Want to know the real story with one of the most humble yet talented 6-2 pure shooting big guards that is a 7th grader you could ever meet?
It’s Carib “Pink Mamba” Morris.
She’s this super swaggy, happy go-lucky youngster that is next up out of the Atlanta area who played for the epic Coast to Coast Select Event Winter Series FBC United AAU powerhouse.
Last week, playing for 17u FBC United, Carib scored 11 points in only 2 ½ minutes! As a 7th grader!
FBC United is led by the incredible Coach Kelly and the awesome Alfred “Mo” Motton, the director of the tight knit squad I have the honor to know well.
Carib gives her heart to the game as freely as my friend Marina Mabrey of the Chicago Sky of the WNBA that is so renown for being a pure shooter in prep, college, and the WNBA.
I was jazzed to know Marina well and do her story when she was making a push for her 2nd NCAA title with her friend Arike Ogunbowale at Notre Dame. Marina trains with my guy Olin Simplis of Wasserman Agency fame when she gets the time.
Carib could be as good as M-Mabrey as time goes on.
Really E-Woods, Carib is about the game like that? Yup, she was offered by Miami a little bit ago in 7th grade, which is so utterly rare for a youngster to receive an offer to play for an ACC-level team.
The FBC team and Carib have crazy love for each other and Carib considers them all her sisters. This FBC team which I’m very close to the players is for the freaking ages.
I have my fam Sydney Douglas, Zaire “Cherri Baller” Hatter, Janiyah Hardgrave, Taylor Stansfield, Tati Griffith, Mariah Brownley, and Amel Cook leading the charge with such phenomenal play that so many D1 programs are dropping major notice at every turn.
With a great man like Mo Motton available to develop Carib and all the young ladies (which I noticed 1st hand) it seems like a tremendous opportunity for them to see how it worked out for FBC alum Ryan Howard of Kentucky who was the #1 pick in the WNBA.
Carib could also see all the uber talented players having fun and creating synergy. Let’s let Carib explain, “I love my team. We all had so much fun playing against the very best AAU teams from coast to coast that Mo would set us up to play against.
“I played flag football and soccer growing up, and went to trampoline parks. I did all kinds of active sporting things to prepare me for this team. It’s all paying off now.”
I also see that Carib really cares about achieving constant improvement with her phenom skill trainer Tion Watkins of Beyond Basketball Academy. He has this out of the mud mentality that keeps all his clients humble. He has incredibly fantastic energy and is technique driven.
Carib explains what her goals are with Tion, “I have huge goals to improve a bit each day and Tion helps me and my little sister Naynay to get there by pushing us to our absolute limit, more than we thought possible.
“My lil sis is a 5th grade sharpshooting guard that makes you pay if you stay off her even a bit. Yeah, she may be a bit shorter than me but she’s every bit as determined to make her dream come true.
“Because ultimately it’s our dream together that can come true by us pushing each other to be the best we can be together. That’s what family is about. My lil sister is shifty and trying to emerge with this versatility to impact the next level which we both are excited to step into.
“We want to show we have no fear to take on any challenges. We want to run this fun ride together as sisters and as a family on our journey together in basketball, and in life really.
“Coach Motton and coach Kelly are the best kind of people to assist us in all of this. We’re so grateful for them and everyone who supports us. So many attend our games, pray for our success, and support us on IG. We are so grateful for them all really!”
This 7th grader Carib has been getting love and notice from other coaches on the AAU circuit and b-ball insiders like me for a while now. Other elite evaluators I know believe in her and are starting to notice that Carib is emerging as one of the very best 7th graders in the land.
Yes, E-Woods may have been a grade school teacher for 24 years now in LA, but I talk to 7-10 D1 programs a day sometimes to offer my advice and link elite talent to great D1 programs that are into them.
That Miami offer to Carib was no fluke; it’s just the beginning. She has been on visits to Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, and TCU already.
Me, E-Woods, I live in Cali near the Sports Academy but I got to see Carib kill it at the Open Gym Premier event where I got to hang with the Morris family in Orange County.
Carib is excited to keep the dialogue going deeper with UCLA and she wants to visit them. I know many D1 programs like Oregon, Arizona State, and another Pac-12 schools are showing great interest in her as of late now. Carib is open to any program in the country her family says.
I can’t wait to see her family again back out here in Cali. To me it’s like the song Going Back to Cali by LL Cool J and Notorious BIG that came out when I was Caribs age.
This incredibly articulate and happy go lucky woman-child is poised and overflowing with excitement to make big noise in prep and college basketball!
I asked what else does she want to do after college besides pro basketball. She told me “Broadcasting E-Woods, I just love the game so much and can never see myself away from it. I wake up thinking about it, dream about it when I’m asleep.”
Wow! That reminded me of my girl Mo Billings who I knew when she was at a young age, a bit older than Carib and who I took to play vs. Drew League guys. Mo totally earned their respect.
