Cal Storm Grand Finale Top Scorers

The AAU season is winding down and last week, Cal Storm, one of the top girls AAU programs in the country hosted their Grand Finale event at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, CA. It was a two-day event from July 24-25. I was able to attend the event on July 25 and there was plenty of top talent on display. There were teams and players from different regions, but I focused mainly on the more local Southern California talent. There’s no substitute for being able to get buckets. Here’s a look at some of the top scorers that I saw from the SoCal area. <strong>1. Vanessa De Jesus – Sierra Canyon 2020</strong> De Jesus recently committed to Duke, and she’ll join a long line of top guards who have been a Blue Devil. She is a flat out scorer in every sense of the word. She’s very strong in the open court. When she has a head of steam ahead of her, she’s difficult to stop. She can go coast to coast and take the ball all the way to the rim. She has unlimited shooting range, she can knock down shots from any spot on the floor. If she’s given even a crack of daylight, the shot is good. <strong>2. Alexis Pettis – Palisades 2021</strong> Pettis is coming off a solid sophomore season, and looks poised to have a big impact as a junior. She’s a fluid scorer. She can get to the rim easily and either finish the play, or draw contact and get herself to the free-throw line. She can also stop in the key and drop in a little floater over defenders. Her shooting range extends out to the three-point line and she can even knock perimeter shots down with a defender in her face. <strong>3. Nicole Weatherman – Valencia 2020</strong> Being a good scorer also entails being able to shoot, and Weatherman can do just that. She’s a good spot up shooter. She positions herself well behind the three-point line and she’s always ready for a teammate’s pass. When she does catch a pass, she’s great at catching and shooting. She’s got a quick release to get her shot off before a defender can react. She’s got unlimited shooting range too, any spot on the court is fair game. <strong>4. Alyssa Maxey – Rolling Hills Prep 2020</strong> Maxey is a pretty versatile scorer in the half court. She can handle the ball and make plays off the dribble. She attacks the rim well and can finish plays at the rim through contact. One of the areas where she excels in particular is in the pick and roll. Once she sets a screen, she’s good at rolling to the rim and finishing plays off a pass. She moves well without the ball too and is a good cutter. She can shoot from the three-point line.