The Real Basketball Report 2007 Sophomore Showcase

[sixftlefty]

WHAT: The Real Basketball Report 2007 Sophomore Showcase

WHEN: Saturday, October 20, 2007 - 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

WHERE: Bishop McNamara - Forestville, Maryland

WHO: 4 teams of 10 sophomores each

Team 1
- Joia Coleman, 5'4", Riverbend/Fredericksburg, Virginia
- Myisha Goodwin, 5'5", Thomas Edison/Alexandria, Virginia
- Shelby Romine, 5'6", Westfield/Chantilly, Virginia
- Talen Watson, 5'8", Arundel/Gambrills, Maryland
- Kiara Artis, 5'8", West Potomac/Alexandria, Virginia
- Blair Koniszewski, 5'9", Paul VI/Fairfax, Virginia
- Andrea Bertrand, 5'10", Cosby/Manchester, Virginia
- Sabine Proctor, 5'10", Harrisburg/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Kiana Murphy, 6'0", Academy of the Holy Cross/Kensington, Maryland
- Jazmin Pitts, 6'0", Cosby/Manchester, Virginia

Team 2
- Sydney Leonard, 5'4", Stuart Hall Academy/Staunton, Virginia
- Michea Bryant, 5'5", Bishop McNamara/Forestville, Maryland
- Janay Brinkley, 5'6", Archbishop Spalding/Severn, Maryland
- Jazzmine Johnson, 5'8", Riverdale Baptist/Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Cierra Strickland, 5'9", Bishop McNamara/Forestville, Maryland
- Nicole Krusen, 5'10", Georgetown Visitation/Washington, D.C.
- Joelle Davidson, 5'10", St. John's College/Washington, D.C.
- Ataira Franklin, 5'11", Riverdale Baptist/Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Briana Gibson, 6'0", Wise/Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Marissa Brock, 6'1", St. John's College/Washington, D.C.

Team 3
- Taylar Wells, 5'6", Mountain View/Stafford, Virginia
- Monique McCants, 5'6", Academy of the Holy Cross/Kensington, Maryland
- Tia Johnson, 5'7", Clarksburg/Clarksburg, Maryland
- Darian Bridgers, 5'8", Georgetown Day School/Washington, D.C.
- Tracy King, 5'9", Mount Vernon/Alexandria, Virginia
- Jacqueline Brewer, 5'10", Handley/Winchester, Virginia
- Tiara Butler, 5'10", North Point/Waldorf, Maryland
- Briana McKellery, 5'11", Arundel/Gambrills, Maryland
- Ashley Miles, 6'0", Bishop McNamara/Forestville, Maryland
- Nicole Cunningham, 6'1", Clarksburg/Clarksburg, Maryland

Team 4
- Elizabeth Hyde, 5'5", Stone Ridge/Bethesda, Maryland
- Kyana Jacobs, 5'6", Potomac/Woodbridge, Virginia
- Kirastin Cole, 5'6", James Monroe/Fredericksburg, Virginia
- Tiera Smith, 5'8", Wise/Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Alicia Hall, 5'8", John F. Kennedy/Silver Spring, Maryland
- Gwen Newsome, 5'10", Mountain View/Stafford, Virginia
- Lauren Burford, 5'11", St. John's College/Washington, D.C.
- Asia Logan, 5'11", Digital Harbor/Baltimore, Maryland
- Tierra Hawkins, 6'1", Riverdale Baptist/Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Sheronne Vails, 6'3", Arundel/Gambrills, Maryland

HOW: Each team plays three games, against the other three teams; most girls will play multiple positions; 40-minute games, arbitrary running clock, substitutions every five minutes, MATCHUPS EMPHASIZED.

COST: $10.00 adults, $5.00 children under 12 - open to the general public

FOOD: Yes!
Edit/Delete Message

[JCALL]

Jess Harlee, sophomore, real deal.

[sixftlefty]

...didn't respond. Too bad she will miss it, she is pretty good this would have been a nice opportunity to get some exposure.

[world]

It looks like Baltimore is skipping this altogether, except for Logan.

[backcourt]

Where is Taft and Hawkes...they both should have received invites.

[sportsguru]

Originally Posted by backcourt

Where is Taft and Hawkes...they both should have received invites.

There are others as well:

Bach
Bristow
Craig
Oliver
Taylor??? girl from MD Elite
Tucker
Virden
Walpher
Williamson
Big girl from Comets???
to name a few. I know there are more, don't know all the names. I like the idea but it seems very regional to mostly Potomac Valley Region girls, which is okay but can't be promoted as the best in VA/DC/MD especially when the Baltimore Metro area is omitted.

