Kritik und Lob » strategy did not work, either. The big man

When it was time out for everyone else, it was time in for NaLyssa Smith.When it was halftime for the others, it was showtime for her.Smith was just 5 years old when she and her brother, Rodney Jr., who was 7, started tagging along to their dads rec basketball games in San Antonio, Texas. And whenever there was a break in the action, NaLyssa took over.Everyone was watching my sister, Rodney Jr. said. She was throwing up shots, and she was swishing and swishing.More than a decade later, those swishes havent stopped.NaLyssa, an undeclared 6-foot-4 junior forward for East Central (San Antonio), is the No. 12 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Terrific 25 for the 2018 class.Basketball has seemingly been her destiny since the day she was born. Her father, Rodney, was a 6-4 forward for the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her mother, Nikki, was a 5-8 sprinter on the AAU circuit.Before NaLyssa was born, doctors told her parents they were welcoming a 7-pound baby.Lo and behold, Nikki said, she was almost 10 pounds. The doctor almost dropped her when she came out. We make a joke about that every year on her birthday.Smith, who turned 16 on Aug. 8, was precisely 9 pounds, 15 ounces at birth. About a year later, she was already hooping in the garage with her brother -- swishing and swishing on a little plastic goal.I think she had that basketball mentality coming out of the womb, Rodney Jr. said.Smith was so destined to play basketball that her height has already matched her fathers. She towers over her brother by eight inches.Not that it bothers Rodney Jr.The 5-8 sophomore forward on the University of Saint Mary soccer team scored four goals and led his Spires with four assists last year while competing in the NAIAs Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.These days, he leaves the basketball to his sister.Im her No. 1 fan -- nobody is ever going to take that away from me, Rodney Jr. said. Shes all over my social media. I boost her so much -- Ive got to brag about her.Everyone, it seems, is a fan. Smith averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks last season for a 22-9 team.She has numerous scholarship offers and will start receiving home visits from some of the top college basketball coaches in the nation. She wont narrow her list to five schools until March. In the meantime, she rattled off the schools she is considering: Baylor, Texas, Kansas, Texas Tech, TCU, Ohio State, Arizona State, West Virginia, Connecticut, Louisville, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Maryland, UCLA and Tennessee.Perhaps the first coach she impressed was Ian Ward, who wasnt even a coach at the time. He was just a guy playing adult-league basketball with Rodney Smith Sr.Ward, who is now Smiths coach at East Central, remembers the show she would put on at halftime of their games.She was tall for her age, and the way she could dribble and put the ball in the basket -- you could tell she was going to be special, Ward said.I dont remember a time where she wasnt at her fathers games. At the end of the timeouts, the refs would run her and her brother off the court. But at the next stoppage in play, they would be right back, getting shots up.Smiths passion for the game has only grown. She failed to make the U.S. U17 team this summer, but that didnt deter her at all.I wasnt really sad about getting cut, she said. It just motivated me to work harder.Next time, Im going to come even stronger to make them see what they missed this season.Smith, who has a 3.1 GPA, is interested in studying child development. She would like to own a daycare after she is done playing, but the possibility of coaching also intrigues her.East Central point guard Brittany Rodgers loves seeing Smith soar for her lob passes. Smith has dunked in practice, and her ability to score at the rim excites her teammates.But Smith is far more than a prototypical post player. She is so skilled that she initially shocked East Central assistant coach Keyondra White, who joined the team last year to mentor the guards.On her first day of practice, White asked the guards to join her.We break up -- bigs over there, guards over here, White said. When she comes with me, Im like, What in the world?But right away, shes doing ballhandling drills, hitting pull-up jumpers. Then she started knocking down 3s, left and right, and I knew she was special.White and Ward said Smith has become much more of a leader this summer, which makes East Central -- with all five starters returning -- a much more dangerous team.Koty Cowgill, who coaches Smith with the SA Finest AAU team, said her greatest attribute may be that she didnt just box herself into becoming a center. She took a complete-game approach, and its the reason shes in such demand with college coaches, Cowgill said.Smiths charisma is such that her father and brother have both tattooed their left arms with her name or nickname.Both NaLyssa and Rodney Jr. wear No. 3, and their brother-sister logo is S3, with the S standing for Smith.Our bond is unbreakable, Rodney Jr. said. I drove eight hours from Kansas to Colorado to see her at USA trials, and she busted out crying when she saw me.After he left for college, Rodney also surprised her at one of her high school games, hugging her on the court during warm-ups. She cried then, too.We go five months apart, so its always emotional when I see him, NaLyssa said. Its super hard.But when he comes home, were always together.Carlos Tevez Argentina Jersey . