2021 Rise 8th/9th Grade Tip Sheet

The 8th/9th Grade Division at Rise gave me a little bit of everything as far as players at different positions who are already showing next-level potential and this is why I do what I do, to look for players who can play SOMEWHERE at the next level.

There are almost 1500 colleges and universities out there, don’t get caught up in D1 or that notion that “if you can play, they will find you” that makes absolutely no sense nor does “chasing scholarships” because more than times than not, you’re not being placed in the right situation0. How do I know this, I’ve been out here over 20 years, I’ve been covering Texas when the other guys, Blue Star, ASGR, Prospect Nation and even Hoopgurlz weren’t covering Texas as a whole until I just said “to hell with it” and did it myself so I know several things regarding how this works, it’s political and many have agendas, I didn’t play their games, my daughter over 100 D1 offers, half of what 4 EYBL teams combined was tweeted out based on some algorithm that made no sense and my daughter played 8 years in the WNBA so click on NCAA link and see how hard it is, well it’s even harder, their numbers are wrong, mine aren’t so here are some of the standouts, rosters were not turned in by any club, thanks to parents who helped out

Tiara Louis (Lady Arnold) handles the ball smoothly in traffic, scores off the dribble, and finishes with either hand. Creates her shot, knocks down the jumper

Azhjanee Mitchell (Lady Arnold) strong rebounder, on both ends of the court and did a good job defending both in and outside the paint. Showed she could finish

Starllett Stout (Arlington Rise) long and athletic is the base I use and her timing was nice as she blocked shots as well as rebounded against taller players

Starbright Charles (Arlington Rise) set the defender up nicely with a deceptive first step, this enabled her to get to the rim and finish after contact included

Makeyla Vation (Pro Skills) I’m simply speechless as she has D1 written all over because of her scoring and rebounding, not to leave out her defense

Morgan Davis (Pro Skills) heady PG that is showing she can play the combo and her extra inches upward are creating problems on defense

Reagan Wright (Pro Skills) did a good job catching the defender leaning and that enabled her to get to the rim with ease, finishing the same way

Autumn Willams (Pro Skills) handles the ball well in traffic and saw the floor making pinpoint passes on the money for assists, yet she also scored

Maddison Crawford (Pro Skills) SDM #sizedontmatter when you can play and that she can as she got to rim whenever she wanted, finished acrobatically

Ayonma Cooper (Pro Skills) her athleticism alone was impressive yet she went after the ball off the rim, scored off the dribble and on putbacks

Kendall Foster(Pro Skills she’s long and athletic, handles the ball, and throws passes on the money yet her first step is very nice and it leaves the defender standing in many instances but icing on the cake for me was watching her play the passing lane, very good upside