Preseason '07 All-Americans

HoopGurlz.com's second annual preseason All-American team shares two qualities with our first - it is very talented, and there aren't three centers among the top 15 players.

PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

We commemorate our first year of covering the nation's best high-school girl's basketball players and teams with our second annual preseason HoopGurlz.com All-American team for the Class of 2007, plus a question.

Where are the centers?

Not literally, of course, as we do have two - Jantel Lavender of Cleveland, Ohio, and Kelley Cain of Atlanta, Ga. - among our All-Americans. But as we reveal our 2007 rankings as the week goes along, the list will not go too much further. Last year, Jayne Appel of Pleasant Hill, Calif., was the only true post among the top 15 players in our rankings - which, by the way, comprise our All-American team.

While we don't think this is the case, at least not totally, part of the problem is perception. As this class shows so clearly, there now are big forwards - witness Vicki Baugh of Sacramento, Calif.; Kayla Pedersen of Mesa, Ariz., and Krystal Thomas of Orlando, Fla. - who are in the 6-foot-5, 6-4 range and can run the floor, dribble and shoot like guards. The guards have gotten bigger (see 6-1 Stefanie Gilbreath of Katy, Texas).

Girl's basketball players are getting bigger, without falloff in physical abilities or basketall skills. Does that necessarily mean that the centers also must be bigger. Though Cain is 6-6 and the centers seem to be getting bigger and bigger, the answer really is no.

One of the basic tenets of offensive basketball is that a team must be able to at least throw the ball inside and have that inside player be competant enough to make the defense react, thereby creating space and better shots for that team's shooters. What we're seeing is a dearth of players who know how to get the ball and what to do with it once they receive it.

Across the country, we don't see many players who post up in an athletic stance, who are taught to get their hips lower than their defender's, who have basic footwork, know how to slide-step or, even, who have basic post moves such as a drop step, jump hook, show and go, up and under, baseline jumper. We don't see many who know how to even finish a shot. Don't even talk about a little more sophisticated skills such as feeling and sealing a defender or reading defensive stunts and passing out to open teammates.

While we're at it, most club and high-school teams appear as if they haven't even spent one practice session on making post entries. We see post players working too hard and potential passers being too stationary. We don't see teams using passes or dribbles to create better entry lanes.

Maybe we should amend our question - where are the teachers of the center position? There are many great coaches out there, but they aren't getting bigger like their players. In other words, we don't see a lot of former centers entering the coaching ranks. And there obviously is a correlation between teaching and final products. We don't think it's a coincidence, for example, that this year's top post, Lavender, and next year's, Ayana Dunning, both are the most fundamentally competant players in the lane and both are coached by Jay-Bee Bethea of All-Ohio Black.

We could go on, suggesting that maybe the American game doesn't appear to produce better shooters because our shooters don't have enough space because we don't produce competant post players.

But we won't. End of rant. There are too many talented players to celebrate, after all, and we don't want to take anything away from them.

2007 HOOPGURLZ PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

(CLICK ON NAMES FOR PROFILES)

FIRST TEAM

Angie Bjorklund

Angie Bjorklund
6-0 guard
Position Rank: 1
Rating:
University HS (Spokane, Wash.)
Committed to Tennessee

The Lowdown: Nobody in the country is better at creating her shot, and few are better at executing their jumpers. Yes, Bjorklund has improved at attacking closing defenders off the dribble, but her offensive game still is built around the jump shot (as well as court vision and finding teammates). That may sound limiting, yet Bjorklund can dominate games from the perimeter, which sets her apart. The key is her focus, worth ethic and strength - all of which overcome her lack of blinding speed. Like the other elite prospects, she also is ultra-competitive and one of the best bets in the country with the ball in her hands and a game on the line, from anywhere on the court. A former point guard, she also can hurt defenses with her court vision.

Jantel Lavender

Jantel Lavender
6-4 center
Position Ranking: 1
Rating:
Central Catholic (Cleveland, Ohio)
Uncommitted

The Lowdown: Lavender is so heads and shoulders above the rest, it's a shame she doesn't really have any peers in her class because it's sometimes difficult to fathom how good she is. She has a solid arsenal from the blocks and is the most consistent shot-maker in the country from down low - by far. What puts her into a different world from the other posts is her ability to read defenses and pass out of crowds, her ability to hit mid-range shots and make plays from the high post. Lavender also is an excellent one-on-one and help defender and rebounder, and finds her outlets quickly and accurately.

