Atlanta, GA - With the summer travel ball season coming to an end the young ladies that participated in Adidas Nationals in the ATL showed up and showed out. There were ballers from all age groups and regions of the U.S. trying to crossover, shoot, euro, and defend their way to D1 scholarships. These are a few players that caught my eye.   It’s rare that you find a player that can do a little of everything on a basketball court, but that’s exactly what you get out of Kiara Russell. The 5 foot 8 guard out of Brooklyn Park, MN is a silky smooth south paw that makes the game look so effortless. Russell is a good passer with outstanding handles. She possess the unique ability to both get her teammates involved and recognize when it’s time to get buckets herself. Russell is good in the open court, runs the fast break well and understands pace and tempo. I could probably write about three paragraphs describing Kiara's game and some of the things that I have seen her do on a basketball court. The quiet guard is very humble and lets her game do all the talking. If she was not getting the ...

  DALLAS, TX. (July 19, 2014) -  The Dallas/Fort Worth area is loaded with great girls basketball talent. There are so many players that can ball, sometimes really good players get slept on. This past weekend I had the pleasure of watching cousins McKenzie Bowie and Kennadi Lankford put in work for their club Higher Goals Elevation Elite. I was really impressed with the hard work and scrappiness of the entire HGEE 2018 squad, who played up two grade levels this weekend, but it was Bowie and Lankford that had me shaking my head from jump. McKenzie did it all. At times she played the 1, 2, and 3 positions. When the other team tried to run a zone the versatile Bowie did damage on the wing, at the high post, and on the base line. My favorite part of her game was her ability to get all of her teammates involved in the game. I mean honestly, with her stroke and drive capabilities she probably could have scored more, but she was consistently dropping dimes to teammates right under the basket. The majority of those passes were to her cousin Kennadi, who was about her business as well. The long and athletic ...

The fourth of July weekend for most people involves fireworks, lakes, and bar-b-que. This past weekend in DFW I had an opportunity to check out some of the best girls basketball talent from all over getting it in at the Premier Basketball Tournament and the Big State Flava Jam. Some of the players listed below may not be household names, but coaches should definitely get to know them. 2021 Nyah Wilson DFW Elite This young lady was one of the most impressive 6th graders that I have seen. Wilson was super aggressive on offense using her lighting speed to take the ball to the rack and on defense stripping the ball from other girls that were much older than her. Wilson also displayed a basketball IQ that was pretty smart for a girl going into the 6th grade. What's even scarier is that she will only get better and smarter as she continues to develop and learn the game more. 2018 Jazmin George 5-5, DFW Elite "Glamour Girls" The ball hawking George was just as intense on defense as she was filling the lanes for layups. Her footwork on defense was pretty good and it looked as if she actually enjoyed playing defense as she got ...

HAMPTON, VA.--The 2nd Boo Williams Elite 64 presented by Nadine Domond had teams from across the East Coast. Several highly regarded prospects which included Elite 64 MVP 2017 Duke commit Mikayla Boykin, 2017 6-1 Meagan Walker and North Carolina commit 2015 Stephanie Watts, along with a few new faces put their best foot forward in front of several scouts. Here are the players that stood out above the rest. Tierra Wilson Carolina Allstars Bond: The five foot five 2017 Wilson is a true point guard played extremely well. Wilson used a killer crossover coupled with her explosive first step to attack the paint looking to score or dish to slashing teammates. She is a real floor general and can and will be make all the right passes. Wilson used her speed and quickness to create havoc at both ends of the floor with in your face on ball defense. She also showed that she can consistently stroke the midrange jumper as well as be a threat from beyond the arc. Wilson also demonstrated the ability to translate her speed and athleticism into dividends on the defensive end by forcing turnovers and cashing in on the ensuing possession. Will only get better ...

