LA United Up and Coming 26s

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Before another weekend of play begins, I can't go without highlighting a very special team I saw at the Nxt Girls League Pro 1st session in Bryan. If this is the Louisiana United 2026 squad in April, I am<em> nervous </em>to see them in July!! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/journee-johnson/">[player_tooltip player_id='489561' first='Journee' last='Johnson']</a>- All around player. Length and size are often used to describe players, but Johnson knows how to utilize her size on both ends of the court. I saw her get several deflections or steals in the press just by keeping her hands up and mirroring the ball. She has the lateral quickness to get down and guard smaller opponents. Her pressure on ball defense made the ball handler change directions multiple times in a funnel to the basket where Johnson threw her hand up for the block. On the other end of the court Johnson is lethal on the perimeter. She does a tremendous job of selling a shot fake to get past multiple defenders to in route to the cup. The defense must guard her honest as she has three point range. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/jarissa-davis/">[player_tooltip player_id='489575' first='Jarissa' last='Davis']</a>- Floor general. I saw her enter the game off the bench but she quickly demanded authority. Did a nice job of setter her teammates up, but also knew when to take it to the basket herself. Sweet spot three point shooter on the wings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/alanna-benoit/">Alanna Bennot</a>- What caught my attention with Bennot, was when she was being swarmed by defenders under the basket a few feet in front of me. She made a BEAUTIFUL reverse finish. She's crafty in getting to the basket and finding her teammates. She got several pick pocket steals at the timeline and shows the ability to finish in transition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tyanna-stewart/">[player_tooltip player_id='489568' first='Tyanna' last='Stewart']</a>- Again, it's only April! So it was nice to see players still in rhythm from the high school season flow right into club ball. Stewart has not missed a gym as she was knocking down several corner pocket three point shots. She attacked the basket with tight handles and a polished spin move. Her pressure defense led to several steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carly Meynard- Strong player with good size inside for her team. She grabs offensive rebounds, drawing multiple defenders, yet has the ability to gather herself and go up to finish. Nice positioning skills on the low block.<img class="wp-image-891804" style="width: 150px" src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/04/IMG_9551-crop-3465x2275-1712888452.jpg" alt=""></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->