April 28th & 29th, 2012
Santa Ana, CA
The west coast had a strong representation at the Nike Skills Academy this weekend in Southern California. Sixty plus young ladies representing California, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, showcased their talents against each other and for the Nike Skills Academy coaches.
Several of the drills and competitions tested the young ladies talent and mental toughness. From speedy ball handling to uncommon offensive moves, the players skills and I.Q. were challenged to become a better team player and understand each others talents. With this concept, many players stood out and stepped their games up to another level.
Stand Up and Stand Out
Courtney Jaco (2013/Cal Sparks Gold) and Jordin Canada (2014/Cal Sparks Gold) continued to feed off their last weekend spectacular performance at the TOC. CJ and JC had such focus for each new offensive move and refused to take any repetition off. Same can be said for Kelsey Plum, (2013/Wiggins Waves) who made such heady plays during games and competitions, one would think she had already been through a few collegiate battles.
Party in the Paint
During position workouts, the posts had the opportunity for heavy one on one sessions with new Windward School (CA) head coach Vanessa Nygaard. Nygaard, a former stand out at Stanford, challenged the posts endurance and footwork with a variety of moves from the block, mid post and wing. Breanna Brown (2013/Cal Ballaz), Oderah Chidom (2013/Cal Storm) and Kendall Cooper (2013/Cal Storm) had great focus and quickly gained dimensions to their already solid frontcourt games. But let’s not forget about the girls that do all their work in the paint, Ayanna Edwards (2013/Cal Sparks NorCal), Kristen Simon (2014/Cal Sparks Gold) and Brianna Watts (2013/Chaos Elite) all proved light on their feet and finished well with contact and precision.
May I Be Forward?
It was nice to see young players take the initiative to work on their game. Throughout each session, there would be a few post players that would work with the guards and visa versa. There were some athletes that took it upon themselves to work solely with one group or the other the entire weekend. The diversity lead to the unveiling of forwards that will be impact players at the next level. All have the ability to play inside or out and with their dedication to improvement, no question their skills will continue to advance.
Emoni Jackson 6’1 F 2014 Cal Sparks Gold (CA)
Monique Billings 6’1 F 2014 WC Premier (CA)
Lajahna Drummer 6’2 F 2014 Cal Sparks Gold (CA)
Desire Finnie 5’11 F 2014 Cal Ballaz (CA)
Imani Littleton 6’3 F 2014 Wiggins Waves (CA)
Pick Up Game
Most often we think of a pick up game as a few stars and few scrubs and everything in between, randomly getting together to play some hoops. A different angle of the term “pick up” is needed to understand these players unique skill set. A pick up player is one that will immediately upon entering the game give your team a pick up. It can range from scoring points to locking down the other teams best offensive player. Pick up players make the team better from any position and positively contribute with rebounds, assists or hustle plays. Don’t sleep on these kids as they may be just what is needed at the next level.
Rachel Howard 5’11 F 2014 Cal Ballaz (CA)
Khalia Lark 6’0 F/G 2014 Mater Dei HS (CA)
Naja Queenland 5’10 PG 2014 NorCal Elite (CA)
Charise Holloway 5’9 G 2014 Cal Stars (CA)
Alecia Dimas 6’2 F 2013 Cal Storm (CA)
