Jer’s AAU Post Season Awards: Best Ball Handlers
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As I mentioned yesterday in my article covering what my AAU-Post Season Awards are all about, over the next few weeks I will be going over some players that stood out for their specific abilities or overall play on the…
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Continue ReadingAs I mentioned yesterday in my article covering what my AAU-Post Season Awards are all about, over the next few weeks I will be going over some players that stood out for their specific abilities or overall play on the floor this Spring/Summer AAU season. The only change I want to address before beginning this series is to clarify that I will be choosing these athletes from the 8 PGH events that I personally covered this season, along with the 3 other events I covered that were not Prep Girls Hoops related. (EYBL Nike Nationals, USJN, & Nike TOC.) I think that it would be unfair not to include a player just because they competed at a Non-Prep Girls Hoops event. With that being said, thanks for tuning in and let’s get started!
In the article below you will find a list and brief summary of the best ball-handlers that I watched perform this AAU season. These players, who for the most part are guards, showed on multiple occasions, in multiple tournaments, that they all have the basketball on a string when it’s in their possession. To make this list the player had to keep the ball in control under-pressure, just as well as they would control it in the open court, while displaying a “feel” for the game as a whole.
Any of these players could handle the ball in big moments, and most did. Let’s meet the players. (In no specific order)
Krystyna LaRae Manzanarez – 2024 – State 38 Bball 2024 (CO)
Krystyna LaRae Manzanarez was hands down a top ball handler I saw this season while on the road. Manzanarez is a fluid play maker, who can score at all three levels and tear up her opponents, but it all starts off of the dribble. Her best ability is creating for herself or a teammate around her. Sometimes we see players that “float” with the ball in their possession coming down the floor and that’s Manzanarez. She floats effortlessly with the ball on each possession, while being a big time hooper. I had a chance to watch her perform early on this season during the Spring time and she still stands out as one of the best I’ve seen this past 4/5 months. D1 level PG.
Alyvia McCorkle Alyvia McCorkle 5'8" | PG Bettendorf | 2026 State IA – 2026 – Mac Irvin Fire 17U Godfather (IL)
Alyvia McCorkle Alyvia McCorkle 5'8" | PG Bettendorf | 2026 State IA made a big jump this AAU season in my opinion. McCorkle moved programs from All Iowa Attack EYBL to the Mac Irvin Fire program out of the city of Chicago. This move was a big one but boy did it pay off. McCorkle was moved up to Mac’s Top 17U team almost right away and has never looked back. Her handling of the ball and passing ability are next level. That would make sense when you think it out, as she holds a few high D1 offers going into her sophomore year of high school ball. Every time McCorkle touches it, she can make something good happen. She works hard on and off of the ball, with her best ability in being a true point guard at heart.
Rayanna Jenkins – 2026 – Wisconsin Blizzard 2026 Hawley (WI)
When it comes to fast and shifty ball handlers, Rayanna Jenkins is in the conversation. A player that I first had the chance of seeing on the road this year, is going to have an opportunity at college ball one day if she sticks with it. Jenkins would be describes as a fast-twitch point guard, who can score and facility at the same rate. She gets up and down the floor in a hurry without missing a beat. Not to mention, that she is very good at handling the ball against full-court pressure and traps. She is one of the top players I have seen this year at the PG position that understands how to use her body to get foul calls on a consistent basis. The mixture of her lightning speed and control of the ball puts Rayanna in my top handlers of the AAU season.
Ava Zediker Ava Zediker 5'10" | PG Dowling Catholic | 2025 State IA – 2025 – All Iowa Attack EYBL 17U (IA)
Ava Zediker Ava Zediker 5'10" | PG Dowling Catholic | 2025 State IA is committed to go to Creighton after her senior year to compete with the Bluejays, in hopes to bringing them some more success over the next few seasons. Zediker is an elite handler of the ball and she showed that in basically every AAU game she played in this season for her All Iowa Attack EYBL 17U team. She limited her turnovers, kept her team in most of their games, ran her teams offense to a T, knocked down a ton of threes, and controlled pace/tempo as the defined leader of her squad. When you add all these things up, you get a high-level college point guard. That’s what Zediker is. She is going to be a player, going into college ball with a chance to be one of the best “game-managers”, throughout the entire NCAA. She just needs to go out there and do it now. With her positive attitude, once she has the opportunity, she will make the most of it.
