2025 Tip Sheet #NextUp50
A wise man spread the word to the national evaluators over 15 years ago that “talent is everywhere” including Texas and since it was hard to go against the grain, that wise man said to hell with them and did it himself and here we are. The #NextUp50 class of 2025 players gave me a solid look at some of the players I’ll be including on Prep Girls Hoops Texas 2025 Watchlist and as I tell parents and players over and over, the only number you should be concerned about is the number of college coaches offering your daughter a scholarship. My daughter was ranked from #12 to #35 nationally, Kelvin Powell of Roundball Review and Basketball on the Bayou was the only one to get it right, I guess it didn’t help if I was “overbearing” and didn’t “know my place” yet my place is to let you know that contrary to what some of these people say, I am a REAL evaluator, I base things on what I see and always remember, the game has changed over my 20 years so I know where the bar was set and the several next level players I caught, including #D1Locks at the #NextUp50, just keep working everyone because I have seen players that couldn’t make a layup consistently in middle school put in the work and play as high as BCS, that’s the real and so is this
Taylor Burns-5’0 PG (Fire Basketball)
Burns has several things going for her, first of all, her decision making coupled with “sizedontmatter” when you can play and the heady combo guard actually understands how to control the tempo, she makes god passes, to the right people and she can handle the ball, all of these under pressure yet she also does something else well under pressure and that’s create her shot which she showed she could get it off from midrange with ease but she also uses the creativity to attack and finish, with either hand
Akyla Fields-5’4 PG (The Ballers)
Fields is explosive and her athleticism combined with that makes her hard to defend because she sets the defender up nicely and when she explodes, she finishes with power, this includes after contact but the more I watched her, I also noticed that same energy on the defensive end where she had no problem applying on-ball pressure. She anticipated well, she played the passing lane and flipping back to her offense, after the steal, her ballhandling gave her numerous options because she saw the floor or she took the pull-up jumper
Lyllian Walton-5’5 CG (TNBA)
Walton just keeps surprising me with something new every time I catch her and watching her create in this setting was extra impressive because she showed she could score multiple ways, either off the dribble or the jumper yet I already knew that but seeing her desire in the paint on the boards, she would not be outworked for rebounds, showed great positioning and brought some heat on the defensive end. To add icing on the cake, she also played the passing lane over as well as handled the ball coast to coast after the steal(s)
Ava Shaikh-4’11 SG (Iss Juss Uss)
Shaikh is listed under 5’0 yet she plays way above it, maybe it’s because she knows the game, maybe it’s because of her athleticism and desire or maybe she just can play, and applying heat on the defensive end was definitely one of my highpoints because she appeared to be wherever the ball was. She handles the ball well and can hot teammates with crisp passes but watching her create her shot was big, not only to see her attack the rim but using that same athleticism to elevate for the jumper
Bree Riley-5’6 SG (Texas Phenoms)
Riley gave me an eyeful starting with her energy which stayed the same from when she took her picture. This young lady will be hard to defend throughout high school, she has a nice first step, she’s athletic and she understands when to attack and when to drop the mid to long-range shot. She has the “HEZ” hesitation, she has the COP, change of pace and she has the C/O, crossover, and in the open court, forget about trying to stay with her, just get back but her defense is very good plus she plays the passing lane
Sophia Semmler-5’10 P (Cy Fair Elite)
Semmler has a lot going to work with starting with her size as well as agility, she runs the floor on both ends, she rebounds on both ends and she understands how to ignite the break with the outlet, a lost art yet I’m good at finding masterpieces and watching her use her body to establish position and “call for the ball” had me floating back to another dimension I formally call #THROWBACK. She finishes after contact, with either hand and she showed the mid to long-range over and over
Kami Barrow-4’11 PG (Fire Basketball)
Barrow came in at just under 5′[0 but she too showed it didn’t matter because she could handle the ball, I mean really handle the ball, and that along with her athleticism definitely gave me some highlights. The HEZ gets the defender to lean, she understands how to use it and attack off the dribble after where she can either finish or dish going full speed yet in the open court, she could shake the defender, going full speed, with either hand so when you starting adding things up, let’s not leave out the midrange which she can create under pressure
Ayanna Boston
Boston is athletic, she attacks the rim with power and she finishes with contact yet she also showed she could create her shot, when her body control and the first step, this will give her options on how she wants to take defenders and speaking of her body control, she showed some acrobatic finishes, even after contact but her energy stood out on both ends of the floor as she applied pressure, baseline to baseline, rebounded against taller players and played the passing lane
Brooklyn Mims-5’7 CG (Power)
Mims is long and athletic and she’s already improved since I caught her in the Bigfoot Classic but her attacking of the rim from everywhere, including going coast to coast while handling the ball under pressure was a treat that included several finishes after contactor using the floater. She defends well and plays the passing lane but let me back up, while handling the ball, she also sees the floor and makes good passes and all of this will make her a threat on both ends of the court
Kynlee Kejorner
Kejorner has good size and handles the ball well under pressure, which includes the length of the court but that also enables her to attack the rim from the wing, straight down the middle, or after the defensive rebound and she finishes with contact because she drives to basket with power yet is under control but she also does a good job at not only creating her shot but facing the basket for buckets. She did a good job rebounding on both ends of the floor as well as defending
Kaliah Flores-G (Texas Phenoms)
Flores is a heady guard that sees the floor and can handle the ball under pressure, those three things right there are big when you combine them because before you can play the game, you have to understand how to play it correctly and she made numerous “big girl” passes that were on the money. She does a good job at creating her shot, either to attack and finish attack and dish or just take the jumper herself and let me add she created her shot under pressure
