Top 25 high school girls basketball players of the 21st century (so far)

[Gael]

I'm not sure whether this MaxPreps article has been posted here.

The ranking is, of course, rather subjective and arbitrary—and hence highly debatable—but since there are six Huskies (plus a 24 hour-er) on it, I thought it might be of some interest. Before opening the article, it's sort of fun to try to predict who the six Huskies are and in what order they are ranked.

https://www.maxpreps.com/news/Fp5l6...ball-players-of-the-21st-century-(so-far).htm

 

[Kaizen]

Juju Watkins @ #6 ? better than Tina (7), Breanna (9) and Paige (10)?
This must be a joke.

And Caitlin Clark is @ #16? I am sure lots of people will not agree.

 

[pvdoggy]

Juju Watkins @ #6 ? better than Tina (7), Breanna (9) and Paige (10)?
This must be a joke.

And Caitlin Clark is @ #16? I am sure lots of people will not agree.

subjective, and this is for high school, not college, not pro. Clark is only #4 in her class coming out of high school.

 

[1974yankees]

Juju Watkins @ #6 ? better than Tina (7), Breanna (9) and Paige (10)?
This must be a joke.

And Caitlin Clark is @ #16? I am sure lots of people will not agree.

Juju is better than Paige. Except she is hurt. I know that is sacrilegious to say lol. But I think she is. She is also definitely better than Clark too.

Juju reminds me of Maya Moore in many ways.

 

[bballnut90]

It's HS career only and a lot of players aren't properly rated in high school or are late bloomers. Candace Parker/EDD/Maya being top 3 is fitting. I'd probably put Candace and Maya top 2 though, both were NPOY for multiple seasons in high school. Those 2, plus EDD and Griner had more hype than anyone coming into college in the last 25ish years. Kind of wild all 4 were within a 6 year span.

Other names worth mentioning:
-Alexis Hornbuckle was ranked anywhere from #2-#5 recruit by different services in 2004 and won 4 state championships and a HS NPOY award.

-Courtney Paris was a top recruit and had a monster high school career with multiple state championships

-Sarah Strong won 3 state titles and was the #1 recruit ahead of Joyce Edwards on the list

-Ann Strother: 2 state titles and was the #1 recruit ahead of Seimone Augustus

 

[JellyBean]

Very subjective but hats off to the folks putting the list together.

 

[MilfordHusky]

KML is a very respectable #18.

 

[PvP]

It's HS career only and a lot of players aren't properly rated in high school or are late bloomers. Candace Parker/EDD/Maya being top 3 is fitting. I'd probably put Candace and Maya top 2 though, both were NPOY for multiple seasons in high school. Those 2, plus EDD and Griner had more hype than anyone coming into college in the last 25ish years. Kind of wild all 4 were within a 6 year span.

Other names worth mentioning:
-Alexis Hornbuckle was ranked anywhere from #2-#5 recruit by different services in 2004 and won 4 state championships and a HS NPOY award.

-Courtney Paris was a top recruit and had a monster high school career with multiple state championships

-Sarah Strong won 3 state titles and was the #1 recruit ahead of Joyce Edwards on the list

-Ann Strother: 2 state titles and was the #1 recruit ahead of Seimone Augustus

Plainly after HS results influence these selections but you cite a case wherein two players have only one year out of HS and wherein one player Sarah Strong, was both higher ranked than the other. Joyce Edwards coming out of HS but also bested Edward's in every way last year when both were freshmen! Yet Edwards is high in this list and Strong an afterthought at best....where is the thinking here?

 

[triaddukefan]

Plainly after HS results influence these selections but you cite a case wherein two players have only one year out of HS and wherein one player Sarah Strong, was both higher ranked than the other. Joyce Edwards coming out of HS but also bested Edward's in every way last year when both were freshmen! Yet Edwards is high in this list and Strong an afterthought at best....where is the thinking here?

Might have to do with high school competition. Here in NC the best girls high school teams are the public schools not the private ones. Perhaps if Strong led a 4A public school to three consecutive titles then she might have been listed. Just a guess.

 

[FanSince17]

Might have to do with high school competition. Here in NC the best girls high school teams are the public schools not the private ones. Perhaps if Strong led a 4A public school to three consecutive titles then she might have been listed. Just a guess.

