Individual performance of the year!!!

[brownhut]

Melrose senior Ashley Shields scored 57 in a victory against 2002 AAA state semifinalist Memphis East.

Performance of the year??

 

Article

[Edited by coacht on 1-11-03 11:33A]

 

[caramelcutiepie]

Now she's averaging over 40 points a game and has averaged at least 26 from her freshman year on to go along with double digit rebounds for all four years...not to mention steals and assists which are close to double digits as well. Last year she averaged 30 something points per game. It's time some people give credit where credit is due and at least NOMINATE her for Miss Basketball. I mean, what's a kid to do, average 70?? She is the complete package and is one of the least recognized players in the state. She was recruited by dang near everybody, even Pat Summitt. But I guess she lives on the wrong side of the state to be considered for the top award. At the Adidas Fall Finish, she wowed the crowd and got MVP and so many coaches who hadn't seen her were disappointed that they hadn't and that she had already signed. Oh, well...she'll make a lot of noise at the next level unlike so many overrated players statewide...

[Guest mike23]

She seems like a superstar...what is it about this kid that makes her unstoppable? If I was coaching against her, I would put my best defender on her and tell my girl not to let her score. Is she just that good that an entire team is unable to stop her? Fill me on this girl, I read the article and she seems great! Where is she going to school? Averaging 40 a game? Do teams let her get her points or what?

 

And why isnt she getting credit?? I can't understand why a girl scoring 40 a game would be overlooked...

[brownhut]

She actually hasn't been overlooked by college scouts. Offers came from across the country, but she likes the idea of playing close to home (Univ. of Memphis).

It's natural that people in the middle and eastern part of the state don't know much about her; players from middle/east don't get press here in the west either.

It's a shame she doesn't get more recognition statewide in the state awards, but we realize that being from this region of the state is a big handicap. Probably more important here is the Best of Prep Award given to the top local player.

Here's an example of the award from last year for those who are interested.

 

Article

[Edited by coacht on 1-11-03 11:33A]

 

[vballDAD]

If Andre Allen can win Mr. basketball as a sophmore, this girl should have won it the last 4 years. But to not be nominated last year, i mean she only had 30+ ppg, 10+ rpg, 5 steals pg, and 7 apg. I mean she is amazing and avg. 40 points a game this year is good. Yet this summer i saw her play twice against harding and she wasnt just amazing-amazing against them and Harding played w/ them so, i dont know yet, because harding got in a 2-3 zone and stuck her really good.

[Guest mike23]

I guess my question is...What is it about her that makes team incapable of stopping her? Why can't a team double team her? It would be hard for Kobe Bryant to get 40 pts a game with two defenders on him...

[brownhut]

Shields had 38 last night in a victory over Hamilton.

[jmourning]

I've never seen Ashley Shields play, but I am quite sure that those are the best stats of any player in the state. I would probably have to vote for Shields of Miss Tennessee if I could vote. 57 points is amazing.

 

Anyone have any idea how many points per game Sade Buley from South Doyle is scoring? I would imagine that she would compete for the award, as she is one of the best players in the nation and has a great future.

[caramelcutiepie]

Ashley is currently averaging 40.6 points per game and is on her way to breaking Nikki McCray's scoring record for the Memphis area if she continues or is similar to averaging in the high 30's which should be easy for her. The reason she is so good is because she is stronger than probably any guard in the state. I would compare her game to a female version of Dajuan Wagner (U of Memphis/Cleveland Cavaliers guard). She is strong,strong,strong and uses her strength moreso to penetrate to the hole than her quickness, which she has plenty of. She also has an incredible vertical leap, jumping over the bigger girls in the district (6'2/6'3+). When she goes to the hole, you can almost count it as two. And she RARELY, I MEAN RARELY misses a freethrow. I have had to coach against her in scrimmages and AAU tournament games so I know this for a fact. Anyone who plays her man-to-man is crazy, even if you throw two or three on her. She has been double and triple teamed since her freshman year. The only way you can try to contain her is to throw a zone at her or a half court trap or something and that will limit her to the high 20's. Against a zone, you just hope she has an off shooting night and force her to shoot from the outside. But anyone who can consistently score 40,50,and 60 points rarely has an off shooting night. She could've gone to so many schools, and personally, I would have like to see her go to a top division 1 school (she could have--she had the offers) where she could get some TV time. But, she wants to stay home and she should start immediately at Memphis. I hope I answered your questions.

[Guest mike23]

What schools recruited her?

 

And, to reask someone's question, what is Sade Buley's scoring average? And, who is recruiting her?

[caramelcutiepie]

Arkansas,LSU,Louisiana Tech,Georgia, Oklahoma,Rutgers, are just a few who offered scholies. A few others (Tennessee, etc) recruited earlier than stopped late last year. There were tons who got rejected early on. Even earlier this fall , there were a few schools who hadn't seen her (Vanderbilt's new coach had never seen her nor had UConn's staff) and at the Adidas fall finish in Atlanta they were flabbergasted. She played with the Memphis Showboats travel team (upcoming sophomores,juniors, and Ashley as the only upcoming senior) as they won the tournament playing against a couple of Uconn signees and other top players nationwide. They asked me if she had committed and I said yes. They kept saying "Who IS that girl???" They wanted to see if the process could be reopened but of course her mind was set on U of M. She won MVP of the tournament as well.

[govolz]

When you say U of M...Do you mean University of Memphis, University of Michigan, Universiy of Minnesota so on so on.

 

Please Clarify