Mo was a freak athlete at UCLA, went on to become a broadcaster, book author, a touchstone for many to be inspired by.
Mo hearted my IG message yesterday, and that’s what Carib will be to people, a sweet kid that everyone can believe in! Mo love to kids with big dreams like Carib!
Click: Savage Beauty: UCLA's Monique Billings is Fierce!
Not many 7th graders can hold long convo with a grown man like me, this 52 year old OG. But Carib did just that and reminded me of Kaleena “Special K” Smith in her smart and savvy answers.
I did Kaleena’s 1st story when she was in 6th grade. I was proud to give her family advice, set them up for some D1 links because I love Kaleena’s family very much. Now Kaleena is that uber freshman phenom at Ontario Christian High averaging mad points.
She’s signing crazy cool NIL deals which I predicted she would when she was in 6th grade. I was honored to write her story and to assist her beautiful family. She’s so talented in many ways. Her dad Dre was instrumental in Kaleena’s development, just like Carib’s dad is as well.
Click>> Kaleena Smith is part of The Baby Baller Takeover: Smoke, Smoke, Smoke
Carib is being raised to be such an incredible young woman. Her dad and I have had such in depth convos about it. Both her parents are great educators, great people to be respected. 100.
Carib listens to her favorite country music band, Florida Georgia Line, and she’s definitely an old soul who is beyond her years in a great way! Feel their lyrics that reflect Carib’s cheery outlook:
“We burnin' down the night, shootin' bullets at the moon
We love who we love and we wanna have fun
Pass it around and we dream about one day.”
As I told you Carib has this really awesome dad in Dustin, he’s 6 foot five tall like I am. He’s just a good guy, an educator like me.
Feel his incredible quote on his amazing Carib, “There is a saying ‘rise and grind’, but with Carib there is no grind because she genuinely loves the game.
“I love basketball because it has brought me closer to my daughters than I could ever have been without the bond it built.”
Carib’s trainer Tion Watkins, who I appreciate so much, also impresses me so much. I’ll give him the ultimate compliment: I respect him like my guy Jamal Boykin who was an assistant coach for the LA Lakers last year.
I’ve known Jamal since he was a freshman in 2001, love him, he’s my guy. I used to put kids with him to mentor back in 2002 because he was the best kind of human to guide them. I told Jamal he would be a Laker coach when he grew up in 01’.
Click: Tion Watkins and Beyond Basketball Academy
Let’s vibe what Tion has to say about Carib, “I instantly see a young lady in Carib that when she enters the gym she doesn’t have a Plan B in mind. Basketball is Plan A. That’s the only plan in her brain.
“You see it in her eyes. It’s all in the way she approaches her workouts in a manner that it’s way more to her more than wanting just to be the best female basketball player. Carib wants to be the best to ever touch a basketball.”
What you have to know is that she appreciates an uptempo flow and fast style of game to play in. And she wants a coach to be tough on her so they can get the best out of each other.
Carib told me she appreciates college phenom Juju Watkins of USC a lot, the hottest freshman star in the land, bar none. I just went out and bought my SLAM Mag Juju LA Dreams shirt.
Me, E-Woods, your humble writer, yes I used to write for SLAM back in the day. I’m also proud of the 660 stories I’ve published with Rivals.com. My forte since 2001 is bringing out that hot new prospect coming up.
I see that Carib has a shot of being that potential level of scorer, but only time will tell of course.
I also feel connected to Juju and her family. I used to call her mom at times, her dad too. We’d just chop it up on all kinds of stuff. I was invited to eat out with her family and friends after her games at Windward.
I feel I got know that family pretty well, what makes them tick, and Juju is a such a great player, humble, real and a great ambassador to the youngsters of South Central where I used to teach.
I’ve seen lots of Juju’s games since we lived minutes from each other when she transferred to Sierra Canyon. My point is, Carib has this goal to be a great scorer like Juju. I’m always lucky to see many awesome youngsters come up around me these past 23 years as a writer.
I also sense Carib appreciates that she’s going to blaze her own trail, just be Carib, that’s pretty amazing too. Carib is excited to play again for FBC’s Spring United Team. I could watch her all day long!
I’m a sneakerhead OG, had my original MJ 1 when I was in junior high like Carib. I really collect shoes with a passion. I have some game-worn Ray Allen Jordan white & purple 15s, Milwaukee issue. After I watch Carib on IG, I put ‘em on and go shoot.
I must admit I still can’t shoot like #34 R-Allen, or Carib. I guess I’m just a lil bit jealous and just wish I could pop that J. Lol.
My suggestion people? Go out and follow this Pink Mamba, her favorite color. Carib dug Kobe Bryant and appreciates the Mamba Mentality as she tries to honor his legacy no doubt!
So go out and see how Carib rolls, this Atlanta phenom who is excited to come back to Cali when she can to spend more time here. Me? I’ve heard Hot-lanta is pretty cool as well!