Thanks for that! Kudos to NC for still having a legitimate public school system. (or lack of a private school network?)
I'm from the DMV. All the kids go to private schools. It started out with Flint Hill, Montrose Christian, Prospect Hall. The Metro Conference which is all private is still hugely relevant- DeMatha, Good Council, and O'Connell for boys, St. John's (Azzi)- better girl's program?. Almost nobody goes to public schools anymore if you're a bigtime athlete. Old-timers: Dave Bing and Elgin Baylor went to Spingarn in NE DC. Kevin Durant- where is he from? People don't even know. (PG County) Anybody watch "Swagger" on Apple+?
Baltimore has a network of some of the most illustrious private schools in the US. The athletes go to one of them. I'd like to learn more about Kelis.
If this list leaned toward public school attendance, it has officially become irrelevant to me. Out.

 

[bballnut90]

Plainly after HS results influence these selections but you cite a case wherein two players have only one year out of HS and wherein one player Sarah Strong, was both higher ranked than the other. Joyce Edwards coming out of HS but also bested Edward's in every way last year when both were freshmen! Yet Edwards is high in this list and Strong an afterthought at best....where is the thinking here?

That's my thought too regarding Edwards. I'm not sure what the thought process is, though I also think A'ja Wilson is also too high at 5. Wilson was a great HS player but not a consensus #1 recruit and won just 1 state title.

Creating this kind of list is kind of an impossible task but I do think the author made a good attempt even if certain spots I don't agree with.

 

[MooseJaw]

Juju is better than Paige. Except she is hurt. I know that is sacrilegious to say lol. But I think she is. She is also definitely better than Clark too.

Juju reminds me of Maya Moore in many ways.

And you have 0 credibility. we are all entitled to our opinions, no matter how ridiculous they are. I would say welcome, but I really don't mean it.

 

[cometjo]

If this is based on high school why is Pheesa on this list and not KLS, when the latter was ranked #1 in her class? Obviously everyone was missing something about Pheesa (and were still missing it on draft day) but this undercuts the claim to be based on high school play. We might also ask where the only sophomore to ever be national HS player of the year is on this list?

 

[bballnut90]

If this is based on high school why is Pheesa on this list and not KLS, when the latter was ranked #1 in her class? Obviously everyone was missing something about Pheesa (and were still missing it on draft day) but this undercuts the claim to be based on high school play. We might also ask where the only sophomore to ever be national HS player of the year is on this list?

Fudd missed part of her junior season due to injury and it was ultimately halted due to covid. Her senior season was also halted due to Covid.

 

[Cuango]

Juju is better than Paige. Except she is hurt. I know that is sacrilegious to say lol. But I think she is. She is also definitely better than Clark too.

Juju reminds me of Maya Moore in many ways.

You are right in one sense. JuJu is better at somehow having the entire focus of the team (including the coach) revolving around getting her (JuJu) the ball! (Now I will not blame JuJu exclusively for this as the coach clearly encouraged it but it does speak to her character (or at the very least, her basketball IQ) that she did not say something about including her teammates more) I wonder what Paige would have averaged if the entire team was told by Geno to “Just get the ball to Paige!” and actually practiced that?

You must be joking! Paige is a better shooter (from all levels) their respective passing abilities cannot even be compared, Paige’s efficiency completely dwarfs JuJu’s, Paige has a much higher basketball IQ, and (it must be said, Paige would never play in a system that essentially debased everyone else in order to make her look good!) Why do you think Heckel and Howell transferred? I won’t even address the Clark statement as it is self evidently ludicrous! Yes, JuJu is very good, especially when the entire focus of the team is to help her score!

Paige- 3pt-42.3% 4.5 attempts JuJu-32.2% 6 attempts
Paige- FG-53.1% 14.2 attempts JuJu- 41.2% 20.3 attempts
Paige- Assists-4.5 JuJu-3.4
(Remember, Paige rarely played exclusively at the point or her assist #s would be much higher) My point being that Paige could play the point!
Paige-Rbds 4.7, FTs 85%, TOs 1.7, Fouls 1.3, Stls 2.1, Blks .8
JuJu- Rbds 7, FTs 83.6%, TOs 3.7, Fouls 2.4, Stls 2.2, Blks 1.7

Paige is clearly the better player!, not based merely on the numbers but more so in how she played the game and led her team. Again, the Clark statement doesn’t even deserve a response. I’m not going to list her numbers as well but suffice it to say, her (Clark’s) numbers are almost all better as well. Finally, JuJu is definitely not chopped liver but until she changes her “score at all costs” mentality, or stops listening to people who are pushing her to play that way, she will never be more than a great (volume) scorer. It’s really a shame because she could be so much better than she currently is.

