Video: Iowa girl makes ridiculous buzzer-beater
Three-quarters of the court and nothing but net - Wow!There are a lot of memories from the 20 years of the Nike TOC, and those who have attended have their favorites – which might include the epic Maya Moore-Tina Charles overtime battle, or Diana Taurasi winning three straight games with last-minute shots, or any number of incredible individual performances.
So when people say that this year's version in Arizona might just be the best ever, that's saying something.
Four of the top six teams in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard will lace them up starting Monday, plus six of the top 15 and 10 of the Xcellent 25. There are 16 teams in the Joe Smith Division, and each grouping of four teams has at least two teams in the Xcellent 25. The bracket with No. 2
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) has three, and Arizona's
Seton Catholic (Chandler, Ariz.), the fourth member, is just on the border of getting into that select group.
No. 3
Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) opens against No. 20
Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) with No. 14
Cardinal O'Hara (Springfield, Pa.) and longtime power
St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) waiting in the next round, while No. 6
Miami Country Day will likely have to contend with No. 22
Long Beach Poly (Calif.) just to get to the semifinals.
That means it seems like a cakewalk for No. 5
Centennial (Las Vegas), as No. 13
Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.) is the only one in its quartet that's ranked – but overlooking
St. John's (Washington, D.C.) (with a win over Georgia power McEachern) and
Mercer County (Harrodsburg, Ky.), which is lost only to No. 4 Hamilton Heights, could be a fatal mistake.
Teams cannot relax for even a second in the four-game marathon. Bishop McNamara of Washington DC had only a two-minute lapse one year, but that was enough for Maya Moore and Collins Hill to knock them out of the national championship chase.
And yes, national rankings are on the minds of the teams in the Joe Smith Division. That's one reason they are in Arizona, to prove themselves against the best teams in the country. Of course, some teams cannot come because of travel restrictions and others choose not to come, but those who are serious about being recognized for their achievements in high school girls basketball find a way to get to Phoenix before Christmas.
The winner of this division almost always moves to the top spot in the national rankings, having survived the gantlet of quality teams, but the losers have nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, there has been more than one team that has gone 0-4 in the Nike TOC and then returned home to win a state championship. Mountain View of Utah, for example, lost only six games over a three-year span – all at the Nike TOC.
But there are 64 other teams involved in the tournament along with the 16 in the Joe Smith Division, and the first four brackets are chock-full of quality teams with resumes that include 20-, 25- and even 30- win seasons in 2015-16. Longtime national powers such as
Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.),
La Jolla Country Day (Calif.),
Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) and
Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) dot the John Anderson Division.
Oregon City (Ore.),
Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch, Colo.),
Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.),
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) have been "relegated" to the Mike Desper division. And don't be surprised to find a team winning that wins the Derrill Kipp Division hanging up a state championship banner at the end of the year.
And of course the hordes of talented players will draw close to 200 college coaches – and here are a few of the girls they will be looking at:
Caitlin Bickle is one of many top recruits playing in the Nike TOC this week.
File photo Paul Campbell
, 2018, Riverdale
Caitlin Bickle, 2018,
Cactus Shadows (Cave Creek, Ariz.)Julia Blackshell-Fair, 2017 (Houston),
Vanden (Fairfield, Calif.)Chloe Chapman, 2019,
Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.)Ayanna Clark, 2017 (USC), Long Beach Poly
Aquira DeCosta, 2018, St. Mary's (Stockton)
Aleah Goodman, 2017 (Oregon State),
La Salle (Milwaukie, Ore.)Anastasia Hayes, 2017 (Tennessee), Riverdale
Haley Jones, 2019, Archbishop Mitty
Kasiyahna Kushkituah, 2017 (Tennessee),
St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.)Channise Lewis, 2017 (Illinois), Miami Country Day
Michaela Onyenwere, 2017 (UCLA),
Grandview (Aurora, Colo.)Myah Pace, 2017 (San Diego), Bishop O'Dowd
Seygan Robins, 2018, Mercer County
Aisha Sheppard, 2017 (Virginia Tech), St. John's College
Alaysia Styles, 2017 (California), La Jolla Country Day
Samantha Thomas, 2017 (Arizona), Centennial