Italee Lucas

Italee Lucas
5-9 guard
Postition Rank: 2
Rating:
Centennial HS (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Committed to North Carolina

The Lowdown: It's entirely appropriate that Lucas is headed to North Carolina because she seems every bit the second coming of Ivory Latta. There hasn't been a better combo guard in the country the past couple of years. She can be an explosive scorer, with strength and quickness to spare, dribble moves so quick you need super-slo-mo to decipher them, great lift off her pull-ups and an armored body that makes for good finishing ability off penetration. Lucas also proved during the USA Basketball trials that she can be an elite distributor. All the qualities that make her an excellent scorer, when paired with her vision, make her an excellent lead guard.

Maya Moore

Maya Moore
6-foot-1 forward
Position Rank: 1
Rating:
Collins Hill HS (Suwanee, Ga.)
Committed to Connecticut

The Lowdown: Even during her junior season, we felt Moore probably was the best player in the country, regardless of class. And that was based on her competitive nature and offensive prowess. Her 38-point performance during Collins Hill's overtime loss to Christ the King in the 2005 Nike Tournament of Champions title game was the stuff of legend. Even so, Moore did something only special players do - she decided to figure out other ways to make her team and teammates better. Much of that took place at the defensive end, where her great athleticism and wingspan make her formidable. Much like her predessor, Tina Charles, who was No. 1 in 2006, Moore rules the sport because she has drive and character to match her talent.

Kayla Pedersen

Kayla Pedersen
6-5 forward
Position Rank: 2
Rating:
Red Mountain HS (Mesa, Ariz.)
Committed to Stanford

The Lowdown: Pedersen had an injury plagued summer, but her body of work over the previous couple of years already was overflowing and her performance at the USA Basketball trials served as confirmation that she is the most versatile player in this class. Her size, combined with a solid inside game, excellent mid-range game, good ballhandling skills and work ethic conceivably will allow Stanford to use her at any position except perhaps point guard. Some might fault her for not being aggressive enough with her own offense, but the way the Cardinal will be stacked during her tenure with them, her commitment to team will be much appreciated.

SECOND TEAM

Vicki Baugh

Vicki Baugh
6-4 forward
Position Rank: 4
Rating:
Sacramento HS (Sacramento, Calif.)
Uncommitted

The Lowdown: Some will have Baugh ranked higher than we do, and we can totally see that. She is the best combination of size and athleticism in the class. There may not be another player you'd want running the wings, or even the ball, in the open court. She not only can motor, but finish and find open teammates. A pull-up shot would make her a perfect fast-break performer, as well as something special at 6-4. She can defend wings, but to play that position offensively needs improvement and range on her shot. Baugh is a face-up scorer, but more so off the dribble, where it is difficult to stop someone with her size and skills.

Khadijah Rushdan

Khadijah Rushdan
5-10 guard
Position Rank: 5
Rating:
St. Elizabeth HS (Wilmington, Del.)
Uncommitted

The Lowdown: Some days, you could have flipped a coin between her and Italee Lucas for queen of the combo guards. Rushdan is built like a Humvee, gets and stays low off her dribble moves and can make spectacular finishes inside. She also can set off fireworks from behind the arc, with a strong, wristy shot, off the dribble, catches and stationary. The in-between game is her growing edge, though she uses penetration effectively to create passing lanes and sometimes seems to have x-ray court vision. Her leg and upper-body strength allows her to execute passes most guards cannot. She also puts all her physical assets to good use at the defensive end.

Marah Strickland

Marah Strickland
5-11 guard
Postition Rank: 4
Rating:
Towson Catholic HS (Towson, Md.)
Uncommitted

The Lowdown: Plagued by chronic knee pain and then by an ankle sprain, Strickland didn't have a particularly active summer. But when she was on the court, you could not take your eyes off her. There's not a smoother scoring machine in the class. She has a nice, easy stroke and great lift off the dribble and catch, from outside and inside the arc. Strickland has great dribble moves that she doesn't overuse, and excellent court vision. Her quick feet and hands, and work ethic, make her a very good defender, a rating she can bump up to excellent with more strength, which will improve her ability to defend the block and rebound.

Jasmine Thomas

Jasmine Thomas
5-9 guard
Position Ranking: 3
Rating:
Oakton HS (Vienna, Va.)
Committed to Duke

The Lowdown: Though she has some combo ability in her, Thomas is the purest of the top lead guards and maybe the best all-around guard in the class. She has all the tools - great ballhandling and vision, nice stroke off the dribble and catch, excellent penetration abilities and is an athletic finisher. Though not weak by any stretch, Thomas is more wiry than Lucas and Rushdan and plays a more classic point-guard role. What she does clearly better is defend. She has quick feet and hands, and simply commits herself to harassing the ball. She also can be an assertive scorer, as she demonstrated after getting cut at the USA Basketball trials.

