Pound for pound, Dixon, without question, was the most physical girl's high-school player in the country. She held that status almost since the first day of her much-ballyhooed freshman season at Poly, and her addition of a mid-range jump shot made her one of the most un-guardable players on the high-school level. Dixon is powerful and powerfully built, as well as explosive and relentless, and was the heart and soul of the most talented team in the nation whose only fault may have been overreaching schedule.

Delle Donne's drive to succeed may have in fact sabotaged what very well have been a sweep of national player of the year awards. That drive led to a bout of mononucleosis, which held her out of 10 games and effectively extinguished Ursuline's hopes of being a factor nationally. When Delle Donne played, Ursuline won every game and a state title, and she underscored with the second 50-point outing of her career, plus uncanny consistency with her shot, that she may be the most potent scorer of her generation.

Ogwumike has an almost regal elegance to her persona, on and off the court, but don't let that mask an iron will and eye-of-the-tiger approach to the game. Cy-Fair was docked its only two losses of the season only because Ogwumike and her younger sister, Chiney, were competing at the state volleybal championships. Otherwise, Cy-Fair just won, baby, behind its graceful, wise, do-everything forward who has length, strength, an ever-expanding skillset, and vises for hands.

Rogers is, hands down, Most Inspirational for weathering a stretch that no teenager should ever have to endure. She lost her father, Terray, in a senseless, halftime murder and later collected a painful hip-pointer injury during the state quarterfinals. Rogers gritted through both, delivering in storybook fashion the game-winning shot during the state semifinals, the season ending in a state title. Even before such tests, she epitomized the notion of "nose for the ball" and expanded her game considerably with the addition of a reliable jump shot.

No longer a stranger in a strange land, this British import caught on quickly to the American way of being judged by the number of notches (for victory) on one's belt. NDA was a consensus, preseason No. 1 choice largely because of Stewart's prowess as close-range deterrent and rebounder. It remained among the nation's elite because she further transformed herself into a strong offensive presence on the boxes, as well as team leader, and may have been the most underrated high-school player in this country, at least.