I also know you can't invite everyone. Sixftlefty, you seem to be in the know. How were players selected?

[sixftlefty]

many of these girls you mentioned were INVITED and blew it off. I know one player from B'more who was spoken to directly and still never confirmed. So before y'all start whining about it, you may want to holla at these girls coaches and "handlers" about not answering the door when opportunity knocks!

[206]

Since this is not a NCAA open period who will be attending the showcase. It's probably a good thing alot of Bmore girls are not in this so called showcase, because I beleive this is no more than a recruiting tool for Team Unique to try and get/steal some players.

[sixftlefty]

pay your $10 bucks and come see the National scouting reports that will be there. Also the event is being professionally videotaped and sent to colleges at all levels.

I know you can steal a car but how can you steal a kid?

[sportsguru]

Originally Posted by sixftlefty

pay your $10 bucks and come see the National scouting reports that will be there. Also the event is being professionally videotaped and sent to colleges at all levels.

I know you can steal a car but how can you steal a kid?

I do believe that some turned you down because it is evident to anyone that follows bball in this area that you have some B-list players. Which "National Scouting Reports" will be in attendance? Will you mention to those "National Scouting Reports" that some of the best in the area did not attend? Will you watch high school games and AAU games and factor that into your rankings? Or do they just have to attend your event? Without giving names how many girls in the B-more metro area did you ask?

[ThinkFree]

Originally Posted by sixftlefty

many of these girls you mentioned were INVITED and blew it off. I know one player from B'more who was spoken to directly and still never confirmed. So before y'all start whining about it, you may want to holla at these girls coaches and "handlers" about not answering the door when opportunity knocks!

Not many Bmore players at the exposure showcase either except on the teams that got shafted ( cancelled games, playing late, putting the food out while they were playing so the coaches left to eat while the girls played). Yeah that how Baltimore players get treated. Look this is about $$$$ not the players. In order to get sponsors they have to have top players, to insure that you have the top players come you make up a list of who the top players are. But the more important factor is having top players they control ( i.e play on their exposure team) or influence.

[sixftlefty]

What is a B list player? A player who goes to a DII or DIII school but is still going to get an education for free. Scouting reports scout players for all levels of college.

ThinkFree, did you attend the Fall Showcase, if you did maybe you didn't recognize the players from Baltimore that were there and playing some serious ball

SportsGuru the following scout serivces will be there: Scouting Services SUPERSCOUT, Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, Blue Star, and the All-Star Girls Report. I believe 10 players from Baltimore were invited.

So you are saying that every girl from Baltimore that turned down the invite is an A list player? For some odd reason Baltimore was the only area in the region that didn't respond positively as a whole to their invitations. Within 5 days of the invites going out 3/4 of the players accepted.

Question to all: How many of these girls on the list have you actually seen play? Do you know how many girls on this list actually have REAL scholarship offers on the table? Do you know what college are interested in what players?

Next time Baltimore has an event or showcase please keep me posted I would love to attend. What was that date again?

If you need directions to Bishop McNamara here they are:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...bmit=Get%2BMap

[backcourt]

Originally Posted by 206

Since this is not a NCAA open period who will be attending the showcase. It's probably a good thing alot of Bmore girls are not in this so called showcase, because I beleive this is no more than a recruiting tool for Team Unique to try and get/steal some players.

I thought the same thing, I saw Unique's coach hanging around Western's Fall League. Baltimore has its own crop of talent and don't need to migrate to DC for exposure. He may be up in the area looking to pick up a few more bmore players.

[theallseeingeye]

