus (Kingdom Performance)
Nagus is, uh oh, long and athletic and she did quite well in a number of areas on defense because she rebounded well, did that on both ends, she manned up on the outside and applied pressure in the paint but she also showed great timing as she blocked numerous shots
Addison Knott (Kingdom Performance)
Knott was simply solid in a number of areas, she had good size and agility and she’s strong but she plays within herself and doesn’t force anything yet fills up that stat sheet as well as does numerous things that you won’t see on it. She finishes strong and just competes
Essence Watkins (Texas U Baxter)
Watkins is one of the reasons Fairfield won a state title, she’s over the magic number of 6’0, she’s long and athletic and she plays the passing lane like an All Pro cornerback, safe. As I added multiple sports, she added the ability to block shots and finish yet at around 6’3, her upside is scary
Emori Davis (Texas U Baxter)
Davis was another reason Fairfield won it all, she plays within herself, she controls the tempo yet she also understands when to push the ball and who the get the ball to. She handles the ball under pressure and sees the floor the same way yet she also showed she could score
Marti Seymour (DFW Hawks 2021)
Seymour was one of the best long-range shooters I saw all day, keep in mind I’m covering three courts at the same time yet it also seems like she was dropping a deep one and I mean deep. Great range, creates her shot and drops in the clutch
KAYLI KELLOGG
Vee Jackson (SGBC High School)
Jackson attacks the basket impressively, she picks and chooses when and how but she also finishes with contact, strongly, showed she could not only create her shot but the pull-up jumper was solid and on top of that, she also rebounds
Lyric Barr (Principles Select Red)
Barr’s upside is really scary, she’s nowhere near the finished project yet she’s showing signs of being able to dominate for a number of reasons including being long and athletic as well as standing over the magic number, once again that’s 6’0
Kynnedy Rose (DC Queens 2021 Orange)
Rose is an athletic point guard that sees the floor as well as handles the ball under pressure. She attacks the basket from a variety of spots, finishes well and makes solid passes but she also brought some heat on the defensive end
Kayli Kellogg (Lady Blue Devils)
Kellogg caught my eye as I was heading to another court to see some older players, she’s a 5th grader but something about her face as she attacked the basket made me pause. Then she stole the ball and hit a three, stole it again and had an assist, stole it again and hit a midrange so I HAD TO FIND OUT who this kid was and low and behold, her dad is the head women’s coach at Stephen F Austin, so let me go ahead and do this now #D1Lock, she has things you can’t teach and her knowledge of the game is better than some players heading to play in college