Krystal Thomas

Krystal Thomas
6-4 forward
Position Rank: 3
Rating:
The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.)
Committed to Duke

The Lowdown: Thomas is part of this class' vanguard of the tall, athletic and skilled forwards. She can be scary in the open floor, with her speed-size quotient and her credentials as a winner are indisputable as she led the Orlando Comets to an AAU National Championship and the Silver Bracket title at Nike Nationals last summer. While Vicki Baugh and Kayla Pedersen likely will open their college careers on the wing, Thomas start inside, though she is polishing her perimeter game for a run at playing a wing. She by far has the most developed game of the three - and, indeed, of all forwards in the country - on the blocks, has a great nose for the ball, either off the glass or on the floor, and is disruptive as a shot-blocker.

THIRD TEAM

Kelley Cain

Kelley Cain
6-5 center
Position Ranking: 2
Rating:
St. Pius X Catholic HS (Atlanta, Ga.)
Uncommitted

The Lowdown: Her nickname should be "Raising," as in raising Cain, because she does, particularly at the defensive end, where nobody in this class is a better deterrent in the lane. She not only plugs up a lot of space in the painted area, she is an extremely adept shot-blocker, particularly in help situations. Cain is more of a work in progress at the offensive end, but does offer much material with which to work. The starting point, of course, is her size, but her biggest asset may be her hands, which give her the ability to catch a lot of passes most young post players cannot. Her scoring can improve simply with more aggressiveness.

Cetera DeGraffenreid

Cetera DeGraffenreid
5-5 guard
Position Rank: 8
Rating:
Smoky Mountain HS (Sylva, N.C.)
Committed to North Carolina

The Lowdown: The shock of DeGraffenreid is looking at a roster to see that she is listed at only 5-5, because you hardly notice anything small about her game. In fact, few players in the country loomed larger in terms of getting results for her team. DeGraffenreid uses her strength and low-to-the-flooor stature to great advantage off the dribble and seems to get into the lane at will, where she can hit floaters, dish to teammates or muscle in for finishes. She also can take over with mid-range or long-distance shooting. She also puts her physical attributes to great use at the other end, where, throwing in her quick hands and feet, she is the most fearsome on-ball defender in this class.

Stefanie Gilbreath

Stefanie Gilbreath
6-1 guard
Position Rank: 6
Rating:
Cinco Ranch HS (Katy, TX)
Uncommitted

The Lowdown: Gilbreath is what you call a "retrospect player." While the game was going on, you may not take much note of what she is doing, but in retrospect, you'll see that she helped her team take care of the basketball, hit several timely shots, snatched some timely rebounds and locked down the other team's best scorer. She is the longest guard in this class, jumps well and is quick. That's enough right there to make the college coaches drool, but Gilbreath also has an excellent mid-range offensive game, her height and jumping ability making it near impossible for defenders to bother her on the pull.

Melissa Jones

Melissa Jones
5-11 guard
Position Rank: 7
Rating:
Legacy HS (Broomfield, Colo.)
Uncommitted

The Lowdown: A singular sensation on her high-school team who plays for a club team that doesn't get out extensively, Jones incredibly stayed under the national radar until this past summer. A three-sport star at Legacy, her game crackles with energy. Though not the fastest player on the court, she gets down in transition better than anyone and tends to cover more ground than anyone on defense. A great shooter off the dribble and from deep, Jones has a vicious crossover, very good balance and change of pace on her moves. She also has very good size and strength, which serve her well at both ends of the floor.

Alex Montgomery

Alex Montgomery
6-1 forward
Postition Rank: 5
Rating:
Lincoln HS (Tacoma, Wash.)
Committed to Georgia Tech

The Lowdown: Whether you want her smoother and more likely to pull the jumper, like Marah Strickland, or quicker and longer, like Montgomery, is how you'd choose between the nation's top break-down players from the wing. Montgomery is ultra-quick with a huge wingspan and a slinky player at the offensive end, who gets to the rack with her quickness and can explode off the floor and contort her body for finishes. She's also great in the open floor, with or without the ball, and has been extending the range on her jump shot, at the end of the summer showing some three-point ability. Her length, quick feet and hands, and anticipation, make her a disruptive defender.

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Chris Hansen is the National Director of Scouting for Women's Basketball at HoopGurlz.com and Scout.com. Chris leads the panel that evaluates and ranks girl's basketball prospects nationally for HoopGurlz and Scout.com. Chris has been involved in the women’s basketball community since 1998 as a coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He can be reached at [e-mail].

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HOOPGURLZ'S RANKINGS PACKAGE FOR 2007:

Preseason Hot 100 (Part II)
Preseason Hot 100 (Part I)
Preseason Player of the Year
Preseason All-Americans