After scanning the list of girls, my calculations come up with at least 25 of the 40 girls as pretty much guaranteed D-1 players. That is pretty phenomenal for a regional showcase for sophomores. The average Blue Star or Blue Chip showcase that comes through this area might have 10%-20% D-1 girls participating.
Watson, Leonard, Davidson, Butler, McKellery, Cunningham, and Hyde were seen at various times with TU last summer. Of the other 33 girls on the list, 9-10 seem to be up in the air about what organization they may be playing with next summer. I see most of these 9-10 going to the Fairfax Stars, one of Boo Williams' teams, Team Excel, or staying put before any of them end up with TU (if TU is or will be recruiting any of them).
The TU people do have the RBR scouting service; it just might be probable that them being in a gym may have more to do with that, than recruiting for TU.
On the other hand, if most of these girls were going to leave their current organizations, it makes sense that they were going to leave whether or not TU was recruiting them.
It has been said on this board several times by many different posters that one of the biggest problems of summer ball in the Baltimore area is that very few of the programs do anything national or elite outside of the AAU Nationals. So if Baltimore area girls want to do national and elite things, at this point they have to go to a Fairfax Stars, or a Boo Williams, or a Team Excel, or a Team Unique, or a Philly Belles. Especially with the national status of the Hurricanes up in the air, now that the Coughlin-Green-Randolph team's successful run is over.
The problem isn't Team Unique or any other elite program coming into Baltimore and stealing players; the problem is what are the existing Baltimore-area programs going to do?
As someone who believes in and supports Baltimore-area girls basketball, it bothers me that no one in Baltimore hosts events of a regional or national nature. It also bothers me that girls from Boston, or New York, or Philly and Pittsburgh, or Richmond, or the Norfolk area, or Charlotte, or Atlanta will go out of their way to go to an exposure/evaluation event in the D.C. area, but some of our Baltimore girls will not travel an hour down 95/295 to get some exposure/evaluation, because it's too far, or because their parents or coaches are worried about their girls being recruited by TU. It has to be the height of paranoia and ignorance, combined.
Isn't this entire thing about getting a free education, through basketball? Obviously, the Coughlan Hurricanes didn't whine or care about TU. They went out, with a solid game plan, and did their own thing; now, most of their girls are going D-1, and I'm sure others will go D-2 and D-3, for free.
Why can't the rest of these Baltimore-area programs do something similar? If they don't or won't, I think their girls should leave out, and go to these other programs that do cater to developing and exposing their girls for college scholarship opportunities. Don't you?

[girlsbbfan]

Harlee never received an invite, if she had, she would be there. You go to these events whether or not college coaches are present in order to play with the other talented girls in the region. You only get better by playing better players. Hopefully, other girls from the Baltimore Region will take every opportunity that they can to play with the best.

[baller4life]

Originally Posted by theallseeingeye

After scanning the list of girls, my calculations come up with at least 25 of the 40 girls as pretty much guaranteed D-1 players. That is pretty phenomenal for a regional showcase for sophomores. The average Blue Star or Blue Chip showcase that comes through this area might have 10%-20% D-1 girls participating.
Watson, Leonard, Davidson, Butler, McKellery, Cunningham, and Hyde were seen at various times with TU last summer. Of the other 33 girls on the list, 9-10 seem to be up in the air about what organization they may be playing with next summer. I see most of these 9-10 going to the Fairfax Stars, one of Boo Williams' teams, Team Excel, or staying put before any of them end up with TU (if TU is or will be recruiting any of them).
The TU people do have the RBR scouting service; it just might be probable that them being in a gym may have more to do with that, than recruiting for TU.
On the other hand, if most of these girls were going to leave their current organizations, it makes sense that they were going to leave whether or not TU was recruiting them.
It has been said on this board several times by many different posters that one of the biggest problems of summer ball in the Baltimore area is that very few of the programs do anything national or elite outside of the AAU Nationals. So if Baltimore area girls want to do national and elite things, at this point they have to go to a Fairfax Stars, or a Boo Williams, or a Team Excel, or a Team Unique, or a Philly Belles. Especially with the national status of the Hurricanes up in the air, now that the Coughlin-Green-Randolph team's successful run is over.
The problem isn't Team Unique or any other elite program coming into Baltimore and stealing players; the problem is what are the existing Baltimore-area programs going to do?
As someone who believes in and supports Baltimore-area girls basketball, it bothers me that no one in Baltimore hosts events of a regional or national nature. It also bothers me that girls from Boston, or New York, or Philly and Pittsburgh, or Richmond, or the Norfolk area, or Charlotte, or Atlanta will go out of their way to go to an exposure/evaluation event in the D.C. area, but some of our Baltimore girls will not travel an hour down 95/295 to get some exposure/evaluation, because it's too far, or because their parents or coaches are worried about their girls being recruited by TU. It has to be the height of paranoia and ignorance, combined.
Isn't this entire thing about getting a free education, through basketball? Obviously, the Coughlan Hurricanes didn't whine or care about TU. They went out, with a solid game plan, and did their own thing; now, most of their girls are going D-1, and I'm sure others will go D-2 and D-3, for free.
Why can't the rest of these Baltimore-area programs do something similar? If they don't or won't, I think their girls should leave out, and go to these other programs that do cater to developing and exposing their girls for college scholarship opportunities. Don't you?

