MURFREESBORO, Tenn.—Both the July recruiting period and now the academic year necessitate a trip to central Tennessee for knowledgeable recruiters and evaluators nationwide. The Battle in the Boro has become a summer staple for coaches, recruiting services and media and, in its fifth year, the Tennessee Turkey Jamm has achieved similar status each November. This year’s edition saw 38 teams from 10 different states converge on Murfreesboro for three days of action at both Riverdale and Blackman High Schools. Plenty of known and established teams as well as individual talent was on hand and there were a few unknowns also looking to make a splash among those sitting courtside. With most college programs competing themselves over the Thanksgiving holiday the traffic among recruiters varied day to day but along with Blue Star every nationally recognized recruiting service and girls’ basketball media outlet was on hand. Read more click here http://www.bluestarmedia.org/index.php/component/k2/item/634-layups-and-leftovers

        BallN Powher Prep Invite Thursday, December 26 – Saturday, December 28, 2013 All Games will be held at Faulkner University Montgomery, AL Second team listed is home team. DAY 1 / Thurs., 12/26 MAIN GYM                AUX GYM 9:30am Center Point vs. Stanhope Elmore      Winterboro vs Brantley 11:00am Westlake (GA) vs. Wenonah            TBA vs BTW (AL) 12:30pm Lee vs. Madison Academy              BTW (FL) vs. Hazel Green 2:00pm Columbia (GA) vs Hoover               Loachapoka vs Dougherty (GA) 3:30pm Sylacauga vs Shades Valley 5:00pm Sparkman vs Blount 6:30pm St. Francis (GA) vs Jeff Davis DAY 2 / Fri., 12/27 MAIN GYM                AUX GYM 8:00am Lafayette (MS) vs Hazel Green 9:30am Osborne (GA) vs Brantley       9:00am  Winterboro vs Loachapoka 11:00am Valley vs Sylacauga          10:30am Westlake (GA) vs Stanhope Elmore 12:30pm Pine Forest(FL)vsMadison Acad 12:00pm Greenville vs Opelika 2:00pm Wenonah vs Faith Academy       1:30pm BTW (AL) vs Center Point 3:30pm Blount vs Hoover               3:00pm BTW (FL) vs Lee 5:00pm Shades Valley vs St. Francis   4:30pm Harrison Central (MS) vs. Columbia (GA) 6:30pm Sparkman vs Jeff Davis DAY 3 / Sat., 12/28 MAIN GYM                AUX GYM 8:00am Westlake (GA) vs Pine Forest (FL)    Winterboro vs Greenville 9:30am Columbia (GA) vs Madison Academy     Stanhope Elmore vs Loachapoka 11:00am Dougherty (GA) vs Hazel Green       BTW (AL) vs Brantley 12:30pm Osborne (GA) vs Wenonah             Faith Academy vs Opelika 2:00pm BTW (FL) vs Hoover 3:30pm Lafayette (MS) vs Lee 5:00pm Harrison Central (MS) vs Jeff Davis 6:30pm ...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 20, 2014) -- Following the successful open trials for the 2011 and 2013 USA Women's U16 National Teams, USA Basketball today announced it will hold open tryouts to select the 2014 USA Women's U17 World Championship Team. The USA U17 squad will compete in the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship, scheduled to be held in Bratislava, Slovakia from June 26-July 6. Featuring up to 150 athletes age 17-or-younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1997), trials will be held May 22-26 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition to the application process, the USA Basketball Women's Developmental National Team Committee will issue invitations to attend trials to approximately 35 athletes. Athletes wishing to participate should complete and submit their application to USA Basketball by March 3, 2014 (www.usabasketball.com/about/usa_basketballforms.html). Participants will receive confirmation of acceptance by April 18. Should the number of applicants exceed 150, the USA Developmental National Team Committee will determine the final roster of participating athletes. "Through our previous two open trials, we have found success in expanding USA Basketball's reach to develop the total athlete," said Carol Callan, USA Basketball Women's National Team Director and non-voting chair of the USA Developmental ...

A flood of letters -- as in, national letters of intent -- will be coming and going this week starting Wednesday, when the early signing period for women's basketball begins. Let's start with 26. Here's an A-to-Z guide to signing week. A: A'ja Wilson, a 6-foot-5 wing from South Carolina, is the most sought-after player in the class. Ranked No. 1 in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100, she remains undeclared and is expected to wait until spring to sign. Wilson is a long, athletic lefty who has the skills to play all five positions. She's able to dribble the ball up the court and post up and finish around the basket. Did we mention she can dunk? B: The Bruins have something special brewing in Westwood with the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. We'll let the UCLA-bound names and numbers do the talking: Jordin Canada, a 5-foot-6 point guard, is the No. 6 prospect in the nation. Lajahna Drummer, a 6-2 forward, is No. 8. Recee' Caldwella, a 5-8 point guard, is No. 9. Kelli Hayes, a 6-1 wing, is ranked 26th. And Monique Billings, a 6-2 forward, is ranked 37th. Enough said? C: There's a new conference on the block, ...

