Category Archives: Girls Analysis

Girls Analysis, Girls Basketball

UGA Girls Team Camp Standouts

Ashlee Austin2019 6-2 F Ashlee Austin (Northview) is no stranger when it comes to GHSA basketball fans, opposing coaches and national scouting agencies. Austin picked up where she left off last season, leading Northview to a 1-0-1 start to open camp. She dumped in 23 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals against GAC before wrecking Hillgrove’s frontline for 25 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Her size and touch were on full display, stepping out to hit three threes on the day. Austin is a physical rebounder that can score through contact. She went 9-for-9 total from the foul line. The UGA coaching staff had a hawk’s eye on her throughout camp.

2019 5-8 SG Chellia Watson (Winder-Barrow) will have to carry the Lady Doggs offense her senior season. While losing an All-American and a D-I signee obviously hurts, Winder-Barrow will still be competitive on the back of Watson. She ignited the action, drilling five threes in the first game of the day. Watson was able to create her own shot off the dribble. She has a strong build which allows her to get into the paint and finish against bigger defenders. Watson finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks.

Caroline Martin2020 5-8 CG Caroline Martin (North Forsyth) dropped in 22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in a come from behind win against Winder-Barrow. Martin’s three-point shot opened up driving lanes. She nailed three three-pointers and weaved through traffic to get to the hole. She had a meaningful first step that was quick enough to put defenders in the dust. Martin is a well-polished guard that knows how to win games.

Michelle Smith2019 5-8 CG Michelle Smith (Hillgrove) was the biggest eye-opener at UGA. Smith is an athlete with tight movements and a silky-smooth jump shot. Hillgrove was at their best when she had the ball in her hands. She was a playmaker, getting the ball in the right spots. Northview was never able to fluster her. Smith was in complete control with a strong handle. She posted 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 steals and 1 block. It would behoove Hillgrove to run the offense through Smith and let her create her own offense or find shooters Logan Van Arsdale and Breah McGrady on the perimeter. Smith was a Second Team All-Region 3-AAAAAAA selection last season. In Athens, she looked like a future D-I player.

Deasia Merrill, Georgia Stockton
Deasia Merrill & Georgia Stockton

2019 6-2 F Deasia Merrill (Villa Rica) is rolling in D-I offers with Clemson and Duke the latest to pop. More are coming for the extremely skilled big. Merrill has a wide base and knows how to use it to her advantage, whether shielding defenders away or getting in position to rebound. Her court awareness is as high as anyone’s in the state. She is a great passer and truly makes everyone on her team better. Her hands are outstanding on defense and when rebounding. While defenses will do everything in their power to slow her down, Merrill can still affect games in other ways than just scoring. She posted 10 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks in a dominating performance against Rabun County.

2019 5-8 CG Georgia Stockton (Rabun County) provided a spark for the Lady Cats in their duel with Villa Rica. Stockton started slow, but the Presbyterian-commit got hot, drilling four three-pointers to get Rabun County back in the game. The Region 8-AA Player of the Year pumped in 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 7 steals. Stockton is a leader on the floor and an extension of Coach DeeDee Dillard. Her attitude and play on both ends of the floor is infectious.

GHSA, Girls Analysis, Girls Basketball, Spielin' & Dealin' Podcast

Spielin’ & Dealin’ Ep. 28: C.T.B.C. Elite Camp analysis

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Rameen Forghani took to the Riverside Epicenter in Austell on 9/24 to check out Torrey Bates’ Created To Be a Champion Elite Camp. Rameen shares his top performers from 4-on-4 & 5-on-5 play.

 

Girls Analysis, Girls Basketball

Georgia Tech Girls Team Camp Notes

By Bre Singleton (@bre_singleton)

Daishai Almond
Daishai Almond

Reigning Class 6A State Champion Mays faced Peach County in what ended up being a battle. Down by just two points at the half, Peach County had a few bigger guards on the roster to help combat Mays’ quickness. One player in particular stood out. Daishai Almond, a 5’9” point-forward is a baller. On several occasions, she snagged a rebound and pushed it the length of the floor for a smooth bucket. Almond has recently gotten interest from the host team, Georgia Tech to go along with offers from Louisville and Kennesaw State. Whether she chooses to stay in-state, or to take her talents elsewhere, I’m confident that Almond will be able to step in and immediately bring scoring and versatility to any program.

