Nikki Green

Two of three Texans ranked in HoopGurlz.com's top 20 for the 2008 class, Brooklyn Pope (13th) of Dallas and Destini Hughes (19th) of Fort Worth are here at Basketball on the Bayou - and are on the same team, DFW Elite. Both figure to be among the most hotly recruited players this fall.

(Rumors have Pope having already committed to Baylor, but she told HoopGurlz.com that she essentially is choosing between Baylor and Rutgers, with some consideration to Georgia. She plans to take official visits before making a decision).

Nneka Ogwumike of Cy-Fair, is ranked ninth in the 2008 class, but her team is not entered in this tournament. Another Houston-area prospect who is not playing here, Adaora Elonu, is one of the country's top 2008 wings.

Hughes and Pope have two younger teammates on DFW, for this tournament only, and both already are Baylor commits - 2009 post Brittney Griner of Houston and 2010 guard Odyssey Sims of Irving. Either Griner or fellow Texan post Kelsey Bone of Sugar Land will top most rankings of the 2009 class.

"Nay" Carter

But the riches don't stop there. The 2009 class, in fact, is going to be testimony to the old saying that "everything is bigger in Texas." DFW's younger team has another pair of 2009 posts in Cokie Reed of Hewitt and Nikki Green of Diboll who will be nearly as sought after as the top two. Reed has nice, broad shoulders and is powerful inside, while Green is more mobile and looks comfortable in either the high or low post.

DFW Black also has a 2010 guard in Kristen Grant of Arlington who has nice size, three-point range and a legit, pull-up jumper.

Speaking of guards, we say "yay" to Gevenia "Nay" Carter, a strong, quick, 5-foot-8 guard in the 2009 class who has plenty of shake, strong body control on penetrations and a legit jumper. A number of her teammates on the Houston Insiders also can pull from long-distance, but Carter is the best of the lot.

RIM SHOTS

You find that, more and more, bloodlines are a prominent factor among top girl's basketall prospects. Case in point are a couple of teammates with the Missouri Valley Eclipse. One of the nation's top 2009 posts, Joanna McFarland of Derby, Kan., will be the third sister to play Divison I basketball. One sister, Jessica, played at Kansas State. Another, Jackie, will be a senior at Colorado, where she has developed into one of the Big 12's most productive players. McFarland's MVE teammates, Taber Spani of Lee's Summit, Mo., also has an older sister playing in the Big 12 - Shalin at Kansas State. ... Diamond Ashmore of Midwest City, Okla., is yet another top 2009 post prospect. She is a quick and mobile 6-3. ... The game of the day on Monday was a donnybrook between Tennessee Flight Silver, one of the favorites to win it all, against Peach State Elite Black, an ultra-scrappy team out of the Atlanta area with multiple Division I commits. The Flight were more poised down the stretch to take a 62-57 victory. Leading the way were not the usual suspects. Point guard Crystal Riley of Arlington, Tenn., had a marvelous game, scoring off timely penetrations. Krista Gross, a 2009 guard out of Charlotte, N.C., also had success downing her perimeter shots. And then Whitny Edwards, also of Charlotte, made just about every key defensive play down the stretch. ... We keep saying that D'Frantz Smart of Chicago is the best 5-foot guard in the country. Now we've found her heir apparent in Alisha Andrews of Decatur, Ga. Andrews is 5-1 but has great form on her jumper from three-point land. She also can be a nearly unstoppable penetrator.

Joanna McFarland

Alisha Andrews (left) challenges Lavonda McCall

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