While we at HoopGurlz.com are dedicated to seeing the nation's top prospects with our own eyes, sometimes we have trouble believing what those eyes reveal. Such a revelation came to us at this spring's Boo Williams Classic, where Alli Smalley careened into our consciousness.
The night after we watched Smalley rip and run through the formidable Family from Ohio, I asked cohort Chris Hansen, "Who the heck was that Alabama Laser point guard?" He shrugged, so we did the only thing we could - we Goggled her. And we learned that she had scored an Alabama state-tournament record 41 points just the month before.
OK, we could now believe our own eyes. Kids fly under the radar all the time, but after scoring 41 in a state-tournament game? Not only that, but, with more than 2,300 career points, Smalley already is the all-time leading scorer at Arab High School - girls or boys.
It's fair to say that Smalley, a 5-feet-8 2007 point-guard prospect, has been exposed. According to her uncle, she has been offered by Alabama, Alabama-Birmingham, Auburn, Mississppi, Purdue and Vanderbilt. That's pretty good company.
So what did we see from Smalley in Hampton, Va., that weekend? Someone who plays long, is disruptive in the passing lanes and extremely court-aware on defense. A point guard who is fearless going to the basket (that's Ta'Shia Phillips, one of the nation's top posts, that Smalley's going at in the lead photo), sees plays (including the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the score), and transports the ball as quickly upcourt as any guard in the country.
And, oh yeah, Smalley can stroke the ball, too, out to the three-point line. She can do so many things, and overwhelms you with her court sense, you almost forget about her shooting prowess.
Don't be surprised by that. In fact, don't be surprised - period - if you catch up with the Alabama Lasers this summer and are wowed by their wiry point guard.
Hart Beats Again for Oregon
Good thing this is not "Seinfeld," where the act of double-dipping is a cultural no-no. A year after dipping into Hart High School in Newhall, Calif., for Taylor Lilley, a sharp-shooting 2006 guard, Oregon coach Bev Smith went back and snared an athletic backcourt mate in Tatianna Thomas.
A 2007 prospect, Thomas committed to Oregon in April, just as colleges were first able to officially contact juniors.
"When they made their offer, I had already made up my mind," Thomas said in an email interview with HoopGurlz.com "I had wanted to wait until the summer to actually decide, but since making an unofficial visit to the Oregon campus in November, I was hooked on the program. It's an excellent university, they have great coaching, I love their style of play and I love the area. It's the place for me; I want to be a Duck."
Though Thomas, who is 5-11, wanted to go to Oregon, she had to make sure the feeling was mutual.
"After a few days of playing phone tag with Bev Smith, we finally connected and Coach Smith explained the program’s plans for me," Thomas said. "She had me at 'hello.' I committed to the program on the spot. At first I wasn’t sure what she was going to say. She was just talking about ordinary stuff and she just kind of eased into it. When she said they were offering me a scholarship, it caught me off guard. I asked her to say it again, and then as soon as she said it, I just said, 'I accept.' "
Hart, which is in the Santa Clarita Valley, just north of Los Angeles, recently has been a hot spot for Pac-10 programs. Ashley Trebilcock, one of the nation's top prospects in 2005, originally signed with UCLA, but last season transferred to Ohio State. Though Thomas played a season with Lilley, she missed playing with Trebilcock because she played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Bishop Alemany before her family moved.
Rim Shots
This news is a little late in coming, but former HoopGurlz.com columnist Shimmy Gray, now head coach at St. Louis, snared herself a big-time commtiment from Chicago super-point Tatiana Ortiz. The Von Steuben High School star averaged 26 points as a junior. She chose the Bilikens over Illinois, Marquette and Missouri. Her soon-to-be coach previously was an assistant at Arizona and Washington. ... Whitney Wood, a 6-2 post out of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Santa Margarita, Calif., has committed to Colorado State. Wood has some great bloodlines. Her father, Leon, was a former NBA guard and current officiates in the NBA, and her mother, Tia, played post for UCLA. Wood also plays club ball for Cal Swish, whose coach, Russ Davis, has sent some 100 players to play college basketball. ... Courtney Collishaw, a 5-11 guard out of Redwood High School in Visalia, Calif., has completed unofficial visits to Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, Santa Clara, and Fresno State, and has planned visits to University of San Diego, Oregon State, and UC Davis so far. Others who have expressed significant interest have been New Mexico State, Utah State, Montana State, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and UCLA. Collishaw averaged 22.6 points as a junior.
Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com and the editor-in-chief of Scout Media (www.Scout.com), an online sports network and magazine-publishing company and subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media. Glenn also founded and coached
the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girls basketball teams. He previously was a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle
Times. His work also has appeared in several national magazines and books. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002).
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