Full Hundred for 2009

By Chris Hansen
ESPN HoopGurlz
Posted Mon, 06/23/2008 - 04:51 Plenty of changes, including new faces and new places, in the first edition of the ESPN HoopGurlz Hundred for the 2009 class.

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STORY BY CHRIS HANSEN; PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

Brittney Griner is the future of women’s basketball and the most imposing defensive presence ever in the girls’ game. She can do things on both ends of the floor that nobody before has done.

That all makes Griner, of Houston, Texas, the No. 1 ranked prospect in the ESPN HoopGurlz Hundred for 2009, representing the first change ever at the top of HoopGurlz rankings. Kelsey Bone, from nearby Stafford, Texas, held the No. 1 spot from more than a year and still is considered by ESPN HoopGurlz as the top, finished high-school player in the country.

Click Here for the Full ESPN HoopGurlz Hundred

In the second rankings expansion since the high-school season ended ESPN HoopGurlz released their early summer Top 100. The rankings will surely change with what we all expect to be a competitive month of July.

From running the floor and finishing on the break at 6-foot-8, to dunking on the opposition with intimidating force, to completely rewriting the opponent’s idea of a good shot, Griner is nothing short of amazing. And the scary part is she’s just learning how to utilize her gifts offensively.

Griner’s ascent to the top of the rankings doesn’t change our opinion of Bone. There hasn’t been a post this skilled in a long time. Bone is so ahead of her peers at such a young age that an argument could be made that she would be the No. 1 player in any of class in recent memory. She is ready to contribute at any school in the nation today and heading into her senior year has to be the favorite for high school player of the year awards. Bone is a leader on the court and plays with the fire and passion few.

So what gives? When ranking players ESPN HoopGurlz projects where the player will be at the college level and Griner’s potential is incomprehensible in the sphere of normal expectations of women’s basketball. (See ESPN HoopGurlz’s detailed evaluation on Griner’s game: Click Here). You’ve not seen a player like Griner and when you do you are in for a treat. Her physical tools are unmatched -- 6-8, strong upper body, extremely long wing span, good lift, great agility, very good quickness, her balance and body control are equally impressive as well.

The top of this class is very heavy. Both Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) and Skylar Diggins (South Bend, Ind./Washington) find themselves near the top of a class filled with hoards of tall talented interior players. Ruffin-Pratt leads one of the top club teams in the nation with her toughness and will to win, and Diggins finds herself the highest ranked point guard in the history of HoopGurlz rankings.

Since March, the rankings have expanded from the Super 60 to 80 and now to the ESPN HoopGurlz Hundred, so there are plenty of new faces as well as players who have made considerable moves up in the rankings.

Taber Spani (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Metro Academy) jumped 10 spots to No. 23 after a fantastic performance in Houston at the Nike Regional Skills Academy. Lauren Flores (Dallas, Texas/Lincoln) moved to No. 44 and Monique Smalls (The Woodlands, Texas/College Park) to No. 65 after a strong tournament sat Boo Williams followed up by solid performances at the Houston Nike RSA. Both of these Lone Star point guards were previously unranked.

Other additions to the rankings include No. 36 Lexie Gerson (Philadelphia, Pa./Peddie School) and No. 55 Anna Prins (Broomfield, Colo.). Both showed well at Boo Williams and Gerson cemented her place in the top 40 in the Philadelphia Nike RSA. The 6-6 Prins adds yet another talented post in a class bursting at the seams with size and skill. But Prins is not the only new Coloradan as Diana Rolniak (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit), a 6-3 forward for one of the state’s top teams, jumps in at No. 93.

A trio of Wisconsinites appear in the rankings, the most from that state in the history of the ESPN HoopGurlz Hundred. Taylor Wurst (Brandon, Wis./Ripon) is ranked No 85. The highest ranked of the group is Marquette commit Sarina Simmons (Milwaukie, Wis./Rufus King) at No. 59. Joining them is a high school teammate of Simmons, point guard Rachel Story (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King), at No. 98.

In all, California leads all states with 15 players ranked followed by Texas with 11 and New York with 7. With ESPN HoopGurlz covering the entire country full tilt starting June 30 at the Nike Skills Academy in Beaverton, Ore., expect some new faces in the post-July. While the rankings are limited to the top 100 players, ESPN HoopGurlz will provide ratings and evaluations for many more.

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The ESPN HoopGurlz Ranking Panel

Chris Hansen is the National Director of Scouting for Women’s Basketball at HoopGurlz and staff writer at ESPN.com. He leads the panel that evaluates and ranks girl's basketball prospects nationally for HoopGurlz. Chris has been involved in the women’s basketball community since 1998 as a coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He can be reached at chris@hoopgurlz.com.

Mark Lewis is a columnist and national evaluator for ESPN HoopGurlz. Twice ranked as one of the top 25 assistant coaches in the game by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, he more than 20 years of college coaching experience at Memphis State, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Western Kentucky and, most recently, Washington State, where he was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He spent the previous year as national evaluator for Blue Star Basketball, one of the country's largest scouting services. A 1982 graduate of Southern Mississippi, Mark played at Iroquois High School in Erie, Pa. He can be reached at mark@hoopgurlz.com.

Glenn Nelson is the founder and publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He is a member of the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee, Parade All-American Selection Committee, SportsShooter.com (Click for Porfolio), Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, National Press Photographers Association, Online News Association, Society of Professional Journalists and U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Glenn also founded and coached two select girl's basketball teams and previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com, a managing editor at Rivals.com, and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here. Glenn can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.

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