RANCHO CUCAMUNGA, Calif—If your club basketball GPS hasn’t been on overload you haven’t been paying much attention to the multitude of events taking place each and every week coast to coast. This past weekend Blue Star Media made our annual trip to the West coast for an event that has plenty of talent and never disappoints media, evaluators or the recruiters from the D-II, D-III, NAIA and JC levels. The 11thAnnual West Coast Premier Spring Invitational brought together 98 teams to compete in seven different divisions utilizing four sites and 11 courts including Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. While there’s always a California focus, four different states were represented and the players ranged from next year’s senior class down to the 7th and 8th grade division.
When all was said and done in the Super Elite Division, host West Coast Premier Black fell to their Nike EYBL counterpart Cal Storm – Team Taurasi 56 – 55. Taurasi recovered from an earlier loss in the day to a well-coached Salesian Force squad to land on their feet and take home the hardware. To see complete pool and bracket results for all the action in Southern California follow the link below.
http://basketball.exposureevents.com/106959/west-coast-spring-invitational/schedule
As always there were way more players than we could possibly see and still do justice to our evaluations. Those we did catch provided some impressive moments as well as offered up many glimpse of progress and improvement just since the beginning of the 2018 club campaign. Continue to check back with Blue Star Media across the months of May, June and July to see even more reports from USJN and other top tier events coast to coast.
Leilani Augmon – 2019 – Wing – Peninsula Elite Platinum– Long and athletic on the perimeter…First step can be explosive…Created her own looks…Elevates at the rim or on the pull up…Twists to a degree on the perimeter looks…Strength and length make her a potential impact defender
Asia Avinger – 2020 – Point Guard – Cal Storm Team Taurasi– Small but compact and strong…Exceptional speed with the ball…Creates both shots and passes off the attack…Can spot up deep efficiently…Provided some help on the offensive glass from the perimeter
Jessica Barrows – 2019 – Forward – GBL National– Lots of length…Lean but athletic physical build…Handled contact despite giving up bulk…High post drive was there…Got on the glass for second looks…Wingspan serves her well defensively…Could play virtually any defensive spot in pressing scenarios
Taylor Bigby – 2021 – Guard – Cal Sparks 16 EYBL– Played just one day but had some strong moments…Fluid and athletic with size…Could be more height in her future…Ball skills continue to be an asset at her size…First step is lengthy and challenging for perimeter match-ups to recover from…Reads well on the drive…Sharp interior passing…All up to her
Isuneh Brady – 2022 – Forward / Post – Cal Sparks 16 EYBL– Impressive size and build for age…Strong and active…Gets out and runs the floor…Posts hard but reads and passes back out as needed…Lefty…Demonstrated a strong drive from the elbow…Active and aware defensively…Got on the boards
Chloe Briggs – 2023 – Combo – Cal Storm Black– Promising backcourt presence…Young with length and size for age…More to come…Effective director in transition…Shot fake serves her well…Step back gave her room…Reads her defender well while seeing the whole floor…Watch closely
Ashley Chea – 2023 – Guard – Salesian Force Elite– Skilled young guard…Great understanding of concepts for age…Mixes both speed and direction in her attack…Hesitation move is very effective already…Quick release is there on the shot…Only going to improve with growth and maturity
Sierra Clark – 2019 – Point Guard – OC Rhythm– Deceptive…Doesn’t catch your eye at first…Pushed the ball and created options…Ballhandling and passing are sharp…Dishes the ball well on penetration…Pull up came into play…Shot has an odd release at times
Cailyn Crocker – 2019 – Guard – West Coast Premier Black– Multifaceted guard continues to add to her game…Can contribute on both ends extensively…Gets to the rim in transition or out of halfcourt attack…Speed with the ball is a weapon…Awareness is there…Strong interior passer…Scrappy on ball defender…Relentless approach
Marisa Davis-Jones – 2021 – Forward – West Coast Premier Black– Promising forward with limited experience at this point…Exceptional athletic skills…Can run the floor with the guards and leave the bigs behind…Elevates around the rim…Created some options for herself…Rebounds…Only going to improve…Arizona resident
Junie Dickson – 2020 – Guard – Salesian Force Elite– Strong ballskills…Aggressive off the drive…Handles traffic and reads rotations…Side to side gets defenders leaning…Made plays
Samantha Fries – 2019 – Forward / Post – OC Rhythm– Textbook skills…Active and aggressive in making herself an option for the ball…Cuts hard to get open…Keeps it high on the catch…Step through is in place…Solid understanding of role…Not flashy but efficient…Rebounded the ball…Productive
Milia Gibson – 2019 – Guard – Cal Ballaz– Guard with some size…Good speed and quickness…First step is an asset…Can get to the rim…Upright at times on penetration…Decent form and range from the perimeter…Length is there to be an impact defender on a consistent basis
Breanne Ha – 2020 – Combo – California Select– Tough…Solid ballhandling and passing…Creates off the drive…Handles physical defense…Plays with good instincts…Made plays
