The Rankings Game

DANI FIELDER

The rankings game has been going on forever and is used for a variety of reasons. The latest one for the area lists the Top 50 players from around Houston even though one of the players is from the Metroplex so it kind of makes you wonder how this can be a legitimate area ranking, at least that was clue number one. I wasn’t even aware that someone was attempting to do a list until I received a message from a parent about it. After taking a closer look and noticing who these kids play for in the summer it became more apparent what this was about and it’s just another cloak and dagger trick used to not only pacify parents but also to be used as a recruiting tool, same as listing McDonald’s All American nominees on sites when there is absolutely no criteria used to become a nominee, only an internet connection and an online form that can be completed in 30 seconds by someone will get you nominated folks. I received several phone calls regarding the area list and why their kid wasn’t there and I stated contact the person who wrote it, I’m sure they did as the list has been juggled repeatedly since last week which again falls under the legitimacy of it in the first place. One thing I also shared was to use this as a motivational tool for your daughter to work harder and don’t worry about things you can’t control. Instead of trying to dissect that list or any list for that matter it would be easier to say who isn’t on it rather than say who shouldn’t be on it and to be honest at the end of the day it’s only one person’s opinion, same as Hoopgurlz Top 100, All Star Girls Report, Blue Star Report and even Girlz Prep Report because even I go against the grain, I have Alexis Jones listed as the No.1 player in the country while many others chose Breanna Stewart. I’m sure I watch more basketball games and players than anyone in the area and I’m also sure that few have the capacity to judge talent the way I do. With that being said any list not having Dani Fielder (2013), Ekiyah Gray (2014) or even 5’0 Bernesha Peters (2015) to name a few of the high school stars ommitted not to mention the two best middle school players I’ve seen in the area over the past two seasons, Angela Harris and Faith Cook, means absolutely nothing but again you have to understand how this stuff works and the majority of those players I just named play on club teams coached by their dads. It would be interesting to settle this like back in the day and line everyone up and just take turns picking players but nobody wants to be exposed as not being the sideline genius they want to portray. The sad part about this is that a lot of these kids are recruited more by club teams than college teams and many have had their development altered or even shattered by chasing the dream when it has actually turned out to be a nightmare.