Earlier this month, Phenom Hoops saw a slew of teams come through our Holiday Classic in Rock Hill, South Carolina. These squads came from all types of areas and featured varying levels of competition during the seven-day event. That being said, no one expected the Comenius girls’ program to be an exciting, well-oiled machine—especially to be the youngest group in attendance. Although their roster has two actual high school players by age, only one played in Rock Hill. This team is unlike anything we’ve really witnessed, mainly given how impressive they are at such a young age. Can you imagine how folks would be reacting if this roster of college-level prospects were on the guys’ side of things' Let’s take a look at the seventh and eighth-graders who are steamrolling varsity opponents on a regular basis…
In all honesty, this unit of annihilation actually starts with their coach and his unique up-tempo approach. More than any high school coach we’ve seen, he encourages his players to push the pace and get up shots at a seemingly nonstop rate. They genuinely embrace the old Mike D’Antoni “Seven Seconds or Less” offense while providing harassing full-court defensive pressure. It might be uncommon, but it’s undeniably effective. However, after their coach, each girl offers her own individual value to this group. 5’9 ’26 Jaida McClure stands out as an obvious leader of this team, displaying IQ, versatility, and the necessary physicality to shine in various statistical categories. 5’7 ’25 Tionna Pettus operates as their main ball-handler and offers toughness, poise, and a heady two-way presence. 5’10 ’26 Kionna Pettus is a blossoming interior force for this group but already does an amazing job as a rebounder and overall hustle player. 5’4 ’25 Zion Pimentel and 5’3 ’25 Brooklyn Saunders also provide useful ball-handling and energy from the guard position. Add in numerous others, and it’s easy to see why excitement should be surrounding this team. Not only have they been winning, but they’ve been destroying teams. In their ten wins this season, they’ve won by an average of 17.4 points. The maturity and uniqueness of their team cannot be overstated, and college coaches should act accordingly over the foreseeable future.