Life after Kamiyah Street will be difficult for Mays but Natoria Hill will look to step up and run the point guard position. Hill, a 5’8” junior, has the length to be a pesky defender and the aggression to get to the rim. With a little more work on her mid-range game, I think she has the potential to be a very solid player. Chardae Bell also contributed with a scrappiness on defense that would frustrate many. Much like Hill, the addition of an outside jumper to Bell’s game would really help her stretch the floor in that Raider offense.

Rematch

After picking up the win over Peach County, Mays had a state championship rematch with Harrison, who I had the chance to watch a week or so ago and Georgia State’s team camp. I profiled Harper Vick at GSU, but Sarah Woghiren had a command over the court on Saturday for the Lady Hoyas. She put up 17 points and pulled six boards against the defending champs on their way to a win. Woghiren is strong and finishes well at the rim. If you’re going to foul her, you’ve got to make sure she doesn’t get the shot up at all, because if she does, there’s a good chance she’s getting the and-one.

Vick did not disappoint either. Her quickness led to easy leak-outs as Mays defenders had a hard time keeping track of her on the court. Finally for the Hoyas, Mae Willis had a solid game, getting to the free throw line early and often. Willis turns defense into offense for Harrison, coming up with steals and forcing the issue on the break.

Duluth leans on upperclassmen 

The last game of the day that I was able to catch was Duluth vs. Hardaway out of Columbus. As Endia Banks gets settled into college life in Miami, the Wildcats will have some work to do to replace her and Brianna Dixon in the backcourt. Victoria Oglesby is still looking very strong, coming off of several great performances in the state tournament. She was aggressive, getting to the line at will. She’ll look to decide on a school either later this month or early in July after re-opening her recruitment.

Zaniaya Williams is also on top of her game this summer. She pounded the boards hard for Duluth and had several putbacks for scores. Torey Walker, a 5’10” point-forward also looks promising going into her junior year. She seems to be getting more comfortable with her game which ought to bode well for the Wildcats. The only problem that stood out for Duluth was its inability to score. Oglesby broke Hardaway’s pressure but Duluth couldn’t seem to put the ball into the basket very much in the second half. Hardaway on the other hand attacked the basket and finished more often than not. It’ll be interesting to see how Duluth’s rotation shakes out when the GHSA season rolls around. They’ll need to address the backcourt to keep up with the likes of Collins Hill in Region 6-AAAAAAA.

Girls Analysis, Girls Basketball

St. Pius End of Summer Classic notes

By Bre Singleton (@bre_singleton)

St. Pius and Head Coach Kyle Snipes hosted an eight-team tournament on Friday, that would serve as the last summer high school outing for a few of the teams present. Among those in attendance were Northview, Brookwood, and Carrollton (teams I’ve had the chance to watch already this summer), as well as Franklin County, North Forsyth, Northwest Whitfield, Centennial, and finally, the host team.

Best Matchup

The first game of the day that I had the opportunity to catch was Carrollton vs. Franklin County, and I must say, that matchup was definitely my favorite of the tournament. Franklin County sisters Mya and Asia Jones were able to push the Lions past Carrollton, but it was by no means easy. Coach Shon Thomaston and the Trojans gave Franklin County all they could handle. Specifically, 5’9” rising senior Taylor Brown, had an outstanding performance. Finishing with 17 points and four rebounds, Brown’s effort was amazing to watch. She plays G/F for the Trojans but is obviously an undersized post. What was so great about this though, was her ability to take smaller guards down to the block and come up with points almost every time. She and Mya Jones went head-to-head for the latter part of the game in an incredible duel. Jones got the last laugh, putting up 25 points including four threes to lead her team to a 53-49 victory. Her sister Asia contributed 13 points and was an absolute menace on the boards.​

Sleeper Pick

​Carrollton High School has an incoming freshman that I think people out to look out for. De’Mauri Flournoy doesn’t look like she’ll have much trouble adjusting to high school ball this upcoming season. She attended Brandon Clay’s #EBASuper64 event earlier this month and is already catching the eye of several teams early on. She put up 16 points against a very solid Franklin County team and hit four threes. Finishing at the rim was her specialty though. I saw her take an in-and-out dribble into a left-handed finger roll finish that had me questioning if she was really just a freshman. With a natural feel for the game, Flournoy is shaping up to be one of the best point guards in the state of Georgia.

