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Nevada Preps girls basketball players countdown — No. 1

Centennial’s Eboni Walker comes in at No. 1 on our list of Southern Nevada’s top girls basketball players.

To create the list, we spoke with coaches from across the valley. A couple of the base questions were: “Who is the top high school girls basketball player today?” and “Who would you pick to start a team?”

Then we grabbed the statistics from last season, looked at the player’s collective rankings on recruiting websites and used our own judgment to fill holes.

Nevada Preps Girls Basketball Players Rank: Centennial’s Eboni Walker No. 1

Class

2019

Vitals

5 feet, 11 inches

Honors

All-State First Team,All-Northwest League First Team (2018); All-State Second Team, All-Northwest League First Team (2017); All-State Honorable Mention (2016)

Recruiting

Walker has committed to Arizona State

Last Season’s Stats

Walker averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds to help the Bulldogs to a fourth consecutive state title.

What they are saying

— “She’s just freakishly athletic,” a Desert Region coach said. “It’s very hard to match the energy that she brings. She’s just so athletic and that seasoned veteran. They’ve won and done it all before, so she’s going to be a leader on their team.”

— “With every Centennial girl, it’s their work ethic,” a Desert Region coach said. “They outwork their opponent. With Eboni, she’s probably the best athlete in town. I think she’s the best all-around player at Centennial, for sure. She can kind of do it all. I don’t think there’s a coach in the country that wouldn’t want her on their team.”

— “I think she’s the total package, she can play everything,” a Desert Region coach said. “Even though she’s more of a post for Centennial, she can do it all.”

— “You just don’t see kids like her, she’s an anomaly,” a Mountain Region coach said. “She just affects the game in different ways, even if it’s not points.”

Nevada Preps Girls Basketball Players Rank: Centennial’s Melanie Isbell No. 2

Class

2019

Vitals

5 feet, 4 inches

Honors

All-State First Team, All-Northwest League First Team (2018); All-State Second Team, All-Northwest League First Team (2017)

Recruiting

Isbell has committed to UNLV

Last Season’s Stats

Isbell averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 assists for the Class 4A state champions.

What they are saying

— “Shes just crafty as can be,” a Desert Region coach said. “She’s a veteran. It’s a little combination of everything. She’s very annoying to play against, but you can respect her game.”

— “Her ballhandling is phenomenal,” a Desert Region coach said. “She sees the court really well. Her shot could use some work, but it’s on when it’s on. She’s got really good speed with and without the ball.”

— “There’s just not another point guard like her in the city,” a Mountain Region coach said. “She’s solid.”

— “She’s the engine to their whole thing because she’s the one that leads everything,” a Desert Region coach said. “They go because of her. Without her there’s a big difference.”

Nevada Preps Girls Basketball Players Rank: Centennial’s Daejah Phillips No. 3

Class

2020

Vitals

5 feet, 9 inches

Honors

All-State Second Team (2018)

Last Season’s Stats

Phillips averaged 9.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in helping the Bulldogs to a fourth consecutive state championship.

What they are saying

— “She’s a totally different player than she was in December,” a Mountain Region coach said. “She’s improved so much with her perimeter skills.”

— “She can play both sides of the court, she can run, she finds way to score the basket and she can play defense,” a Desert Region coach said. “She’s one of the top players for sure.”

Nevada Preps Girls Basketball Players Rank: Bishop Gorman’s Georgia Ohiaeri No. 4

Class

2019

Vitals

6 feet

Honors

All-State Honorable Mention, All-Southwest League Second Team (2018); All-State Honorable Mention, All-Southwest League First-Team (2017)

Last Season’s Stats

Ohiaeri averaged 9.9 points in Southwest League play, leading the Gaels to an 8-4 record and the No. 3 playoff seed.

What they are saying

— “She’s going to be a good college player,” a Desert Region coach said. “I’m excited to see where she goes, because I think college will be where she excels. She knows the game really well and tries to get her teammates involved. She’s athletic. She’s hard to guard. Not many teams have a matchup for her.”

— “It’s a combination of her size and the fact that she can handle the ball, shoot from the outside, score from the inside,” a Desert Region coach said. “She’s kind of the matchup problem for teams.”

— “I think Georgia has one of the biggest potentials as a player in the next level,” a Desert Region coach said. “What she says around her, she’s pretty active as a post.”

Nevada Preps Girls Basketball Players Rank: Desert Oasis’ Desi-Rae Young No. 5

Class

2020

Vitals

6 feet

Honors

All-State Honorable Mention, All-Southwest League Second Team (2018)

Last Season’s Stats

Young averaged 11 points and 6.6 rebounds, leading the Diamondbacks in both categories. She also had 35 steals and shot 59.5 percent from the field.

What they are saying

— “In my opinion, this is going to be her year,” a Desert Region coach said. “She’s the toughest post player that might have come through this town in a while. People don’t like playing against her. That’s what’s so great about her. She finishes well at the basket now. And I think she’s probably the most intimidating player in town.”

— “I think she’s going to be good, I don’t think she’s a top-five kid right now,” a Mountain Region coach said. “She’s a hustle player.”

— “Desi-Rae is a good solid big player, post player. She goes up and gets a rebound, always under the basket,” a Desert Region kid. “She’s gotta be one of the top players for sure.”

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