2020 Alamo City Hoops Girls Elite Combine pt 1
JAZRA WILLIAMS & LILY GUEVARA
UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas -I had the pleasure of covering the Alamo City Hoops inaugural Girls Elite Combine and it fit perfectly because this is why I started doing what I do over 15 years ago. You see, the National media wasn’t giving Texas as much attention as I felt they should but to their credit, there were not a lot of teams that put themselves in front of them so I chose to quit whining about it, and “Just Do It” and that is a direct subliminal message however in branching on to do something, you need to know what you’re talking about and I see things on social media that just tickles me pink, okay that’s a joke, but so is a lot of what I see. I’ve written for Scout.com, Fullcourt.com was Texas moderator for Hoopgurlz.com but my primary goal was to find “that player” because talent is truly everywhere and there are politics, trust me I know first hand because I have a daughter and I saw how the arrogance and egos work from those in power yet I’ve always “Fought The Power” for what’s right, my daughter has played multiple years in the WNBA so those numbers don’t lie when you look at the percentages so I’m starting off my breakdown of the players I had already seen, either live or on video in part 1 and I’ll break down the others in part 2 and always remember, talent is everywhere if you know what you’re looking at
HANNAH GALLEGOS
2021
Lashiyah Fowler-5’9 guard- AD Elite (Connally HS)
Fowler took it to another level as her athletic ability was on full display as she was physical on both ends, relished the contact attacking the basket and applied heat on defense yet watching her play the passing lane, block shots and even showed a drop step had me going early
Hannah Gallegos-5’3 guard- San Antonio Finest (Harlan HS)
Gallegos definitely shot the long ball well but the way she shot it, catch and shoot or creating her shot, is what really stood out but she thinks the game, so that was of no surprise and her heady play also showed on her passes, she saw the floor well and to mix it up, she attacked and finished
Zoe Nelson-6’1 whatever you need-Austin Elite (Hendrickson HS)
Nelson can play all five positions, she’s a PGH Texas Top 100 and, I’ve been writing that since middle school and it makes no sense for me to take notes because whatever she adds is embedded in my head. She scored every way imaginable but took over during the clutch in the tight games hitting the long ball, seeing the floor and playing the passing lane going coast to coast
Kayla Presley-5’8 guard-San Antonio Finest (San Marcos HS)
Presley is also a PGH Texas Top 100 and she definitely will be elevated because she showed me even more including a hesitation in the open court that had me off balance and I was sitting down but her range, attacking the basket, handling of the ball, under pressure and attacking the basket earned her several gold stars
Jazra Williams-5’11 SF- Austin Elite (Vista Ridge HS)
Williams needed no notes from either, what I love about her game is that she’s taken it from a back to the basket player and just kept implementing new things which is why she’s a PGH Texas Top 100 player, so her pull-up jumper from midrange in the open court was clicking but she also kept the defense guessing as she attacked and finished strong, plus she rebounded on both ends
Lily Guevara-5’10 guard-Austin Elite (Hays HS)
Guevara left me speechless because I knew she could play, but I didn’t know she could play like that and when I write “ups” I have flashbacks and by “ups” she elevated over defenders for the jumper, rebounded over taller players, but watching her go baseline several times and finish strong was an eye-opener
Lanie Douget-57 guard- San Antonio Islanders (Homeschool)
Douget has always impressed me with her court vision, she sees the floor so well and understands two very important things, how to control the tempo and when to push the ball but her ballhandling under pressure stood as well, especially when she could make the passes going full speed. She shot it well from outside and attacked the rim
KAYLA PRESLEY
2022
Brenna Welsh-5’8 guard-Waco Lady Panthers (Robinson HS)
Welsh does a lot of throwback stuff I love to see and one of them is she understands how to lead the pass because she knows where they’re going yet she can shoot it , she attacks the basket and finishes after contact and understands the importance of playing the passing lane
2023
Viviana Moreno-5’3 guard-San Antonio Islanders (Brandeis HS)
Moreno is one of those size don’t matter players because she can just flat out play and her energy is always the same, no matter what. She made my Tip Sheet last year after two minutes of watching her she’s definitely added more to her ballhandling and passing because her pull-up jumper, her ability to create her shot as well as her defense have all gotten better
Darien Reinagel-5’3 guard- San Antonio Islanders (O’Connor HS)
Reinagel showed me two big things, don’t leave her open because she can shoot it, and by that, I mean mid to long-range and don’t guard her too closely because hewer ability to create her shot as well as get it off and knock it down with accuracy was huge. Another #sizedontmatter guard that handled the ball and made the pass but also performed well under pressure
Jacy Reese-5’3 guard-Texas Flight Elite (East Central HS)
When Reese dropped the floater, all I could think about was peanut butter cups because she also dropped numerous three-pointers, while being defended but a couple of other big things for her is, the crossover, she has that down pat, as well as her first step, those two tools are quite valuable and she definitely uses them
Janiah Perkins-5’2 guard-Texas Flight Elite (Highlands HS)
Perkins first impressed me with her defense because she actually enjoys playing it so to no surprise, she applied heat right off the top but she also utilized her athletic ability by not only applying defensive pressure, her offensive pressure at attacking the basket strongly and when you throw is “sees the floor”
2024
Debi Hernandez-5’1 guard-San Antonio Islanders
Hernandez packed a punch and one more time, size don’t matter when you can play and thinking the game goes a lob way. Loved the entry passes as well as her ability to see the floor and hit her teammate with pinpoint passes yet she also handles the ball under pressure, attacks the basket fiercely and shoots the long ball
2025
LA Snead-5’7 guard-Texas Flight Elite
Snead has me asking myself one question, is she in high school yet, however, I’m one of those who already knows the answer to just about everything I ask yet for the second year in a row, there isn’t a high school team she couldn’t make unless politics from booster clubs or somewhere else is involved, and I know several 6A schools in the Houston area she would not only start on but be MVP and I’m not embellishing, she is and was that good when I caught her I believe three years ago but she just keeps getting better and has WSNBA written all over her, yes I said that. Her poise and mental toughness against older players always stands out, she scores at will off the dribble with flair and her handling of the ball just keeps the defense guessing