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Fernando Gago Jersey . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. http://www.argentinasoccerauthentic.com/Ezequiel-Garay-Copa-America-Jersey/ . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Gonzalo Higuain Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Enzo Perez Jersey . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time.MINNEAPOLIS -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers burst into Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeaus postgame press conference, hollering Can you come on! Im out here waiting! to his longtime friend and former assistant.Thats what happens when you win, a chuckling Thibodeau said.Rivers would know.Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Clippers to their sixth straight victory, 119-105 on Saturday night.Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists and J.J. Redick scored 18 points for the Clippers (9-1), who have the best record in the NBA. Los Angeles shot 52.6 percent and outscored the Timberwolves 21-10 in transition.This is the best team Ive had here, Rivers said. But we got to keep doing it. Weve got to keep getting better and performing. But this is a heck of a basketball team.Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had seven points, six assists and six rebounds in his return from a five-game absence for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but shot just 8 of 24.We had to work for our shots, Wiggins said. The clogged the paint up, switching everything, contesting every shot. They made it hard on us.The Clippers are off to their best start in franchise history and have so far exhibited all the qualities of a team that can make a deep playoff run. Once a weakness, the bench has been a strength this season. And they entered the game as by far the best defensive team in the league, allowing a paltry 90.4 points per game.After slugging it out with Oklahoma City on Friday night, Los Angeles put the clamps on the young and athletic Timberwolves, who entered the game with the most explosive first-quarter offense in the league. The Clippers outscored Minnesota 34-21 in the period, holding the Wolves to 39 percent shooting and forcing four turnovers, and they never looked back.There are some good things, but to beat a team thats rolling like that, we have to obviously plaay a lot better than we did, Thibodeau said.ddddddddddddTIP-INSClippers: Defensive stopper Luc Mbah a Moute scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. ... Redick hit 2 of 7 3-pointers, extending his streak to 66 straight games with at least one made from long distance, the longest active streak in the league. ... F Wes Johnson did not play because of a sore heel. He was injured on Friday night in Oklahoma City after a blocked shot.Timberwolves: Thibodeau fell to 8-9 in his career against Rivers. ... F Brandon Rush was inactive and has not played in the last three games.HACK-A-JORDANThe Wolves went to the Hack-a-Jordan strategy just over midway through the fourth quarter, with Cole Aldrich fouling him on three straight possessions to get Jordan to the line. As Aldrich headed to the bench 30 seconds later, Jordan gave his former teammate a playful shove off the court.The strategy did not work, either. The big man hit 10 of 16 foul shots in the never-ending fourth quarter.Im confident up there. Ive got a routine, Jordan said. Ive got everything I need and Im just going to go up there and shoot.GRIFFINS MILESTONEGriffin entered the game needing 17 points to join an exclusive club with 9,000 career points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists. Griffin got it on a free throw in the fourth quarter. He became the fastest player to reach that plateau since Larry Bird.Its an honor to be mentioned in that category, but Larry went on to have quite a bit more, Griffin said. Thats the ultimate goal, having a career like that. Its cool to have a start like that, but thats not the end goal, a goal by any means.UP NEXTClippers: Head back home to face Brooklyn on Monday as they continue a stretch of four games in six nights.Timberwolves: Host the Lakers on Sunday in the 31st home back-to-back in franchise history, but first to occur on Saturday and Sunday nights. ' ' '