Prospect Watch - April 27

One of the top prospects in the 2008 class makes the tough transition from inside to the wings, plus an impressive December high-school event, and more.

STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

The switch is there, waiting to be pressed. To "on" or "full." Everyone has one. Some never find theirs.

Chasity Clayton seems tantilizingly close to discovering her switch. You see it often enough to know.

At one point during the Deep South Classic, her Team Unique coach, James Nichols, tells Clayton to "attack the rim; dunk it on somebody's head." And you see it then. She crouches like a cheetah, pound, pound, pounding the ball. Then she pounces, staying low and attacking the defender's hips. As she whizzes by, she stays low - something a lot of pros don't even get - and gobbles up real estate with her long strides, like Donald Trump on a buying spree. She slithers through the defense as if it weren't there, then explodes to the cup.

Easy. The switch has been set. Or has it?

Chasity Clayton

"Right now, I think the template is set for Chasity, to be one of the prototype wings for the next generation of college women's basketball," Nichols says. "She's shown that she can do so much on both sides of the ball, inside and outside, when she relaxes and just plays ball. At times, she's shown such athleticism with enough skill and attitude, where no one could stop her, but herself. I think by her second year in college, at the right program for her, it might be ten wings in the country who can do anything with her. But for now, she just needs to stay focused, and keep grinding it out in the gym. With Chasity, it's about the mentals."

Clayton, who is 6 feet 1, has been an inside presence for Edison High School in Alexandria, Va. At Edison, Clayton has been paired with Doreena Campbell, the UCLA signee who is ranked 86th in the 2007 class by HoopGurlz.com. The two led Edison to the Virginia state championship game, where the Eagles lost to Hampton by a point and gained their second straight second-place finish.

Like a lot of kids who happened to be tall, Clayton was stuck where tall kids are supposed to go - down low, in the post. That period lasted 10 years. The past 10 months, under Nichols, have been dedicated to undoing all of that and placing Clayton on a path to the wings.

The results have been gaining notice. Clayton says she still is open on her recruiting, though presently her interest has been focused on Boston College, Florida State, Georgetown, George Washington and Miami. She is looking for a top medical program and wants to become a heart surgeon or pediatrician.

"Chasity knows that she needs to continue to improve," Nichols says. "She probably is her own worst enemy, on the court and in the gym. She wants to be so good, so fast, that she tries to do to much sometimes, and gets overly frustrated when she makes a basic mistake or mental error. She's so much better in than she used to be in this regard; two years ago, she might have quit on herself and her teammates; now, she'll play through it the majority of the time.

Rim Shots

Michael Meek, the head coach of an emerging national power at Southridge High in Beaverton, Ore., has put together an impressive high-school event for next December. The second annual Nike Northwest Invitational, held Dec. 6-8, will feature four defending state champions, headlined by the two-time defending champs from California, Long Beach Poly. Jasmine Dixon, the No. 4 overall prospect in 2008, according to HoopGurlz.com, will lead a three-peat effort for Poly, which was ranked No. 2 nationally by Full Court Press. Sacred Heart of San Francisco, the California Division III champs featuring top 2009 prospect Tierra Rogers, will be in the field, as will Highland Ranch, the two-time Colorado 5A champions. Meek's own Southridge

Alex Earl

team is the three-time defending Oregon state champions, featuring top 2008 prospects Alex Earl (see below) and Michelle Jenkins. Also in the field are Prairie, a perennial Washington state power which has one of the nation's most hotly recruited point guards in Ashley Corral; Central Catholic, which finished third in Oregon in 2007 and has an exciting 2009 prospect in Kate Lanz, and two other strong Oregon programs in Beaverton and South Eugene. ... Speaking of Alex Earl, who is one of my favorite players in the 2008 class, the 5-10 guard has verballed to Arizona State. The commitment continues ASU coach Charlie Turner-Thorne's recruiting chokehold on the Pacific Northwest. Turner-Thorne fashioned a high ranking team last season that started all players from the Pacific Northwest. Earl is a strong, smooth-shooting, extremely communicative and hyperactive guard who made a successful transition from shooting guard to the point this past season. She and Jenkins, one of the top inside prospects in the West, make Southridge a preseason favorite to four-peat in 2007-08. ... Katelan Redmon, a long, athletic, 6-foot guard who commanded attention from all over the country, has asked the University of Washington for her release from a National Letter of Intent. The coach with whom she signed, June Daugherty, was not retained at Washington and just took over as head coach at Washington State. Redmon, who led Lewis and Clark to a repeat Washington State 4A championship, lives in nearby Spokane, but says Washington State is not a done deal. ... Katherine DeHenzel, the fireplug point guard for St. John's of Washington, D.C., has signed with William and Mary. DeHenzel, 5-8, was a Real Basketball Report Senior All-Star and first-team all-conference selection.

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