Monica Wrights Posts Second Highest SPARQ Score
As far as SPARQ Basketball Ratings go, "Moore" is definitely better so at the NIKE Nationals in North Augusta, South Carolina it was only fitting that rising junior Maya Moore from Collins Hills High in Lawrenceville, Georgia turned in the highest SPARQ Rating among 226 competitors.
On the second day of SPARQ Testing at the NIKE Nationals, Moore turned in the highest SPARQ Rating of the 24-team event with an impressive 80.63 score. Moore, playing with the Georgia Metros AAU team in South Carolina, finished No.1 in three of the five individual testing categories used along with height to calculate the overall SPARQ Basketball Rating*. The Peach State product finished tied for first with China Threat of the Michigan Crossover in the 2-kilogram power ball throw with a toss overhead of 56 feet. She also tied for first place in the 30-second endurance jump test with a score of 68. The other athlete to record a score of 68 was fellow junior-to-be Taja Wilson of the Pittsburgh Rockers.
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The six-foot Moore and teammate Janae Stokes blew away the field in the compass drill that tests agility, as Moore finished with a quick 5.11 second average with Stokes right behind her at 5.19. For good measure, Moore also finished in the top 10 among all the competitors in the 20-meter dash (3.06 seconds) and narrowly missed breaking into the top ten with a 26.3 inch one-step vertical jump. Moore received her first SPARQ Testing experience at the NIKE Girls Elite Skills Academy in Beaverton, Oregon and improved her SPARQ Rating nearly five points (up from 75.66) in North Augusta.
Second place finisher Monica Wright , a rising senior from Forest Park High in Woodbridge, Virginia, also SPARQ Tested in Beaverton and she too improved her marks at the NIKE Nationals, recording an impressive 79.68 SPARQ Rating. At 5-foot-11, she was able to record the second-highest SPARQ Basketball Rating by running a 3.17 20-meter dash, recording a one-step vertical jump of 29.4 inches, a score of 59 in the 30-second endurance jump test, a 5.52 second average in the cone drill, and tossed the power ball 45 feet. Although some of her individual marks were surpassed by other athletes, Wright's overall performance at her height placed her No.2 behind Moore since the SPARQ Basketball Rating is the only one SPARQ (an acronym for Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness) has unveiled that incorporates an athlete's height as a variable in the calculation.
The competitive Wright was set on improving her SPARQ Rating from the get-go. "I think its important to have one of the top SPARQ Ratings since it shows that player's skills are all not all god-given and that they are working hard to improve," she said.
Wright was one of the many players off the Boo Williams AAU team that performed well during the SPARQ Testing at the NIKE Nationals. In addition to Wright, five other girls basketball players on the Hampton, Virginia based team finished in the top 10 in at least one individual testing category or recorded one of the top overall SPARQ Ratings.
TOP TESTING MARKS
Note: these results are official; All players are seniors-to-be unless otherwise listed.
Top SPARQ Basketball Rating
1) Maya Moore (Collins Hill, Lawrenceville, GA/Georgia Metros) 6-0 Jr.--80.63
(3.06 20m, 5.11 compass drill, 56 power ball, 68 endurance jump, 26.3 VJ)
2) Monica Wright (Forest Park, Woodbridge, VA/Boo Williams) 5-11--79.68
(3.02 20m, 5.52 compass drill, 45 power ball, 59 endurance jump, 29.4 VJ)
3) Hailey Dunham (Windward Academy, Los Angeles/Cal Swish Black) 6-1--77.84
(3.25 20m, 6.00 compass drill, 53 power ball, 59 endurance jump, 26.5 VJ)
4) Charnelle Bacon (Caravel Academy, DE/Philadelphia Belles) 5-11 Fr.--76.34
(3.24 20m, 6.28 compass drill, 50 power ball, 57 endurance jump, 27.6 VJ)
5) Kenyatta Shelton (Crane Tech, Chicago/ Illinois Hustle) 6-1--75.28
(3.19 20m, 6.27 compass drill, 42 power ball, 53 endurance jump, 27.0 VJ)
6) Jessica Mooney (Hillsboro, Nashville, TN/ Tennessee Flight) 5-9--74.52
(3.14 20m, 5.80 compass drill, 48 power ball, 57 endurance jump, 27.9 VJ)
7) Lorin Dixon (Christ the King, New York/Liberty Belles) 5-5 Jr.--74.47
(3.17 20m, 5.95 compass drill, 40 power ball, 65 endurance jump, 33.7 VJ)
8) China Threat (Avondale, Auburn Hills, MI/Michigan Crossover) 5-9--74.43
(3.00 20m, 6.33 compass drill, 56 power ball, 60 endurance jump, 26.0 VJ)
9) Stefanie Gilbreath (Cinco Ranch, Katy, TX/West Coast Elite) 6-1 Jr.--74.33
(3.26 20m, 6.27 compass drill, 49 power ball, 56 endurance jump, 25.1 VJ)
