What do you know about WSLAM E-Woods? I know Deniya Prawl went viral, made it to WSLAM as an 8th grader. 100.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG1ULxkAywj/?igshid=bss77yee0p7d

What do you know about Kevin Durant E-Woods?, what does Toronto’s 8th grade 5-11 phenom PG Deniya Prawl have in common with KD?

Wait people, you’ll see how it comes together.

It’s early 2000’s, shoe company executive Chris Rivers of Adidas and Reebok fame is my guy. His friend and boss Sonny Vaccaro are running that hoop and sled game, bringing along the polite and talented young man, 6-9 Kevin Durant of Oak Hill Academy.

I just remember meeting KD at a prep tourney his freshman year thinking, man, this dude is a cool and loooooong guy that should use his legs as hockey sticks fosho.

Guess what? That’s what I’m also thinking about this ultra sweet and intelligent 8th grader I met a few months ago, Deniya Prawl. She’s loooong and oh so talented. She wants to study law, wants to own a pair of off white Carolina Jordan 1’s like she wants to own the lane as a PG dishing out dimes galore, a la SZA, it’s all LOVE.

Deniya says she is determined to improve her stamina but me, E-Woods, I’m struggling to stay up with her energy, as we’re chillin at this dope private school in Chatsworth.

It’s a hot day in October and I’m watching her shoot a hoop video in the quad on a glass backboard. Deniya is in her bag, doing her thing, using sleek, meticulous moves around the rim, through legs dribbles as articulately as she speaks.

Deniya? Irrepressible mad energy, dope positive vibes.100.

Flash back to a few months ago and I’m at The Sports Academy across the street from my house. I’m hanging with the friendly 6-2 Leaonna Odom who balled out at Duke. She lives across the street from me where I teach in Oxnard.

We’re chillin a few feet away from KD who is putting up mad shots next to us. I’m yelling “Nice buckets” to KD and L-Odom is telling me how KD is her fav all-time player ever. Leaonna was able to tell KD the day before, proudly with a smile on her face, that she patterned her game after him.

You want to know how Deniya Prawl is as a person? Well, she’s just like Leaonna Odom is, but just like 9 years younger. Both crazy dope fun, beautiful inside and out like the singer Aaliyah. Real talk, they have gifts for the ages.

L-Odom was also the evolution of KD, the bunnies, she could dunk in high school. I predict D-Prawl will put down tomahawks too, you can see it in her eyes!

Why do I think Deniya Prawl is the evolution of basketball? I’m clairvoyant of who has “next-next.” Like when I met Skyy Clark for the first time, when my lil bro was a 6th grader. I knew he was Kentucky elite high major material in 6th grade (Skyy committed to the Wildcats recently).

Deniya? She is so fun loving, so grind-all-day long in training with effort with her guy Ulande Washington. She goes three-a-days, bam, bam, bam and wants it so bad in her dreams. But want to hear the crazy crazy part for a girl from Canada?

This Canada girl who has visited the United States back and forth in the past has been in Moreno Valley for the better part of a couple of months and is here as we speak.

It’s awesome to know that she’s being mentored by Ulande Washington of Obsessed Basketball AAU, Deniya has a great support network of people like Pink Milk Kurt who films her awesome basketball creativity. He documents h er game play and encourages her because Kurt is a good dude. Salute, salute.

Let me share the core of why I know Deniya will be a great success in life. I asked her what was important to her. She told me, “My family is so important in all that I am, I’m determined to make everyone proud of me,

“I respect that my mom was a track runner in college and I want to build on that success in our family. I will fill my own lane, in my own sport as well.”

Deniya? She just loves the game. She grew like 6 inches in 6th grade. Wow, me, E-Woods, that happened to me also in 6th grade. I’d fall asleep 5-8, then wake up like 5-9. Growing pains hurt. BAD!

But this girl, she stays grinding, mad dribbling, flying down the court. See for yourself, this video doesn’t lie:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQf3SMjCah/?igshid=1hv7rpkn6pp4m

Back to Deniya, what about her actual game does E-Woods like? Whoa, she’s shifty, did you peep the vid that Pink Milk put together? It speaks for itself.

She is a pure PG at 5-11, she’s crazy athletic and she is nearly hanging on the hoop rims already so I don’t think Deniya is too far off in the DUNK department come prep time.

Let’s share more quotes of what makes Deniya a special person. I asked her who does she appreciate in the hoop game, “I admire Diana Taurasi for her toughness and style of play, Skylar Diggins-Smith for her finish as a person. Of course I want to go to college, be a pro.

“But ultimately my goal is to somehow make the world a better place. I want to do way more feeding the homeless. That beings me joy, to give way more to others that have little.”

#now you see, beyond amazing

It’s not just E-Woods that thinks Deniya is super talented, a dope player and person. I asked the NUMBER #1 talent evaluator in America who happens to reside in the Inland Empire, how talented is Deniya? He’s seen her play in Toronto and he said yes, “She’s really, really good.”

I don’t know if he wants me to use his name, so please just take my word for it people. I also had Deniya go down to a vaunted prep school in Orange County, as she is looking at a few schools in the United States and Canada.

The top prep coach in America who just had a #1 player in United States 6 years ago that went to UCONN, this coach that probably wants to keep his identity anonymous said about Deniya, “She will be a very good player. Deniya is a very good person, she has a very good support system.”

I told guard supreme Jayda Curry, who is also a dope person and a senior at Corona Centennial, about Deniya. Jayda went out to find and help Deniya all on her own without me even asking her to do it. Jayda’s friend Londynn Jones, the other phenom guard at Centennial, said she might be able to help meet and train Deniya too.

That’s huge! Deniya looks up to both of them big time! I used to have Baron Davis as a mentor in our SLAM mentor program in 2005, but now it’s Jayda and Londynn carrying that torch lately of helping so many kids in the IE like Deniya.

Both Jayda and Londynn are mentors in our informal SLAM program that tries to be there for others in many ways. Deniya even asked me why Jayda wasn’t ranked so high like she deserved to be after working out with her? I told her it’s simple: Haters!

You want to see more fye vid of Deniya, here you go people:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFurzxBBDpl/?igshid=lzf17aozayo9

What’s Deniya's “recruitment” like? Is she that talented E-Woods? Yes! Just know that Deniya has already interacted with 2-3 of the top Pac-12 programs. When Covid-19 subsides, she’s set to unofficially visit and see those Pac-12 programs full of potential. One can only imagine the future possibilities!

Deniya’s fav rapper is Drake, who is also from Toronto. He chills a lot with a great skill trainer named Dribble Too Much who helps my guy Skyy Clark get his dribbles down pat up in the lab last year with my guy Kenny Clark.

But something came up at the last second, maybe Deniya might stick around the US for awhile? You know if that happens we might have to mess around and just have to ask Drake and Future if we could please change the name of the song Jumpman to Jumpwoman. It is the year if the woman, right?

All playing around aside, what is coming? Deniya Prawl is coming.

She’s an evolution like in 2001 when an 8th grade KD burst on the scene. Now Deniya is working her tail off to make a name for herself, one crossover, one assist, one steal, one breathtaking rim grab, and one straight bucket-get at a time in 2020!