Heating Up

​Things got pretty intense between Brookwood and Northview, but it was just good competition if you ask me. Northview was without its star forward Ashlee Austin and lost its first game by two points to Franklin County. Others stepped up for Coach Yarbrough in her absence. Among them was Asjah Inniss, whose play I really liked when I saw the Titans at Johns Creek last week. She maintained a level of aggression from the PG spot that Brookwood had a little trouble with. Maya Richards put up her usual double-double in this one, and was the most seasoned post player on the floor for both teams. Richards and the Brookwood posts went at it from the jump, being very physical. Malia Grace did not back down at all. She had a slew of points and rebounds herself, and matched Richards’ physicality. Selma Kulo is a 6’4” center who has only been playing basketball for two years. She’s raw, but playing with EOTO on the AAU circuit for the rest of this summer ought to help her progress. She had a few nice blocks and putbacks for Brookwood. Kiera Adams had another great game, leading the Broncos in scoring. When Adams wasn’t running the point, TaylorAnn Cushenberry had the job. She was able to get to the basket on several occasions and give the Broncos timely scores to help with edge out the win. Coach Carolyn Whitney, a Wesleyan graduate and standout player, ought to be excited about the fire and talent she has rising through the program.

Championship Game

​North Forsyth and Franklin County went at it for the final game of the Classic. The first half was pretty evenly matched. The Raiders were running through their offense but couldn’t hit very many shots while the Lions’ isolation approach wasn’t really working against North’s packed in defense. But, in a tale of two halves, North Forsyth made all of the shots that wouldn’t fall for them earlier. Georgia College verbal commit Cassie Markle had a good game on the boards and came up with several putbacks. Amber Jones, a smaller guard, shot the ball very well from deep, hitting four threes. Mya Jones and Franklin County got it going eventually but just didn’t have enough scoring.

North Forsyth will be at Georgia Tech’s team camp this weekend, along with Carrollton, Northview, and a host of others. I’ll be there to keep you all updated on the various games and players I catch!

GHSA, Girls Analysis, Girls Basketball

Johns Creek Girls Team Camp Day 2

By Bre Singleton (@bre_singleton)

I had the pleasure of visiting Johns Creek High School for the second day of their team camp. I got a look at some of the teams that I missed out on yesterday, including the host team, North Gwinnett, Alpharetta, and Brookwood, who made their first appearance at the camp.

Alpharetta was matched up with the Buford Wolves, who I profiled yesterday, in their first game of the afternoon. Losing only one senior and coming off of a 17-8 overall record last year, the Raiders will be young but confident in the upcoming GHSA season. From what I saw Thursday, they’ll rely heavily on the three-headed monster of Juju and Gogo Maduka, and Kendall Phillips. The Maduka sisters, both long and lanky with incredible reach, are rising seniors, while Phillips, who has no shortage of length herself, will be a junior. Juju, on several occasions, grabbed boards that seemed out of reach and put them back up for easy scores. Gogo exercised more of her mid-range game both vs Buford and Brookwood. She took a couple of nice pullups, able to rise up over smaller defenders. Coach David Walden certainly has some players with potential to work with.

Brookwood is adapting to life after N’dea Jones as the standout forward transitions to Texas A&M to further her basketball career. Kiera Adams played some point/forward for the Broncos in their matchup with Alpharetta. Obviously the most aggressive player on the floor for Brookwood, Adams will be a rising junior looking to attack the basket and get to the line. Malia Grace and Hannah Farr are two sophomore posts who are pretty good at finishing around the rim. Grace at 6’1” got her hands on a ton of rebounds and when she wasn’t able to put a shot up, kicked it back out for an extra possession. I’m interested to see how the Broncos adjust to their new lineup.

Despite only seeing six wins last year, Head Coach Amanda Heil and North Gwinnett are optimistic about the process of getting better. Sydnee Jackson brought high energy for the Bulldogs, attacking and handling the ball very well. North was without Alanni Brown, daughter of NBA star Dee Brown, and sister of Lexie Brown, the Duke guard who helped build the program up before graduating in 2013. With quite a few young players, Coach Heil is focused on getting the program back to where it was just a few years ago.

Johns Creek’s Markeima Lancaster, a 5’8” SF, could not be stopped in the Gladiators matchup with North Gwinnett. Johns Creek ran a four-out, one-in offense that put Lancaster in the best position for her to succeed. Markeilla Lancaster, Markeima’s sister, also performed well. A post presence and vocal leader for the Gladiators, Markeilla cleaned up any offensive boards and hit a few short jumpers. Coach Kirk Call will look to make some noise in 6A Region 7.