It is to my Knowlege that the MD Lady Shooting Stars will embark out onto this this journey this coming year! They may not have all the girls that they need to be a strong force, but have enough to compete, from my understanding they will attempt to attend as many as possible ! funds will not be a problem, they have aquired a Spnosor that will foot the bill for them this year, also, i've heard they will send all of their teams , 13u, 14u, 15u, 16u, the entire Spring/ Summer Season, (expense free) dont know where this will take them , but, they are going to try it out ! they have produce two d-1 players, Kristie Watkins (Temple), Omara Parker (Towson) and a host of D-2/D-3 players on Scholarship... So there is some one out here in the Maryland region that's going to try ! Canes did it, and did a good job at it... I know that Mack over there is very comitted to striving to get all of his girls College scholarships, and is working very hard to build his program, so far it looks like they are doing well and moving in the right directions...

this past year, they attended the USJN (DC), AAU Nationals, Blue Chip (Villanova)...

[sixftlefty]

Originally Posted by girlsbbfan

Harlee never received an invite, if she had, she would be there. You go to these events whether or not college coaches are present in order to play with the other talented girls in the region. You only get better by playing better players. Hopefully, other girls from the Baltimore Region will take every opportunity that they can to play with the best.

The invite was sent to her high school coach via email 3 times...no response. If you know her and have her direct information please PM me.

[backcourt]

Originally Posted by sixftlefty

What is a B list player? A player who goes to a DII or DIII school but is still going to get an education for free. Scouting reports scout players for all levels of college.

ThinkFree, did you attend the Fall Showcase, if you did maybe you didn't recognize the players from Baltimore that were there and playing some serious ball

SportsGuru the following scout serivces will be there: Scouting Services SUPERSCOUT, Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, Blue Star, and the All-Star Girls Report. I believe 10 players from Baltimore were invited.

So you are saying that every girl from Baltimore that turned down the invite is an A list player? For some odd reason Baltimore was the only area in the region that didn't respond positively as a whole to their invitations. Within 5 days of the invites going out 3/4 of the players accepted.

Question to all: How many of these girls on the list have you actually seen play? Do you know how many girls on this list actually have REAL scholarship offers on the table? Do you know what college are interested in what players?

Next time Baltimore has an event or showcase please keep me posted I would love to attend. What was that date again?

If you need directions to Bishop McNamara here they are:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&address=6800%2Bma rlboro%2Bpike&city=forestville&state=md&zipcode=20 747&homesubmit=Get%2BMap

I don't think it's not about "haterade" but more about respect. Respect for our level of talent in the northern area. I also heard that the coaches were fed during the lower numbered teams first games. A few of the girls said they felt slighted.

[theallseeingeye]

After checking a few sources, it seems that 26-27 Baltimore-area girls ranked in the RBR's top-fifty of a class (unsigned seniors, down to freshmen) either turned down invitations to the Real Basketball Report Fall Showcase, and/or went to other fall-evaluation-weekend events.
Also, it has been confirmed that LaShay Taft and Jessica Harlee, two Baltimore-area sophomores in the RBR's top fifteen sophomores in the entire region, were sent e-mail invites at least three times each for the RBR Sophomore Showcase, through their school coaches or summer coaches, but did not respond.
As for the RBR Fall Showcase, almost the entire Western team participated; as well, Coaches Tiffany and Chris were seen in the stands talking with the college coaches, until closing.
There were quite a few Lady Lions girls participating; and a few Randallstown-area girls participating. The Anne Arundel and Howard County girls, for the most part, went to the MABBCA event at Maryland's Comcast Center; the ones from these two counties who currently play with TU were at the RBR event.
When the coaches at the event were fed is most likely irrelevant. The coaches had to return to their seats in the stands after they got their food, as this was the only place for them to go, because there was no formal hospitality room.
It seems to me that respect was offered to at least 50-60 Baltimore-area girls over these two events, in the form of invitations. Obviously, that respect was reciprocated by only about half of those girls, their parents, and their coaches.
Again, I don't like any more than you do these college coaches and scouts slighting the Baltimore region. But these girls, their parents, and their coaches have to put forth some type of real effort to get out and do what Hurricanes-Coughlan did; what Western/Silver/Burley did; and what MD Lady Shooting Stars will try to do. I think it's that simple.

[sixftlefty]

Originally Posted by backcourt

I don't think it's not about "haterade" but more about respect. Respect for our level of talent in the northern area. I also heard that the coaches were fed during the lower numbered teams first games. A few of the girls said they felt slighted.

I agree it is about respect but in order to get respect you must give respect. There are only a few folks in this area that seem to "get it" and do what is necessary to give their girls the best opportunity to go to college for free. This Baltimore vs the world mentally that is so prevalent amongst the basketball pundits is doing nothing more than holding kids back.