Newark Public Schools Holiday Tournament Star Standouts

While the Newark Public Schools Holiday Tournament was unable to be held during the actual holiday season, it was instead postponed to February, and so far, we’ve gotten to see First Round and Quarterfinal action. Here are some of the standouts we’ve seen from those games. <strong>Alana Nickels (Sr.) - F/G, West Side</strong> Nickels had a career-best game in West Side’s first-round victory in the tournament on Jan. 31, showing the sheer level of improvement she’s made over the past year. She’s one of the best rebounders in the region and on top of that, has found a great scoring ability in the middle. Nickels is a naturally-gifted player when it comes to interior scoring, and she’s shown just that this season, really dominating the middle in ways most teams haven’t seen before. Add her excellent shot-blocking ability and overall stellar defense and you have a complete package as a forward. <strong>Evenasia Caesar (Jr.) - PG/SG, West Side</strong> Caesar has shown steady improvement in her game over the past three seasons and is finally seeing the fruits of her labor as a junior. It’s been great to watch the level of production she’s had offensively while also being an aggressive player on defense. She crashes the boards often and plays with a level of agility that allows her to capitalize on the break, showcasing a more versatile style of basketball overall. The biggest key with her moving forward is continued consistency across the board. <strong>Keyona Bailey (Jr.) - F/G, Shabazz</strong> Bailey has been a consistent scorer her entire junior season for Shabazz and her offensive game has shown some great improvement and consistency. The biggest thing after watching her play is how well she's been shooting from three. Roughly a third of her scoring comes from beyond the arc, so it's not her primary scoring outlet, but she's shown that she can definitely hit shots from range with ease. That's a big key for her because if she can establish the perimeter shooting, it opens a lane for her to dominate driving toward the basket. <strong>Ashley Andeliz (Jr.) - PG/SG, Science Park</strong> Andeliz has shown significant improvement across the board when looking at her statistics. The one stat that stands out the most is her assists because this junior guard knows how to thread passes to teammates. Andeliz is an underrated passer and it has given her another level to her overall game. That's proven to be quite important as she's averaging career-highs in scoring and rebounding so far for Science Park. Her perimeter defense has come a long way as well and she's really shown a great level of intensity to play up on opponents and utilize her agility to swipe passes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="319021" first="Anisha" last="Able"] (Sr.) - 6-0 PF, Barringer</strong> Able is currently averaging a double-double on the season for Barringer and is easily one of the best forwards in North Jersey. She's one of the best pure interior scorers in the area, finding her way into the lane or creating her own space to operate and score from midrange. The development of a midrange game has suited her well. We've seen a more agile player out of her overall when it comes to crashing the boards. More importantly, Able is excelling as a shot-blocker and has found that extra gear in her game to up her aggression on the floor. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="325186" first="Faith" last="Fedd-Robinson"] (So.) - 5-11 G/F, Newark Central</strong> Fedd-Robinson already has all the skillset of a top-tier forward for Newark Central and she's been on an absolute tear this season. Her scoring and rebounding, while impressive, does not compare to the level of success she's had when it comes to blocks and steals. Fedd-Robinson has shown the poise and maturity of an upperclassman this season and plays like a seasoned college talent. She attacks opponents on defense, standing her ground in the lane and forcing them into bad shots or bad passes most all the time. That's allowed her to have the level of defensive success we've seen from her this season.