Joe's Take: Recruit, recruit, recruit Cabell's Allie, right now

“Turns on megaphone”   COLLEGE COACHES!   MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?   MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?   WILL THE REAL SLIM…..   NO, I AM JUST KIDDING, but seriously.   AHEM   [player_tooltip player_id='153410' first='Jayda' last='Allie'] needs a college home and hardwood homecourt, folks! Yesterday! I mean it! Do it! Do it, now.   If you don't reach out to her, you're going to regret it. Not a year from now. Or six months from now. But, right now. This kid is worth every bit of a 21- or 22-year-old from the transfer portal. This kid is self-sufficient. This kid is wonderful. This kid radiates champion, teammate, winner!   This kid is the most first-class, hard-working person you are ever going to meet. We are talking hoisting-up-shots-after practice-even though-her-time-may-be-a-little-limited, right-now classy. We are talking the kind-of-kid-okay-on-that-road-trip-because-she's-comfortable whoever-she's-around – classy.   She gets along with anyone. So, you Coach what-his-face doesn't have to put up with a 3 a.m. wake up call to a team fight.   Not convinced?   Just these last few months, I saw her put aside the realization that after a year in which she hoped the Mary Ostrowski Award would be hers, she turned around and acknowledged the dreaded truth that it would not be so with grace and peace. And, as an even better example of her character she's already ready to congratulate the actual winner.   You have to admit, you don't find those traits very often in teenagers today. They can go wanting at times.   So, why are we talking about Allie? Because, there's currently a COVID transfer portal crisis blocking her from grabbing a home. And if you haven't noticed, she's not in a very good place. She's one of the best ones that needs some help.    But coaches, according to George Washington assistant coach Brian Mallory have developed a trend.   “If coaches had a choice between an 18-year old vs pulling up a 21-22 year old who's already learned to be a college student and athlete. Well, the latter is the one they are taking.”   And that conundrum leaves a kid like Allie out in the rain. A kid who I couldn't help but name the captain of my all-state team. Because I am aware of those things she's carried on her shoulders. Because I am aware of how I can't break her trust by saying what those are.   Mallory knows double about how coaches are missing out on Allie.      “Jayda is a winner, if I want a kid, I want to recruit kids who win and Jayda has won her entire life. She's been on Top 10 AAU teams including the (Under Armor) national championship last summer. Cabell Midland played in two state finals and a semifinal. She plays winning basketball and makes the right plays.   “She's never a kid who is chasing stats or points. She's three and D she shoots the ball well. She gets her feat set for the last three years she's defended others teams best players,” Mallory said.   Speaking of that defense, Mallory also has a story that paints the perfect picture.   “Defensively, three years ago, when I was at GW we lost 3 games in W.Va and all three were to Cabell Midland. We lost by 3 points, 2 in OT and the state semifinals by 8 or 10 and the common denominator all three games was because she was just glued to Kalissa Lacy.   This is the same Lacy currently playing for the Division I Western Kentucky Colonials, who won the 2018 Mary Ostrowski Award. Yeah, Allie held someone who scored over 1500 points in her career, to meh 13 points per game. “And she had to work for them, they were tough points,” Mallory said.   Yet, there's more you have to take into account, here.   “She always played hard and was a really good shooter,” former Parkersburg High head coach Scott Cozzens said. “I am sure that that group is a little disappointed they had some bad luck with Huntington dominating an era they were supposed to be really good.”   He searched even deeper when asked for another plus.   “We had to makes sure she didn't go off when we played them, she was one we had to contain,” Cozzens said. “We thought if we could contain her well, we could almost get back to the state tournament the year after covid. She was one of the ones we had to stop.”   So, what happens if you didn't stop her? You would experience the same fate of that Big Reds' group. Jayda jump started the kick that tossed Parkersburg High off championship mountain. Her first basket in the second quarter spurred her group on.   Maybe something, else? Mallory couldn't help but chime in one more time.   “From the youngest age even up until now,” Mallory said. “She's just a sponge, a super-coachable kid and she just wants to win. She's making the extra pass and winning basketball at a young age because she's coachable.”   So, if all those things aren't enough to convince you, maybe think about her overall as a whole player? Take in every angle and what everything brings together. Realize that Allie is exactly the player you need.   Contact Joe Albright at <a href="mailto:josephpalbright3@gmail.com">josephpalbright3@gmail.com</a>.

“Turns on megaphone”