-Brandeis should be a playoff team this season. Here is why:
College Players- Brandeis has 6 players capable of playing beyond high school. Mykel Costley, Hannah Thomspon, Rose Maldonado, Alyssa Browne, Kelsey Glassburn and Amara Parker all should have opportunities to play at some level after their high school careers are over.
Coach John Ince- Coach Ince is one of the few coaches in the city who consistently changes defenses multiple times in a game. This practice keep opposing teams from establishing a rhythm offensively.
27-5A- Jay and Stevens are a lock to come out of the district. While O'Conner's star, Ebony Easter, seems to be on a mission, they may not be deep enough to overcome Brandeis depth. Clark should make some noise but Brandeis should finish 3rd in the district.
- Stevens is a nightmare match up. Here is why:
They Defend Extremely Well- They defend extremely well with different looks and objectives. They press full court to create scoring opportunities through turnovers. They play a long passive aggressive half court trap to minimize the opportunities of the best perimeter player on offense. Then they bring a super aggressive Man defense that features great on ball defenders, Elexus Allen and Samira Rodriguez to harass the oppositions best ball handler. Allen and her long quick 6'0 frame causes on set of problems and then comes the small pit bull tenaciousness and speed of Rodriguez.
They are Deep- Stevens can go 8-9 deep with college caliber kids. The young and talented kids that can score. They have shooters. They have slashers. They have a true big body post option in Deleesha Monroe. They can bring a 6'0 jumping bean off of the bench in Amalya Lewinson.
They are Balanced- Samantha Herrera, Nicole Salazar and Julia Rendon can shoot the 3 well. They provide a solid threat to stretch the defense. They allow the slashers to have spacing to operate. They ability to hit the 3ball and attack the basket enables Stevens have a balanced scoring attack.
- Vying for the Top Spot for 2013:
Moriah Mack- Mack had 18 huge points in a big win over a very good Steele team. Mack has long been considered a remarkable talent. This blog predicted a Jessica Kuster-like breakout year from her and she is on track to do so. (Averaging 11.6 pts for the #2 team in city)
Brooke Allemand- Allemand had a great showing vs Canyon while being guarded by Chamaya Turner for most of the game. Her 22 points followed a 29 point performance in the first game of the season. All while playing the point guard and facing the brunt of the defense focus. (Averaging 19.3pts)
Chamaya Turner- Turner has been the best kid in the city for 2013 for two years. She stepped into Allemand's territory and hit 6 three point buckets against her in a close loss Tuesday. If Turner can consitently knock down jumpers, watch out!( Averaging 19.5 pts)
Leslie Vorpahl- Like Jay star Destiny Amezquita, Vorpahl saw the nasty side of the Twins, Adrina and Aundrea Davis on Tuesday. Vorpahl has played a more challenging schedule than Allemand or Turner so far. As predicted by this blog, Vorpahl has some adjustment this season as she is the obvious point of opposing defenders affection. She is getting the same treatment that Johnson's Recee' Caldwell received last season. Facing Box & 1 defenses in 5-A basketball is not easy! (Averagng 10 points)