Samantha Henley – 2020 – Guard – 805 Family 17U Blue Star– Textbook guard…Smart, good basketball IQ…Reads the floor both on the break and in the halfcourt…Good vision…Pushes the ball from make, miss and turnover
Okikiola Iriafen – 2021 – Forward – West Coast Premier Black– Potential becoming reality…Major steps forward…Utilizing both size and athleticism on both ends…Makes herself a factor…Decent form on mid-range shot…Used a jump hook a couple of times…Shared some effective passing as well…Finishes at the rim…Becoming an imposing presence defensively
Macie James – 2021 – Guard – Fresno Heat– Top tier young athletic guard…Has an attacking mentality throughout the game…Quick first step combines with the speed to leave defenders behind…Step back and pull up are both sound and effective…Spots up with a somewhat narrow base…Strength will come with age
Gabriela Jaquez – 2022 – Guard – Troop West Black– Young guard…Exceptional understated athleticism…Speed and quickness well beyond first impression…Ballskills are sound…Crossover works for her…Should add some more size…Takes it into traffic without reading on occasion…Reacts defensively…Lots of possibilities at a high level
Alexis Mark – 2020 – Forward – West Coast Premier Black– Plenty of length and athleticism…Active and aggressive on both ends…Can create her own looks down low or off the dribble…Gets out in transition with the guards…Speed is there…Attacks the boards, particularly on the offensive end…Agility and aggressive mentality make her a strong impact defender in any approach both halfcourt or full
Jada Moss – 2019 – Guard – Peninsula Elite Platinum– Great combination of size and athleticism…Left hander…Smooth as she slashes into traffic…Floater comes with height and a soft touch…Form at the line is sound but a bit forward on the perimeter jumper…Aggressive and quick defender…Well suited and almost ready for the next level
Stephanie Okowi – 2020 – Forward – Cal Ballaz– Nice size and frame…Has plenty of power in her game…Possesses a “battling” mentality…Explosive on the catch…Goes up strong around the rim…Showed some tools from the high post…Needs to become more active and productive without the ball…Got on the glass…Thoughts are becoming reactions
Nnenna Orji – 2020 – Forward – West Coast Premier Black– Size and build…Has the strength to work down low but the feet to play away…High post drive was there…Runs the floor efficiently…Strong cutter when she cuts hard…Active and physical defender at times…Important summer in front of her
Ramani Parker – 2019 – Forward – Fresno Heat– Highly regarded and established…Played just one day…Growing confidence in her game is evident…Displaying more and more versatility…Can put it on the floor more efficiently…Size and athleticism makes her challenging match up…Agility is there to be a multi impact player on both ends of the floor…Did appear to tire some in long transition runs
Dajanae Perry – 2020 – Guard – California Select– Aggressive and attacking with the ball…Goes to the rim with authority…Ballskills are solid…Makes things happen at times…Shot is forward and off the shoulder to a degree…Plays with intensity on both ends
Kayla Monet Rosemon – 2020 – Forward – Cal Ballaz– Strong and aggressive small forward…Active with and without the ball…Effective on the pick and roll…Understands how to make herself an option…Has some tools
Marissa Sanchez – 2020 – Guard – So Cal Magic– Athletic guard…Quick moves set up her scoring options…Change of speed is effective…Sets up her cuts and is active without the ball…Elevates on the jumper but does twist and fall away at times…Assertive defender…Anticipates
Hannah Steins – 2022 – Guard – Cal Storm Black– Young guard with promising tools…Left hander who already shows some length with more to come…Smooth and fluid with the ball…Sharp awareness of options on the catch…Perimeter shot takes an extra moment to load up at this point but more a product of age…Strong possibilities
JuJu Watkins – 2023 – Wing / Forward – GBL Gold– Continues to establish herself among the top of the class…Creating more of her own looks as the summer progresses…Not hesitant to take it into traffic or take the hit from rotating bigs…Elevates well on the pull up…Dropped the floater as well when help came her way…Active and long defensively…Improvement each time out
Chloe Webb – 2019 – Combo – So Cal Magic– Strong and athletic…Challenging match up…Acceleration is on par with any opponent…Crossover combines with multiple moves to create her looks…Floater and pull up work well as rotations come…Missed a few while avoiding contact near the rim…Lots of promise
Alexis Whitfield – 2020 – Forward – Cal Storm Team Taurasi– True #4…Nice size and build combines with ever improving agility…Becoming a much more active option…Ability is there to create her own to a degree…Utilizes the lost art of the shot fake…Showed off a baby hook…Sees the passing options from the high post…Decisions could be sharper at times
Kayla Williams – 2019 – Point Guard – Cal Storm Team Taurasi– Speed and quickness to spare…Pushes the ball at opportunity…Maintains her dribble to attack again off any move…Does well in traffic for size…Form is sound both spotting up or on the pull up in penetration…Consistency will have to evolve in finishing
Kristin Williams – 2021 – Point Guard – Cal Sparks 16 EYBL– Small with a slight build at this point…Feisty and competitive…Always attacking…Good body control in traffic and off contact…Showed some range on her jumper
