Ice not melting in July heat
IMPERIAL ICE
DUNCANVILLE & SAN ANTONIO, Texas- I was trying to decide which Imperial Ice player to place on the Tip Sheet and initially I figured I’d do one from both events, Big State Flava and The Blueprint however I saw this team probably five or six times during the first half and it was a tossup on just which players. I mean Shae Routt is almost always a no brainer as well as the Truong twins however Taylor Thomas and Stacy Rios both came up huge and then Terri Abram went completely off, not to mention strong showings from Jayla Young numerous times until I just said it’s a wrap/ I’ve seen these young ladies over 2o times this season and I may be lowballing it because no matter what event I was covering, they were there, hey they were even watching HS games that I attended, you can’t beat that and from what I’m seeing on the floor with the talent and progression, no matter what the final score may be, you can’t beat them either
SHAE ROUTT
2018
Shae Routt-6’2 wing-Routt continues to add to her game and the biggest jumps I’m seeing is the midrange and attacking from the wing showing that when she enters the University of Texas she’ll be more than just a back to basket player. Also she’s becoming a defensive nightmare on the perimeter and it’s even scarier as she is just entering high school
Jayla Young-5’11 post-Young’s athleticism and size will have her playing at the next level but her game continues to evolve and that will give her more options. She’s already solid on the defensive end, loves to battle in the paint and won’t back down. I’m watching the offense progress as she’s made jumps from March
Terri Abram-5’0 guard-Smooth and speed, Abram can take defenders off the dribble and finish with contact and I mean contact. Her outside shooting keeps getting better as well as her defense but what impressed at both events even more is she’s willing to take the big shot and she came up even bigger after taking them
Stacy Rios-5’1 guard-If I wore a hat I’d take off because like her initials, she made SR type plays at both events. Rios has always been able to think the game however what she’s adding to not only her ability to create and set teammates up is her ability to create for herself and she showed stretches where she simply took over
TAYLOR THOMAS
2019
Taylor Thomas-5’5 guard- Thomas is a ball full of energy, she impressed me two years ago and I’ve watched her game jump over the last month. Much of that has to do with maturity, she rarely makes mistakes especially the same ones and she’s becoming the gas that’s making the engine run smoother, oh, plus she can score
Kayleigh Truong-5’7 guard- She’s wearing the right number and her ability to convert acrobatic shots has heads spinning but what I’m liking even more than her ability to score is simply the mental toughness she’s showing at a young age. Outside shooting is on point but her ability to set defenders up is even sharper
Kaylynne Truong-5’7 guard- Where do I start? It doesn’t matter because Kaylynne is going to finish and watching her catch and shoot better than some players heading to BCS programs is eerie, let me add shoot with accuracy. I saw her drop four or five threes in a row, while being contested against good defenders and the killing part is she nor her sister will be in HS this season
2020
Deyonna Gaston-6’2 wing-Gaston wasn’t here but I’ve seen her enough to know she’s one of the top 2020 players in the state, well the country for that matter. Ultra-athletic and is simply something to see in the open court. On defense, she snags the ball out of the air plus she can shoot the long ball