KeaOnna Worley KeaOnna Worley 5'4" | PG Prairie | 2027 State IA – 2027 – Lady Martin Bros 15U (IA)
KeaOnna Worley KeaOnna Worley 5'4" | PG Prairie | 2027 State IA played up again this AAU season and had herself another great campaign. Worley is going to be a freshman next year but judging by her skill-set, you would never be able to tell. Worley is years above her competition level when it comes to players her own age, in most facets of the game. As a point guard she already has a tight and efficient handle with both hands coming down the floor. She doesn’t tend to favor a certain side or only do one move, but switches it up to keep the opponent guessing at all times. Worley has a bright, bright future that I’m excited to see begin this high school season. This Spring/Summer, she has definitely showed me on more than one occasion that she can handle the rock, in every situation imaginable.
Khloe Nicholson Khloe Nicholson 6'0" | CG IL – 2028 – 258 Mentality 14U (IL)
If you talk to anyone who has seen Khloe Nicholson Khloe Nicholson 6'0" | CG IL play, you know that she is a baller. A talent that is years ahead of her own class, and most of the classes above her. Nicholson already stands at 6FT, while only going into 8th grade this fall. Her length and motion of her body, set up her opponents for ridiculous counter moves off of the dribble, that leave her wide open as a result of it. Her handle is elite because of how well she does at setting up an opposing player, prior to the dribble move actually happening. In every game that I have seen Khloe play this Spring/Summer season, I have walked away more and more impressed each time. I’m not kidding when I say this might be the player with the highest ceiling that I have seen on the road, throughout all age groups this AAU season. Her skill-set, mixed with her size and knowledge of the game are already at a college level. This was proven a week or so ago when she received her first D1 offer from Mizzou, with many more to come down the line.
Aaliyah Chavez – 2025 – CyFair Elite 17U EYBL (TX)
Aaliyah Chavez is the #1 ranked player in the 2025 class throughout the country for a reason. Chavez is a point guard who plays and handles with EXTREME confidence. She works hard on both sides of the floor, while never letting her opponents get in her head. At EYBL Nike Nationals Chavez had her full arsenal out on display but really showed that her best ability is scoring in the open court, when coming down the floor in transition with the ball. She can push pace going down either side of the floor with the ability to hit the defense with a counter at any given moment, changing her direction and eventually the outcome of the play at the rim. This is going to be a household name that you hear and see over the next few years, as she starts to limit down her college list to a select few. Whoever gets this one, is getting a pivotal play-maker more than anything.
Dru Zoucha – 2024 – Nebraska Attack 17U UAA (NE)
Dru Zoucha is committed to play college basketball after her high school career. Something most people could tell you by watching Dru play just once. Zoucha is a smaller point guard, who finds holes in the defense at an alarming rate. When I watched her this Spring, it was like she was seeing a completely different world out there compared to everyone else around her. She’s cutting through defenses, making pin-point passes, and being her teams overall leader from the PG position. When the basketball is in her hands, it’s on a string. She has an effortless crossover that stifles most defenders, while understanding to blow past her opponent as her first option, if given the opportunity. This winter Dru is set up for a rememberable season to end her high school career, something that should be really fun to watch.
Danielle Brooks Danielle Brooks 5'7" | PG Kenwood | 2026 State IL – 2026 – Chicago Hoops Express (IL)
The major topic of this article is ball handlers. Danielles Brooks is one of those and much, much more. Brooks is one of those players that has an excellent “feel” for the game whenever she is on the floor. When you watch basketball until your eyes bleed, you can tell which players have a natural “feel” for the game. There are certain movements and a swagger about that player. Well, Brooks has that. She is an elite ball handler, while also being a three level scoring threat and great on-ball defender. She is always in control of what is going on, on the floor for her teams and it shows at a high rate. The brightest years are in front of Brooks when it comes to this game of basketball but from what i’ve seen so far, this one is going to be special.