10) Christine Hyde (St. Augustine, Maple, ON/Sultan Prospects) 5-11 Soph.--74.05
(2.77 20m, 6.11 compass drill, 55 power ball, 52 endurance jump, 23.6 VJ)
Top 20-Meter Dashes**
1) Kimberly Rodgers (Princess Anne, Virginia Beach, VA/ Boo Williams) 5-9 Jr.--2.66
2) Christine Hyde (St. Augustine, Maple, ON/Sultan Prospects) 5-11 Soph.--2.77
3) China Threat (Avondale, Auburn Hills, MI/Michigan Crossover) 5-9--3.00
4) Monica Wright (Forest Park, Woodbridge, VA/Boo Williams) 5-11--3.02
5) Kayla Melson (Sidney Lanier, Montgomery, AL/Alabama Roadrunners) 5-6 Jr.--3.04
6) Maya Moore (Collins Hill, Lawrenceville, GA/Georgia Metros) 6-0 Jr.--3.06
7) Angel Gray (Stone Mountain, GA/Lina Lady 76ers) 5-9--3.10
T8) Erica DiClemente (Wissahickon, Blue Bell, PA/Philadelphia Belles) 6-0--3.11
T8) Ebony Edwards (Bishop McNamara, Camp Springs, MD/D.C. Elite) 5-8 Soph.--3.11
10) Brittany McDonald (N. Secondary, N. York, ON/Sultan Prospects) 5-10 Jr.--3.12
Top Power Ball Throws***
T1) China Threat (Avondale, Auburn Hills, MI/Michigan Crossover) 5-9--56
T1) Maya Moore (Collins Hill, Lawrenceville, GA/Georgia Metros) 6-0 Jr.--56
T1) Robin Murphy (Oak Hill Academy, Conyers, GA/Georgia Metros) 6-1--56
T2) Christine Hyde (St. Augustine, Maple, ON/Sultan Prospects) 5-11 Soph.--55
T2) Tina Charles (Christ the King, New York/Liberty Belles) 6-3--55
T3) Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, VA/Boo Williams) 6-3 Jr.--54
T3) Leeanne Watson (Stone Mountain, GA/Lina Lady 76ers) 5-11--54
T4) Hailey Dunham (Windward Academy, Los Angeles/Cal Swish Black) 6-1--53
T4) Erica Latimer (Windward Academy, Los Angeles/Cal Swish Black) 6-0--53
T4) Cait McMahan (Heritage, Merryville, TN/Tennessee Flight) 5-6--53
Top One-Step Vertical Jumps
1) Lorin Dixon (Christ the King, New York/Liberty Belles) 5-5 Jr.--33.7
2) Monica Wright (Forest Park, Woodbridge, VA/Boo Williams) 5-11--29.4
3) Brooke Thomas (Edgewater, Orlando, FL/Orlando Comets) 5-3 Soph.--29.3.
4) Jacquis Bullock (Lance Cruse, Chesterfield, MI/Michigan Crossover) 5-6 Jr.--29.0
5) Jessica Mooney (Hillsboro, Nashville, TN/ Tennessee Flight) 5-9--27.9
6) Charnelle Bacon (Caravel Academy, DE/Philadelphia Belles) 5-11 Fr.--27.6
7) JoNiquia Guilford (Wilson, Chesapeake, VA/Boo Williams) 5-9 Soph.--27.5
8) Leeanne Watson (Stone Mountain, GA/Lina Lady 76ers) 5-11--27.4
9) Amber White (Coatesville, PA/Philadelphia Belles) 5-7--27.3
T10) Kenyatta Shelton (Crane Tech, Chicago/ Illinois Hustle) 6-1--27.0
T10) Sheila White (Wilson, Portsmouth, VA/Boo Williams) 5-5 Soph.--27.0
Top Compass Drill Averages****
1) Maya Moore (Collins Hill, Lawrenceville, GA/Georgia Metros) 6-0 Jr.--5.11
2) Janae Stokes (Vidalia, GA/Georgia Metros) 5-9 Jr.--5.19
3) Cait McMahan (Heritage, Merryville, TN/Tennessee Flight) 5-6--5.41
4) Kyara Weakes (Ridge & Latin, Cambridge, MA/N. E. Crusaders) 5-7 Jr.--5.47
5) Monica Wright (Forest Park, Woodbridge, VA/Boo Williams) 5-11--5.52
6) Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (T.C. Williams, Alexandria, VA/Boo Williams) 5-10 Fr.--5.56
T7) Ayla Brown (Nobles & Greenough, Wrentham, MA/ N. E. Crusaders) 6-0--5.58
T7) Nikitta Gartrell (Mays, Atlanta, GA/ Lina Lady 76ers) 5-10--5.58
9) Dymond Simon (St. Mary's, Avondale, AZ/Cal Swish Black) 5-5--5.61
10) Amber White (Coatesville, PA/Philadelphia Belles) 5-7--5.64
Top 30 Second Endurance Jump Marks
T1) Maya Moore (Collins Hill, Lawrenceville, GA/Georgia Metros) 6-0 Jr.--68
T1) Taja Wilson (Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, PA/Pittsburgh Rockers) 6-2 Jr.--68
T2) Lorin Dixon (Christ the King, New York/Liberty Belles) 5-5 Jr.---65
T2) Katie Tull (Cleburne, TX/Texas Express) 5-8 Jr.--65
T2) Amanda Sims (Troy, Fullerton, CA/West Coast Elite) 5-10 Soph.--65
T3) Ashley Barlow (Pike, Indianapolis, IN/The Family) 5-8--64
T3) Sthefany Thomas (Chapel, FL/Orlando Comtes) 5-9 Jr.--64
T3) Casey Siddens (Rochester, IL/Illinois Hustle) 5-5--64
(Five others tied at 63 feet)
*The goal of the SPARQ Basketball Rating is to give coaches, trainers and athletes the tools to assess the overall athleticism of a basketball player with tests that are designed to reflect the specific physical demands of the game. The SPARQ Rating is not designed or intended as a measure of basketball skills or an athlete's potential success on the court. SPARQ realizes that the intangibles of desire, hard work, teamwork and knowledge of the game all contribute to ultimate success in a complex skill sport like basketball.
**(Recorded using electronic SPARQ Timing)
***(Recorded in feet using 2 kilogram ball)
****(Average time of both clockwise and counterclockwise test in seconds)