Lets be honest you could argue about 20-30 additional players not on this list and I could agree with your argument. Let the conversation begin...... heck maybe even one day we could see a Louisiana versus another state!
I'd love to see Louisiana vs. Arkansas/Mississippi/Texas etc.
Maybe LGR can make that happen in the near future! :)
Before we start with these honors I'd like to clarify a few things prior to doing this list. Anytime a list like this is made several ladies that deserve to be on the list will be left off and that is not a knock to them by any means! Teams are left out the NCAA tournament and people are left off list all the time... my point is let's try to refrain from all the negative talk because in talking negative about "player A" not being on the list in my opinion your taking a shot at the girls that are on the list!
Second disclaimer I have no rules about different players from different classifications this is open to all girls basketball across the entire state at all levels and classifications.
Considering these two things:
1) Production from this high school season (only one player did not make the final four)
2) College prospect - how will her game translate to the next level?
With the Louisiana Girls Rankings all state team I wanted to actually create two five player teams of the best players at each position so again a few players may have been left off especially since we already have so many guards in our state and so few bigs. All 10 girls listed below are not in any particular order but instead which players I felt fit the "prospect team" the best.
Red Team
PG - Jeriah Warren - LaGrange 2021
G - Jerkalia Jordan - John Curtis 2020 - Tulane
G - Jaylyn James - STA 2021
F - Tamera Johnson - LCA 2020 - ULL
F - Amoura Graves - Ponchatoula 2021 - LSU
White Team
G - Qua Chambers - Benton 2020 - ULM
G - Diamond Hunter - Lee Magnet 2020 - Sam Houston
G - Erica Lafayette - McKinley 2020 - Rutgers
F - Mikaylah Williams - Parkway 2023
F - Kiersten Nelson - Ursuline 2020 - Samford
Lets take closer look into each team:
Red Team
Point Guard - Jeriah Warren - LaGrange HS 2021 - Starting at point guard we have the 5'11-6'0 point guard from LaGrange High School. She not only helped lead her team to its first state championship earning MVP honors but she's also getting interest from several mid major and high major schools. (Florida, Oklahoma State, La Tech, Tulane to name a few)
Guard - Jerkalia "Jerk" Jordan - John Curtis HS 2020 - (Tulane) - Louisiana Gatorade player of the year, four time state champion, four time state championship MVP, the list goes on and on..... it's safe to say Tulane got a good one here!
Guard - Jaylyn James - St. Thomas Aquinas HS 2021 - She dislocated her arm in the state championship game..... after having everything checked out she earned herself the state championship MVP trophy by going back into the game and lead her team to another state championship over a tough LCA team! She's getting interest from mid major plus schools such as Tulane and a few high major schools.
Forward - Tamera Johnson - Lafayette Christian Academy HS 2020 - (ULL) - Tamera helped put the girls basketball program on the map at LCA with winning three straight state championships. ULL has to be looking forward to getting this winner on the court as she'll really excel in the up and down style of play!
F - Amoura Graves - Ponchatoula HS 2021 - (LSU) - Graves and the Ponchatoula Green Wave had a great season despite coming up short in the 5A semi final game in overtime. Ponchatoula is arguably the favorite to win 5A next year as they return all but one starter. LSU is going to have to wait one more year before Graves can bring her skill set onto the court as she's only a junior.
White Team
Guard - Qua Chambers - Benton HS 2020 - (ULM) Chambers helped lead her team to back to back state championships and despite Benton being in 5a for the first time this year. She'll be attending ULM next year where you can imagine they are looking forward to getting her scoring and winning mindset on the court ASAP.
Guard - Diamond Hunter - Lee Magnet HS 2020 (Sam Houston) - Hunter led her team to back to back state championships with her amazing ability to score the ball and her ability to set the tone on both ends of the floor! She's a great get for Sam Houston and we could reflect back on this list 4 years from now I wouldn't be surprised if she's all conference in the Southland!
Guard - Erica Lafayette - McKinley HS 2020 (Rutgers) - Lafayette helped get McKinley back to the final four after her teams post season ban. She was a ton of fun to watch over the years and brought the wow factor every time she touched the ball. I'm looking forward to seeing her play at the next level and hoping she can do the same for Rutgers!
Forward - Mikaylah Williams - Parkway HS 2023 - If you don't know the name Mikaylah Williams and your a girls basketball fan in the state of Louisiana you should really take some time to go watch her play. She's only a Freshmen and helped bring her team (a team that won less than 10 games last year) back into the playoffs and won 25 games! She's the only player on the list that didn't make the final four of her classification but she's also the only freshmen with several high major offers (SEC) so we'll let her slide for now!
Forward - Kiersten Nelson - Ursuline Academy HS 2020 (Samford) - Nelson ended her five year career at Ursuline with two state championships and five straight trips to the final four! She was our highest rated 2020 left on the board but has recently committed to Samford who just won their conference so Nelson's winning attitude will fit right in!