If you doubt the individual over the team aspect of her game, go back and watch the play where she suffered her injury. She had a teammate running free to the basket and rather than passing it to her, she (JuJu) put her head down and tried to bull her way to the basket. I don’t want to turn this into a Geno thing but it is inconceivable that any UConn player would have failed to make that pass! That goes for virtually all well coached teams as well. Can you even imagine Dee, Maya, Stewie, Paige, Sue not making that pass?

 

[Cuango]

I mast add that I found it somewhat amusing that the author/s said their rankings were based primarily upon the respective player’s High School careers then immediately began referencing their college and WNBA accomplishments as well.

 

[Kaizen]

You are right in one sense. JuJu is better at somehow having the entire focus of the team (including the coach) revolving around getting her (JuJu) the ball! (Now I will not blame JuJu exclusively for this as the coach clearly encouraged it but it does speak to her character (or at the very least, her basketball IQ) that she did not say something about including her teammates more) I wonder what Paige would have averaged if the entire team was told by Geno to “Just get the ball to Paige!” and actually practiced that?

You must be joking! Paige is a better shooter (from all levels) their respective passing abilities cannot even be compared, Paige’s efficiency completely dwarfs JuJu’s, Paige has a much higher basketball IQ, and (it must be said, Paige would never play in a system that essentially debased everyone else in order to make her look good!) Why do you think Heckel and Howell transferred? I won’t even address the Clark statement as it is self evidently ludicrous! Yes, JuJu is very good, especially when the entire focus of the team is to help her score!

Paige- 3pt-42.3% 4.5 attempts JuJu-32.2% 6 attempts
Paige- FG-53.1% 14.2 attempts JuJu- 41.2% 20.3 attempts
Paige- Assists-4.5 JuJu-3.4
(Remember, Paige rarely played exclusively at the point or her assist #s would be much higher) My point being that Paige could play the point!
Paige-Rbds 4.7, FTs 85%, TOs 1.7, Fouls 1.3, Stls 2.1, Blks .8
JuJu- Rbds 7, FTs 83.6%, TOs 3.7, Fouls 2.4, Stls 2.2, Blks 1.7

Paige is clearly the better player!, not based merely on the numbers but more so in how she played the game and led her team. Again, the Clark statement doesn’t even deserve a response. I’m not going to list her numbers as well but suffice it to say, her (Clark’s) numbers are almost all better as well. Finally, JuJu is definitely not chopped liver but until she changes her “score at all costs” mentality, or stops listening to people who are pushing her to play that way, she will never be more than a great (volume) scorer. It’s really a shame because she could be so much better than she currently is.

If you doubt the individual over the team aspect of her game, go back and watch the play where she suffered her injury. She had a teammate running free to the basket and rather than passing it to her, she (JuJu) put her head down and tried to bull her way to the basket. I don’t want to turn this into a Geno thing but it is inconceivable that any UConn player would have failed to make that pass! That goes for virtually all well coached teams as well. Can you even imagine Dee, Maya, Stewie, Paige, Sue not making that pass?

I mast add that I found it somewhat amusing that the author/s said their rankings were based primarily upon the respective player’s High School careers then immediately began referencing their college and WNBA accomplishments as well.

Well said, thank you ...

 

[1974yankees]

You are right in one sense. JuJu is better at somehow having the entire focus of the team (including the coach) revolving around getting her (JuJu) the ball! (Now I will not blame JuJu exclusively for this as the coach clearly encouraged it but it does speak to her character (or at the very least, her basketball IQ) that she did not say something about including her teammates more) I wonder what Paige would have averaged if the entire team was told by Geno to “Just get the ball to Paige!” and actually practiced that?

You must be joking! Paige is a better shooter (from all levels) their respective passing abilities cannot even be compared, Paige’s efficiency completely dwarfs JuJu’s, Paige has a much higher basketball IQ, and (it must be said, Paige would never play in a system that essentially debased everyone else in order to make her look good!) Why do you think Heckel and Howell transferred? I won’t even address the Clark statement as it is self evidently ludicrous! Yes, JuJu is very good, especially when the entire focus of the team is to help her score!