Akanbelie Abagi-5’2 PG (Texas Phenoms)
Abagi hadn’t graced my presence yet she brought tons of presents for me to observe and again, size don’t matter when you can play so watching her apply heat on the defensive end using her athleticism quite well grabbed my attention at first, especially with her quick hands and playing the passing lane strongly but she also handles the ball well, finishes acrobatically and sees the floor, both under pressure but then she started dropping the long ball as well as showing what I love, the catch and shoot with accuracy
Wynter Smith-5’4 F
Smith has the right name because if someone is hot, she can cool them off with tight defense and what was even more impressive is that she loves to apply defensive pressure. She also understands how to get hers in the flow but seeing her go after loose balls, battles inside the paint not to leave out understand how to not only trap but switch, this is #THROWBACK stuff that I truly enjoy but she flipped it to other side and showed she could attack the basket and finish strong as well as create her shot
Lilyanna Flores-5’0 PG (Mamba Queens)
Flores upside is what just grabs me, yeah she’s a small guard yet one more time with the tic-tac-toe #sizedontmatter when you can play and watching her do things instinctively, such as the way she plays defense and reads the court, the way she talks on the court, the way she goes after loose balls, all are big but so is her being able to handle the ball under pressure and control the tempo. She sees the floor, makes the right passes to the right people at the right time, and can create her shot
Tamia Alexander-5’6 G (Texas Phenoms)
Alexander brought some energy immediately, even in the warm-ups so I sort of figured that would translate over to the games, it did and she battles inside the paint for rebounds, on both ends, and against taller players, this is something you can’t teach but she has a strong body, that helps as well as her understanding how to get positioning but she also showed she could finish on the put-backs, after contact as well as take defenders off the dribble. She plays within herself and understands the game
Ezra Tobias-5’0 PG (San Antonio Aces)
Tobias was yet another point guard that proved size didn’t matter because she “gets it” and watching her give it to teammates off the dribble in transition on the money was nice, she also made the right passes in the half-court set but she has and uses her athletic ability to make things happen like attack the basket, yeah she can dish off the dribble as well as finish strongly, after contact. Her ballhandling also was good while being pressured plus she applied pressure on defense
Chardel Terrel-5’7 SG (Texas Phenoms)
Terrel fits that “long and athletic” profile I talk about constantly because it is truly the base so what’s added is what’s very important and watching her explosiveness off the dribble coupled with “the base” especially when she can finish after contact is huge. She understands how to create her shot, which will give her options down the road and give her a variety of ways to score but she rebounds on both ends and she plays the passing lane, applies pressure defensively, and has good upside
Margan Allen-5’6 G
Allen is very athletic and can create her shot, whether it’s from the midrange or from BTA she understands how to get it off and it’s consistent but something else I like, she finds ways to put the ball in the basket as she adds blowing by defenders with a hard to handle first step or battling for offensive rebounds for put-backs but her body control is ahead of her years, that is going to give her numerous and-one opportunities because she can create contact while defying gravity
Silah Flores-5’0 PG (Lady Diamonds)
Flores is another #sizedontmatter player that just brought a whole lot to the table and again, you have to comprehend the game to be effective, especially running the 1, she does and she showed it. She can handle the ball while being pressured, she understands how to avoid being trapped and she sees the floor. Her pinpoint passes come in transition or as she attacks the rim and dishes yet she can keep it and finish as well. She also can create her shot, a consistent jumper, that too, under pressure
DeAvion Wilson
Wilson is “long and athletic” and her defense stood out almost immediately in the warmups yet it didn’t change once the games started. She reacts well and understands how to switch, she moves her feet while defending and she anticipates well, plays the passing lane but her upside is really good because of her energy level which stays the same and watching her attack the basket and finishes from various spots, after contact, tells me a lot on what’s coming
Lila Holmes
Holmes is another long and athletic player that could finish strongly, this includes rebounding and going coast to coast to finish, yes she handles the ball well in the open court but she has good timing, to block, deflect or alter shots and much can be attributed to her activeness on the defensive end so when you throw in the fact that she plays the passing lane, that ballhandling played a part in her getting to various spots on the court. She showed shed could set defenders up in the half-court, has good upside
Ruke Ogbevire-5’6 PG (Texas Phenoms)
Ogbevire made her first Tip Sheet from me in the 4th or 5th grade, called her a #D1Lock and she continues to prove me right. She’s long and athletic, she has “ups” which she uses to elevate over defenders for her jumper or attacking the rim and finishing but in transition, that and stop and pop is hard to contain because she can handle the ball so well you don’t what she’s going to do with her variety of offensive weapons, this includes seeing the floor through a microscope. The scary part is she has more coming
Sarah Gregory-5’4 PG (HIO Showtyme)
Gregory falls into the “I knew her before she was born” category and watching her watch her sisters, all three played at the next level, perform over the years, she definitely used to pay attention, again, if you comprehend the game, you’re ahead of the game and she can be that prototype point guard that facilitates or that explosive scorer because of her being able to create the mid to long-range with ease but her ballhandling, her seeing the floor, as well as her defense, will keep her in the mix
Rileigh Hairston-5’8 G (DC Queens)
Hairston may not be related to former Laker star Happy, yet she definitely kept me smiling because, yep, she’s long and athletic, she plays the passing lane, she elevates on her jumper as well as rebounds, on both ends, finishes with contact and has very good timing so with the timing and “ups” she blocks plenty of shots and seeing one sequence after the block and taking the ball the length of the court for a basket really was energizing to me so her upside is off the chain