Once again it’s almost that time of the year where we take High School Girls basketball team from all over the Southeast and provide them with an opportunity for college exposure. This year’s Annual BallN’ Powher Prep Invitational Sponsored by SchollyMe.com will feature numerous state champions, state runners’ ups, and a host of other district and regional champs. We have several nationally ranked Top 100 players in all classes. Thirty teams will be featured from all over Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi. All the games will be played December 26-28 at Faulkner University 5345 Atlanta Hwy, Montgomery, AL 36109. Don’t miss it! Download the Who Won? app for iPhone to follow the action and get scores and updates.  Who Won? is available from the App Store.

I’ve always hated it when someone has tried to tell me how I should feel. Even more, I’ve resented those who see fit to tell me that I have my priorities mixed up or that my mindset is way out of line. None the less, I’m going to take a walk down the Hypocrisy Highway and use this forum to offer up some thoughts and reminders on perspective for everyone in the basketball community…myself included. I find it somewhat ironic that as we observe Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2013) it’s also the time of year that many of us tend to put on blinders to the real world around us. Folks in the deep end of the basketball pool including coaches, players, parents, evaluators or media and regardless of gender or level of play…gravitate towards having our broader point of view narrowed from November to March. We begin to see things filtered through a basketball lens. Bad games or practices influence our days. Injures or shooting slumps lead to frustrations that goes home with us. The long road of team or recruiting travel takes a toll on sleeping and eating habits while our obsession with the next opponent or the current ...

  GARDEN GROVE, Calif.-- We had a chance to take in the action at the Swoosh Fall Classic and get a glimpse into the future of West Coast girls basketball and from that quick peek it’s safe to say the future is bright. The following young prospects caught and kept our attention.   It’s always enjoyable to watch young prospects display a tremendous amount of skill at an early age and Jump Athletic’s 2019 5 foot 9 forward Makayla Edwards, a native of Vallejo, California, did just that. Edwards, whose father is 6-5 and mother is 5-10, has a serious growth spurt coming. Edwards showed the ability to attack off the bounce as well as post up defenders on the low block. Her face up game compliments her low post moves. Edwards has a nice stroke that extends out beyond the three point arc. She rebounds extremely well and is a solid defender that isn’t afraid to mix it up versus taller opponents. Edwards reminds me of a more athletic version of former Georgia Bulldog and ex-WNBA player Tasha Humphrey. With continued development Edwards’s game has major DI written all over it. Every college program in the nation is always on the lookout out ...

While it may not be recruiting, I couldn’t resist the temptation to jump on the bandwagon. It seems that every individual possessing a keyboard, microphone, camera or simply a heartbeat is weighing in on paying NCAA athletes. Although I’m joining the band, I won’t be playing the same tune that the majority appears to be tapping their foot to these days. There are plenty of folks on both sides of the fence but the public consensus seems to be tilting the scales towards writing checks and I’m going to have to differ with the majority…Imagine that! First off, let’s address the sheer absurdity of the entire conversation in the first place. Depending on what study or report you subscribe to, in any given year less than 50 (and I’m allowing for considerable breathing room) Division I athletic departments operate in the black. Just to be clear, that’s not less than 50 percent, it’s less than 50 total out of the 351 who will compete at the NCAA’s highest level this year. So, while a select few may be collecting more than they spend, most are more “congressional” on their balance sheet with “red” being their ...

There’s an old adage that a committed bachelor should never take his current significant other to a wedding. Apparently the urge to walk down the aisle is extremely contagious. Whether that sentiment is true or not, recruiting seems to have a viral component of its own that often leads to emotional, rushed and ill-advised commitments. With the initial signing date just around the corner for 2013 prospects (November 13 – 20), it’s important for those younger classes on deck to avoid getting caught up in the moment and say yes just because a program got on their knee and proposed. Sadly, in today’s society, divorce and transfer rates are both through the roof and more often than not the result of individuals barely “knowing” the one they pledged their love to. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not stumping for long engagements or early commitments. In fact, my perspective is quite the opposite. The woman who puts a diamond on her finger with a wedding date well down the road and the recruit who makes that early commitment without exploring other options might ultimately find a stranger waiting for them at the alter or ...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla --The Sunshine State is always a hot bed for talented athletes and high girls from across the country added to the talent pool to put their games on full display at the Show-N-Prove hosted by the Lady Gauchos and Essence Girls Basketball. The Show-N-Prove had a great turn out with 250 plus participants. Here are several talented young ladies that caught our attention. Versatile bigs are always in demand and 2016 6-3 Forward Jasmine Walker from Montgomery, AL will be just that in demand. Walker is an athletic big with a college body. She has the ability to play on the perimeter at both ends of the court. Walker shoots the ball extremely well out to 20 feet. She has all the moves on the low block and a nice face game to boot. Walker had a great showing at the Show-N-Prove catching the eye of several BCS schools proving why she should be considered among the best in the country. MUST SEE! Ja'Tavia Tapley, the 6-2 Floridian wing, is long athletic and very active at both ends of the floor. Tapley runs the floor extremely. She handles the ball well for her length and size. Tapley plays ...