Paige- 3pt-42.3% 4.5 attempts JuJu-32.2% 6 attempts
Paige- FG-53.1% 14.2 attempts JuJu- 41.2% 20.3 attempts
Paige- Assists-4.5 JuJu-3.4
(Remember, Paige rarely played exclusively at the point or her assist #s would be much higher) My point being that Paige could play the point!
Paige-Rbds 4.7, FTs 85%, TOs 1.7, Fouls 1.3, Stls 2.1, Blks .8
JuJu- Rbds 7, FTs 83.6%, TOs 3.7, Fouls 2.4, Stls 2.2, Blks 1.7

Paige is clearly the better player!, not based merely on the numbers but more so in how she played the game and led her team. Again, the Clark statement doesn’t even deserve a response. I’m not going to list her numbers as well but suffice it to say, her (Clark’s) numbers are almost all better as well. Finally, JuJu is definitely not chopped liver but until she changes her “score at all costs” mentality, or stops listening to people who are pushing her to play that way, she will never be more than a great (volume) scorer. It’s really a shame because she could be so much better than she currently is.

If you doubt the individual over the team aspect of her game, go back and watch the play where she suffered her injury. She had a teammate running free to the basket and rather than passing it to her, she (JuJu) put her head down and tried to bull her way to the basket. I don’t want to turn this into a Geno thing but it is inconceivable that any UConn player would have failed to make that pass! That goes for virtually all well coached teams as well. Can you even imagine Dee, Maya, Stewie, Paige, Sue not making that pass?

I think Paige is better than Clark too....Personally, I think Clark is the most overrated player I have ever seen. Her entire team revolved around her.

As for Juju, she played with some excellent teammates and her athletic ability is better than Paiges. Juju has only really played 2 years so far. Paige was at Uconn for 5 years.

On a side note:

Both Paige and JuJu will probably never be the same players they were before those major injuries. They will both still be good but they won't be exactly the same players pre ACL'S

 

[Cuango]

I think Paige is better than Clark too....Personally, I think Clark is the most overrated player I have ever seen. Her entire team revolved around her.

As for Juju, she played with some excellent teammates and her athletic ability is better than Paiges. Juju has only really played 2 years so far. Paige was at Uconn for 5 years.

On a side note:

Both Paige and JuJu will probably never be the same players they were before those major injuries. They will both still be good but they won't be exactly the same players pre ACL'S

Paige is still good enough to have just put up one of the best rookie seasons ever in the WNBA!

 

[Gael]

Edwards is high in this list and Strong an afterthought at best....where is the thinking here?

In a skimpy attempt to explain the thinking of the MaxPreps writer/ranker, Aaron Williams, there is what one might call a "continuity clue"—or, more cynically, "a compounding of one ranking error with another."

The clue is in the first sentence of the Aaron Williams article linked in my OP, which reads: "After identifying the top 100 high school athletes of the 21st century earlier this week, we are narrowing the focus to the hardwood and the top 25 girls basketball players of the past 25 years."

Clicking on the MaxPreps Top 100 Athletes article, written by Kevin Askeland, one finds Joyce Edwards ranked as this century's 11th best high school athlete, male OR female in ALL sports, presumably because she starred in volleyball as well as basketball in high school.

This ranking of Edwards seems highly dubious to me. But I'm struggling to explain not my thinking, but rather Aaron Williams's thinking when he ranked Joyce Edwards as 11th among the top 25 girls high school basketball players.

I'd guess that Williams felt obligated to give deference to MaxPreps' earlier dubious ranking of Joyce Edwards in the Askeland article. I mean, if Joyce Edwards is the 11th best high school athlete this century in all sports regardless of sex, she must be at least the 11th best girls high school basketball player.

Right?!

I didn't think so.

 

[Cuango]

I think Paige is better than Clark too....Personally, I think Clark is the most overrated player I have ever seen. Her entire team revolved around her.

As for Juju, she played with some excellent teammates and her athletic ability is better than Paiges. Juju has only really played 2 years so far. Paige was at Uconn for 5 years.

