Isaiah DeLeon-Mares Showdown: Who stood out?

I had the chance to pop over to Gold Crown Field House on Memorial Day to catch some action of Reebok's Isaiah DeLeon-Mares Mile High Showdown. I was just stopping by to support a player I coach and in the process learned about the selfless and impactful life of Isaiah DeLeon-Mares. <a href="https://isaiahsfoundation.com/">Read about him here!</a> I also saw some solid talent and had to share: [player_tooltip player_id="95233" first="Alexei" last="Trujillo"] - Westminster - 2023 <p style="padding-left: 40px;">17.1 PPG as a sophomore? Alexei, widely known as Lex, scored her 171 points on just 156 shots for Westminster HS this season. The Colorado Hoopsters standout provides the energy you want on a fast-paced and positive team. I think of the legendary Metro State coach and NBA veteran, Coach Mike Dunlap, repeating in his defensive coaching videos and clinics, "Get into the ball!" He’d love Lex’s hustle.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">For teams that value threes and layups (who doesn’t?), Trujillo is the next Pythagorean: 35 + [76 * (WE+ET)] = 17.1 HM PG. For us non-math majors, <strong>35</strong>% behind the arc plus <strong>76</strong>% at the line, enhanced by the <strong>w</strong>ork <strong>e</strong>thic and <strong>e</strong>nergy of <strong>T</strong>rujillo equals a <strong>17.1</strong> point-per-game all-state <strong>h</strong>onorable <strong>m</strong>ention <strong>p</strong>oint <strong>g</strong>uard.</p> [player_tooltip player_id="117685" first="Evenyce" last="Gutierrez"] - Mullen - 2022 <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Evenyce is moments away from leaping into a big senior season with Mullen. She’s been buried on Mullen’s depth chart behind a dominant cohort and will now have the chance to show her underrated skills by feeding the ball to their tops-in-the-state lineup while shutting down top guards like she does in every game with Colorado Hoopsters. Evenyce is a really good, high pressure defender and an outstanding passer. More importantly to college coaches, she’s a vocal leader for her teams. When you catalyze Mullen’s lineup with her 3:1 assist to turnover ratio, 68 other 4A coaches will be shaking their heads.</p> [player_tooltip player_id="207085" first="Kaitlin" last="Kyle"] - Ponderosa - 2022 <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Combo guards who are 5’10.5", can handle the ball, can no-look assist, and are such consistent shooters with a really quick release are hard to find. [player_tooltip player_id="207085" first="Kaitlin" last="Kyle"] is a standout who has hit 130 threes, 37%, in her career at Lutheran HS in Parker and at Ponderosa HS. When Kyle was given an inch of space in a game with Lady Lightning she pounced at the opportunity to hit consecutive threes to start the game and get her team out to a nice lead. She doesn’t look mean until she hits a three in your face and then crosses you over and finishes left when you try to get up on her shot.</p> [player_tooltip player_id="116800" first="Trinity" last="Grambusch"] - Smoky Hill - 2021 <p style="padding-left: 40px;">A fired-up, long, lean slashing guard from Lady Lightning was injecting noticeable energy onto Court 2 so I leaned over to the gentleman next to me and said, "Who’s #30?"</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">"That’s my daughter, Trinity. She just graduated, has some opportunities but hasn’t signed." He was modest; there are at least ten programs interested in Grambusch. In a game of lead changes it was fun to watch Gambusch’s process. She sees the game well, at one point cutting for a mid-post catch in traffic, stepping through and finishing left through contact, and-one, with an emphatic scream to fire up her teammates. She’s a sparkplug. Smoky Hill’s record has been down so it’s easy to overlook Grambusch. Listed as a 6’0" point guard, she really does it all, scoring nearly half her team’s points at 12.8 ppg in her school season. In Phoenix two weeks ago she exploded for a line of 22 points, 10 boards, 7 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. She is getting better and better.</p> Essynce Contrerez - Holy Family - 2024 <p style="padding-left: 40px;">With Holy Family graduating so much backcourt talent, look for Essynce to shoot way up the charts for 2024 prospects. Selfless, athletic, and creative, Essynce is the pass-first type of player who really makes everyone else better. Her 38 assists and only 7 turnovers as a freshmen with Holy Family are a glimpse of the success she’ll have over the next three years for the Tigers and Colorado Hoopsters.</p>