[caption id="attachment_4143" align="alignnone" width="300"] Brandon Clay welcoming the participants[/caption] When you think of any type of all-star game what's the first thing that comes to mind? Quick... your first thought? OFFENSE! That's what we all think, how the players will get to showcase their full repertoire of "O" skills. While this may be true, the young ladies that attended and participated in the 2014 Elite Basketball Academy Super 64 camp in Suwanee, GA stepped out of the box and did what coaches on all levels demand and cherish. They played DEFENSE! Defense in a all-star game. What? How boring... NOT!!  Of course the offensive skills were on display, but these young ladies showed that to get to this level you must play both ends of the court. So I guess this camp is appropriately named "Elite". Jonathan Hemingway demonstrates an offensive set. All of the ladies had a good showing, but here's my eye-catching performers: Victoria Harris Parkview (GA) '15 6-3 C defends the paint with good foot movement, nice post moves. Strong and solid. Shelby Gibson Oakland (TN) '16 6-3 C wide, solid frame, good rebounder with a soft touch around the basket. Lindsey Corsaro Roncalli (IN) '16 6-1 G/F is long and lean with ...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 26, 2014) - Following six trials sessions from May 24-26 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the 12-member 2014 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team was announced on Monday evening. The team, which was selected by the USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee, will compete in the USA Basketball-hosted 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship at the USOTC from Aug. 6-10. Headlining the USA squad is a trio of USA Basketball gold medalists, including Receé Caldwell (Homeschooled/San Antonio, Texas); Brianna Turner (Manvel H.S/Pearland, Texas) and A'ja Wilson (Heathwood Hall H.S./Hopkins, S.C.).  Joining their first USA Basketball team are: Ariel Atkins (Duncanville H.S./Duncanville, Texas); Napheesa Collier (Incarnate Word Academy/O'Fallon, Mo.); Paris Kea (Greensboro Page H.S./Greensboro, N.C.); Marina Mabrey (Manasquan H.S./Manasquan, N.J.); Teaira McCowan (Brenham H.S./Brenham, Texas); Beatrice Mompremier (Miami H.S./Miami, Fla.); Mariya Moore (Salesian H.S./Richmond, Calif.); Jessica Shepard (Fremont H.S./Fremont, Neb.); and Destinee Walker (Lake Highland Prep School/Ocoee, Fla.). University of South Carolina head coach and three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley, who also will serve as an assistant to the 2014 USA World Championship Team, is the 2014 USA U18 National Team head coach. Joining Staley on the USA U18 team sideline as assistants ...

2014 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Championship Team NAME POS HGT WGT DOB YOG HIGHSCHOOL HOMETOWN Kristine Anigwe C 6-4 185 3/31/97 2015 Desert Vista H.S. Phoenix, AZ DeJanae Boykin F 6-2 155 5/4/97 2015 Charles H. Flowers H.S. Springdale, MD Kennedy Burke ...

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – What is a fest? It’s a gathering, event, or show having a specified focus. That’s just what happened here April 26-27, a fest. The Montgomery Basketball City Fest featured 20+ teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. The event was played at the beautiful and spacious Multiplex at Cramton Bowl which just exudes basketball for all to see. The following players had noteworthy eye-catching performances. Krista McQueen (Defuniak Springs, FL) Team FDD (Faithfulness, Discipline, Diligence) 17U: The 6’3” center does everything effortlessly. A 2015 post player that has a nice shooting touch around the basket, who can step out and knock down the mid-range jumper. Good at defending the paint and can defend smaller, quicker players in the open court with good foot movement. Runs floor well. Mirrakohl (pronounced Miracle) Johnson (Memphis, TN) Team Memphis Elite-Jones 17U: The 5’10” 2015 forward has the perfect body for what she does best. She hits the boards hard, both offensive and defensive. She goes about her business like a ninja… silent and effective. Not only is she a superb rebounder, she can score also. Put-backs, mid-range jumpers, displaying her ball handling skills she can score in a variety of ways. Aaliyah Cheatham ...

IRVINE CA - If you are not already a fan of girls basketball, first of all you are crazy! Second of all the Schollyme All World Game held at Concordia University Saturday April 19 would have changed your mind. The game showcased some of the top girl hoopers from around the globe. It was an electric environment and both the SchollyMe Black and SchollyMe White teams put on a show. For SchollyMe Black the explosive Jordin Canada (UCLA) scored 11 points while Alexa Middleton (Tenn) made it rain with that picture perfect jump shot finished with 15 points 3-6 3FG, The super athletic Mikayla Cowling (Cal) chipped in 13 points 5 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. If you want to see a post player with size, physicality, and foot work then you have to see Jataria White (South Carolina) 12 points 5 rebounds. Of course I have to mention the black squads MVP Victoria Vivians (Miss St.) who dropped a bomb from three in the first half finishing with 16 points 4 rebounds and 1 stealThe sharp shooting Danica Piper (Ga Tech) gave the black team a little international flare. If you combine all that with the sick handles of McKenzie Calvert (USC), the do it all ...

NASHVILLE (USBWA) – Muffet McGraw, in what was supposed to be a bit of a rebuilding year at Notre Dame, ended up guiding the Irish on an unbeaten run through their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference straight to another trip to the Women's Final Four. Sophomore Breanna Stewart followed a sensational finish in Connecticut's 2013 championship to become the dominant Huskies star on an equal run of perfection to Nashville. For both performances, McGraw repeated as the USBWA Women's National Coach of the year while Stewart became the third sophomore to earn the Ann Meyers-Drysdale National Player of the Year Award. Meanwhile, North Carolina's Diamond DeShields garnered honors from the 100 ballots received as the USBWA National Freshman of the Year. All three honors were announced at the annual USBWA women's awards presentation, which was in the Bridgestone Arena, Sunday afternoon prior to the start of the Women's Final Four. Meyers-Drysdale helped present the player of the year award to UConn athletic directors Warde Manuel and Deb Corum, who accepted for Stewart as she prepared to play. Likewise, McGraw's husband Matt accepted prior to Notre Dame's game against ACC-rival Maryland. It is McGraw's third honor and she joins UConn's Geno Auriemma and ...