On a side note:

Both Paige and JuJu will probably never be the same players they were before those major injuries. They will both still be good but they won't be exactly the same players pre ACL'S

Clark was good enough to drag a bunch of no names into two title games while obliterating the scoring record! She wasn’t just a scorer either! Check out her assists & rebound numbers. I just have to shake my head when I hear people diminish Clark’s game. The truth is, in spite of the coach building her entire game plan around helping JuJu score as many points as possible, she wasn’t going to break Clark's record anyway. She just couldn’t shoot a high enough percentage! Plus, with Jazzy & Saniyah coming in and Kennedy being a sophomore, her shot count would have to go down or those players would likely leave. Don’t get me wrong, I like JuJu but I think she’s been ill used.

 

[HopJim]

Juju Watkins @ #6 ? better than Tina (7), Breanna (9) and Paige (10)?
This must be a joke.

And Caitlin Clark is @ #16? I am sure lots of people will not agree.

Never saw Juju play in HS but did see Caitlin and while I would personally rank her higher, I can understand the rating she received. In HIGH SCHOOL, she was not very strong, could get pushed around by stronger players, and did not take the same number of 3's as today. Clearly more of a shooter than a total player.
Basically, articles like this one are typically click bait so suggest while interesting to discuss, not worth much investment of time.

 

[1974yankees]

"Clark was good enough to drag a bunch of no names into two title games while obliterating the scoring record!"

Correction:


Clark got her team to one title game and they were humiliated by SC in the other one. (The game they didn't deserve to be in)

Secondly, I still feel to this day and I won't change my mind that Uconn got cheated against Clarks team in that final four game. Nobody calls a ridiculous penalty like they did against Uconn on the last play of the game.

I still believe it was setup by the NCAA, Sponsors and the Network to get the big Clark is in the "championship game" payday. The Refs did the dirty work. Uconn got screwed.

So I don't believe that Clark and her team even deserved to be there in the first place.

 

[Cuango]

Correction:


Clark got her team to one title game and they were humiliated by SC in the other one. (The game they didn't deserve to be in)

Secondly, I still feel to this day and I won't change my mind that Uconn got cheated against Clarks team in that final four game. Nobody calls a ridiculous penalty like they did against Uconn on the last play of the game.

I still believe it was setup by the NCAA, Sponsors and the Network to get the big Clark is in the "championship game" payday. The Refs did the dirty work. Uconn got screwed.

So I don't believe that Clark and her team even deserved to be there in the first place.

As I correctly said, two title games. As for the second one being undeserved, that is your opinion and has no bearing on whether she was in one or two title games. As for the call against AE, I too was devastated but she was clearly moving on that screen. That is incontrovertible. Now, is there an argument that they perhaps should not make game deciding calls in the final seconds? Maybe, but then what about the team that should have benefited from the “correct” call? We all would have liked for Paige to have her shot to win that game but again, there is no guarantee she would have made the shot anyway. I just think if the situation were reversed and the other team set a clearly moving screen on us, would we not want them to make that call? You may even be right about the game being set up but that veers into conspiracy and unprovable allegations. What is clearly true is that AE’s screen was illegal.

 

[1974yankees]

As I correctly said, two title games. As for the second one being undeserved, that is your opinion and has no bearing on whether she was in one or two title games. As for the call against AE, I too was devastated but she was clearly moving on that screen. That is incontrovertible. Now, is there an argument that they perhaps should not make game deciding calls in the final seconds? Maybe, but then what about the team that should have benefited from the “correct” call? We all would have liked for Paige to have her shot to win that game but again, there is no guarantee she would have made the shot anyway. I just think if the situation were reversed and the other team set a clearly moving screen on us, would we not want them to make that call? You may even be right about the game being set up but that veers into conspiracy and unprovable allegations. What is clearly true is that AE’s screen was illegal.

As for "Clark getting her team to 2 title games" this implies that her team wasn't really good and it was all Clark...

I actually agree that her teammates weren't good.

On the other hand, I do recall someone named Diana taking a team of basically role players during her junior and senior years and winning 2 more titles.

So I will ask again, what has Clark won? Why is she so deserving to be ranked so high on all these crazy polls...

I can literally name 20 Huskies that I would rather have over Clark....For real. I won't even get into all the great Tennessee players that I would take too.

Personally, I think Clark is a media creation. It's interesting that as soon as Diana leaves the game the media has to immediately put someone else up on that pedestal.

This reminds me of LeBron James. As soon as Jordan retired they needed another hero....

For the record I can name 20 players that I would take over LeBron too.. Starting with Jordan. Lol