Darius Liggett avoids subtly when describing the style of play of his Oakland Lady Soldiers basketball club.

“Our philosophy inside the game is very simple,” Liggett said. “I’m from the east coast so we’re bringing that east coast style of play to try to blend it in with this west coast. We have shooters, we attack downhill, we play aggressive, we play physical, we box out. We don’t try to hide it. Win, lose or draw we want every team we’ve played to feel like that’s the hardest game they played in that tournament. Ain’t no finesse to it. All five are going to get after you and we’re going to play uptempo.”

Chances are, their opponents understand that feeling.

Liggett has been similarly aggressive in building the Lady Soldiers nearly from scratch, parlaying the longstanding success the Oakland Soldiers enjoyed in boys basketball.

“Anybody who is familiar with boys basketball is familiar with the Oakland Soldiers,” he said. “That’s where we started and we realized it was a niche or a brand that we can build on the same side for the girls.”

Nonprofit Student First Athletes is the driving force behind the girls club, in conjunction with Scholar Athletes Inc. Their involvement represents the underpinnings of how Liggett seeks to impact the girls’ lives.

“The reason why our non-profit is Student First is because we believe in the student component,” he said. “We understand that basketball scholarships are out there but realistically you become more of a hot commodity when the school piece is handled. We have a mentor program internally where our older girls mentor our younger girls. We do a lot of things for our younger girls so they understand what they need to do. We actually have workshops where we teach girls how to use checking accounts and savings accounts. We have military come in to talk to them, we have community colleges come in to talk to them, we have technical colleges come in to talk to them. We make sure we’re with them in every facet.”

On the court, the proof is in the results. Despite being a club that’s only a few years old, the Lady Soldiers have produced several high-major players (including UCLA and Houston), buoyed by a talented coaching staff that includes California coaching kingpins Allison and Jake Johnson, whose high school resume includes 18 consecutive league titles, four section titles and a 2017 state championship team.

And then there’s that notable style of play.

“Our philosophy is having the girls maximize their reps,” Liggett said. “Everything they do is 110 percent — with a chip on our shoulder. We’re in your face, 94 feet, no sagging off. We’re going to find out if you’ve got a motor or not. They’re a scrappy group. We have some kids who play with some grit, and that’s the beautiful thing about it.”

The Lady Soldiers have five teams based in northern California and seven in their San Diego chapter. They pull from both areas for their national team.

And they’re not done expanding the Lady Soldiers brand.

Said Liggett: “Our goals are to expand. We want to add surrounding states. We’ve seen the blueprint of what it can be. We’re trying to have talks with a club in Oregon right now to see if we can merge with them and have a Lady Soldiers in Oregon. We want to expand but do it in a strategic way. There’s no rush.”

Liggett’s northern California chapter has a bevy of promising players who will – if they haven’t already – make their names known among college recruiters.

“Our 17u team is really young but they’re really talented. We have two point guards that can give anybody a run for their money. Milan Tuttle (5-foot-7, 2021) goes to Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco. Court vision is unmatched. She puts the ball on a string and sets you up. Sets her teammates up very nicely. She can score at will. Simone Johnson (5-7, 2021) out of West Campus in Sacramento, shooting guard, poised. She’s unrattled, even when games are on the line. Nerves of steel. Definitely a silent assassin.

“Sidney Richards (5-7, 2021) from Inderkum High School in Sacramento, is definitely a player to watch. Nobody in California or even the region knows who this kid is and I think she’s going to take a lot of people by surprise, both on offense and defense. She’s definitely a kid with a high motor.

“Joel Bennett (5-11, 2021) goes to Inderkum as well, is a big guard, strong, uses her size to attack downhill. Imani Felix (5-8, 2021) goes to McClatchy (in the Sacramento area). She’s a wing, high motor, great defensive skills. Can lock down 94 feet with a high motor and finishes tough.

“Nesi Sinau (6-1, 2020) is versatile. Soft touch, can shoot the 3, has a nice midrange, very physical, very aggressive. She is a rim protector. Blocks shots. And mobile. Can guard guards and posts. Very versatile kid.”

While that bunch has Liggett pumped about the future, it is only a sample of what’s to come, he says.

“I’m really hung up on our 2023 and 2024 class. Those are the two teams in our program that as a director I can say they’re probably going to be the scariest classes that we’ve ever produced. We have girls that belong in D-1 programs right now. Between the shooters, the rebounders and the height that’s on that team … our 14u teams has three 6-foot girls, two are in seventh grade and one is in eighth grade. They’re high character kids, very mature. They are a different group.”