2024 All Eyez On Me- The Babies Are Coming

I saw plenty of young talent, some as young as the 4th grade who were ready to showcase their skills and the way they picked up what was being taught so quickly had me smiling, here ya go. MOST OF THESE PLAYERS WERE INITIALLY IN SESSION ONE, more coming

Harmoni Spraggins (2033) crossed the state line to come to the event and I also had a chance to catch her showcasing her skills playing on a boy’s team yet let me say this, her ceiling has no roof as she can handle the ball and create her shot under pressure. She scored off the dribble, dropped the jumper, and showed the step-back, but her court vision along with her defense had me SMH. Let me drop #D1Lock right now

Kiyah Carmichael (2030) is a “long and athletic” guard who used a deceptive first step coupled with a slight HEZ to get to the basket and finish but her “on the ball” defense, as well as her quick hands, got her some steals that led to scoring opportunities. She also created her shot while being defended, elevated on her jumper, and dropped it

Maila Johnson (2030) is heady and plays within herself but she caught on quickly during the skills session and her reacting and doing things instinctively tells me a lot about her upside. She too is an athletic guard who uses her athleticism on both ends and her defensive pressure in the set was tough, and so was her attacking the basket off the dribble to score

Kensie Ajose (2030) has plenty of upside as she gave me a variety of offensive skills starting with creating her shot under pressure to attack the basket and finish, after the lick included but I also liked her court vision both in the set, as well as in transition. Her decision-making was solid, so was her defense but her pull-up jumper in the set as well as her “stop and pop” were also nice

Ellie Mae Lester (2029) falls into that #sizedontmatter hashtag because she can flat-out play. She sold me almost 3 years ago and watching her “on the court” progression speaks volumes as she’s turning into a “nightmare to defend”. Part of that is her creativity and handles and another part is her mindset of “you can’t stop me” but her mid to long-range is solid, so are her acrobatic finishes yet her court vision gives her options, and she defends

Kyndall Harvey (2029) gave me a ballhandling exhibition that will only get better because she is doing things fluidly. Her crossover had me fooled as she showed it in transition as well as in the set but her ability to get to the rim and finish or dish was nice yet what made it even nicer is she did it with either hand, now that’s HUGE at this stage. She also saw the floor and made good decisions

Lennix Matthews (2029) also gave me the slight HEZ to get by the defender and attack the basket but her strong finishes, after contact at times, were nice. She also showed good body control while in the air and speaking of air, she did a good job getting the defender off their feet to drop the jumper. She saw the floor and made good decisions plus her “on the ball” defense was solid

Ariella Botello (2029) another #sizedontmatter player who showed she could play and her intensity immediately grabbed my attention because she enjoyed applying heat in the one-on-one drills. That same intensity was there when the games started and her baseline-to-baseline pressure was among the best in the group. She does a good job creating her shot and scored off the dribble

Bristol Jensen (2029) has PGH Top 100 written all over her at some point her variety of ways to score is ahead of her years. Yes, she does a good job setting the defender up to drop the jumper with a few moves but her pull-up jumper in transition was nice, and so was her “catch and shoot” with a hand in her face. She scored strongly off the dribble and her court vision across the board was more than solid

Bryn Levie (2029) had me smiling at the variety of ways she had the defender leaning before she attacked the basket to score, here we go again, with either hand. I love seeing #THROWBACK stuff and her body control after contact was also impressive. She created her shot from the outside to drop it, just for fun, and she showed me the step-back from midrange and her court vision was nice

Rubianna Jones (2029) is heady and already understands how to use her frame on both ends of the floor. She did a good job getting positioning to rebound, on both ends and her interior defense was tough but when she showed me her “spin move” to score around the basket. I’m thinking “What else you got” and I guess it was a telepathic message because she gave me the “hands and footwork” another #THROWBACK

Lakynn Granger (2029) showed a nice first step to get by the defender to score or dish off the dribble, her body control on her finishes was nice and she also saw the floor in the set as well as in the open court but she was another young player that impressed me by finishing strongly with either hand, a few after the lick and combined with her pull-up jumper was very nice

Scarlett Long (2029) her last name fits because she is “long and athletic” and watching her use her length and athleticism on both ends spoke volumes because she scores off the dribble, showed me the “hands and footwork” inside the paint, and BATTLED for everything off the rim but her #THROWBACK style of play had me smiling. She also scored on putbacks and her court vision was solid

Madelynn Long (2029) Evidently it took me LONG to realize they were twins as she too is “long and athletic” but peep this, she showed me the turnaround jumper around the basket early, as well as her “hands and footwork” to finish. Solid court vision in the set, rebounded strongly on both ends, and played good defense inside the paint. She also created her shot from the outside to drop it, even gave me the step-back

A’Kira Whitmore (2028) would be on my ALL-DEFENSIVE team if I had one but I got a kick out of how strong and powerful she is, yet staying under control and seeing her score with players hanging on her was a huge YES. She dove for loose balls on the floor, #THROWBACK, she rebounded and played the passing lane. She rebounded, on both ends and showed good timing to block shots and handle the ball afterward. Her court vision was nice, so was her pull-up jumper