’21 Prime Time 8TH Grade DivisionTip Sheet #NBC21

I’m closing out my 2021 Prime Time Nationals coverage with a lot of talented and entertaining players heading to high school. I didn’t see everyone, but I saw quite a few, and here are some of the standouts from the 8th Grade Division I caught on opening day at PSA McKinney

Mariah Hill (DFW Hawks Platinum) sees the floor very well and with her ability to thread the needle on passes, that’s big, yet she also attacks the rim hard and finishes after contact, plus she rebounds on both ends, from the guard spot

Emery Bryan (DFW Hawks Platinum) showed she could drop the long ball, from deep, right off the top, and just to keep the defense guessing, her first step set up her attacking the basket and finishing after contact

Aolani Woldai (DFW Hawks Platinum)long and athletic, attacked from everywhere and finished after contact, sometimes acrobatically yet she also played the passing lane

Julie Kasonga (DFW Hawks Platinum) is also long and athletic, yet has some pretty good timing to block, alter and deflect shots and she brings the same energy from start to finish, rebounds on both ends as well

MaKyah Foreman (BDA Ford) handled the ball well, including under pressure yet also saw the floor well, also under pressure but when you can pass the ball with ZIP between players numerous times, on the money, that’s good, so is her upside

Kayla Phillips (BDA Ford) showed power on her finishes, sometimes with players figuratively hanging on her yet that same power was showing with her rebounding, on both ends of the court

Jazmyne Gilbert (Southwest Elite) is long and athletic, yeah, still the base but her pull-up jumper either in transition or in the set wasn’t anything to take lightly because she also took defenders off the dribble so she mixed it up nicely

Layla Moseby (Southwest Elite) attacks the rim from everywhere yet her ballhandling, under pressure, and ability to see the floor and make the pass, either full-court or off the dribble was very nice

Ayonna Cooper (Pro Skills 14U Mattox) strong and athletic, attacks the basket from every angle with either hand and showed she could finish, with either hand but her pull-up jumper was pretty good, so was her defense and rebounding, very good upside

Sema Udo (DC Queens 2025 Orange) is long and athletic, battles on the boards for rebounds and did a good job finishing yet she also showed she could create her shot and knock down the pull-up jumper

Jaclyn Silva (Pro Skills 13U National) she brings so much energy and her ability to “thread the needle” for assists is something else but she’s heady, plays within herself, and understands how to control the tempo yet off the dribble or the jumper, she can score

Maya Thompson (Pro Skills 13U National) is long and athletic and her high flying acrobatics just keeps getting better as she glides to the basket from the wing, defies gravity but she’s showing the pull-up jumper and has already shown “playing the passing lane

Jade Perez (SA Grizzlies 2025) off the dribble, she scored frequently and finished after contact yet she showed the long ball and how can I say this, “she has unlimited range” yet she also can and shoot it, that’s big

Jillian Topping (Lady Drive Nation Topping) she’s long and athletic but also strong and powerful and with another growth spurt, she’s becoming a true monster, and here’s why. She has size, elevates on the jumper, and knocks the mid to long-range down, on a pull-up jumper yet her timing to block, alter and deflect plus her ballhandling enables her to handle the ball in the open court after the block, or, oh yeah, she plays the passing lane

Ava Batty (Lady Drive Nation Topping) you can’t teach desire and watching her battle for loose balls or whatever comes off the rim made me smile but so did her pull-up jumper from midrange

Adrianna Robles (Lady Drive Nation Topping) heady guard who sees the floor while being pressured yet handles it well and with that solid court vision, her ballhandling is also good, plus she can take the defender off the dribble

Lauren Barrios (SA Grizzlies 2025) created her shot nicely to attack, which she did well and finish, she also that well but her creating of her shot didn’t stop there as she showed she could drop the mid to long-range with ease

Andrea Gonzalez (SA Grizzlies 2025) is yet another 3 point shooter from this squad and I mentioned in a tweet it was like watching the Pleasantville trailer yet try to guard any of them wasn’t pleasant yet Gonzalez showed me something else other than a quick-release on the long ball, she showed the step-back and creating separation is going to create some problems for defenders

HONORABLE MENTION

Chanel Shuler (Pro Skills 13U National)

Ambrosia Cole (Pro Skills 13U National)

Soijer Smith (Pro Skills 13U National)

Madison McGhie (Pro Skills 13U National)

Eryn Makenzie (DFW Hawks Platinum)

Lily Melton (DFW Hawks Platinum)

Karina Smith (BDA Ford)

Jaylynn Chatman (BDA Ford)

Dede Franklin (Lady Jammers 2025)

Michelle Simona (Lady Jammers 2025)

Mia Curtis (Southwest Elite)

Aralynn Esquivel (SA Grizzlies 2025)

Shailah McClure (SA Grizzlies 2025)

Camile Logan (DC Queens 2025 Orange)