The cavalry is coming. Clarkston has an extremely talented group of freshmen joining the program, and they will be the pre-season favorite to win the OAA-Red. Alayna is a freshman prospect who will be an immediate contributor for the Wolves. She’s consistently stood out at showcases and AAU tournaments over the past six months. Michigan Jam Live 3v3 was a different event with the same result. Alayna played a crucial role in Clarkston’s success all day, and she continued to excel in the elimination tournament. Alayna drilled a straightaway three, knocked down a corner jumper, and secured rebounds. She attacked downhill with purpose and energized the team with a sweet inside-hand and-one finish. In the Championship Game, Alayna’s complete two-way performance earned her the MVP Chain and helped Clarkston add sparkling rings to its trophy case. She converted contested layups efficiently with her off-hand, knocked down jumpers in the mid-range off the bounce, grabbed key offensive rebounds, swatted a shot away in the paint, and forced turnovers with her ball pressure. Alayna drove hard to the rim for a tough layup, slashed past defenders, and used a fake pass move to earn a trip to the line. She competed with relentless effort and is the Wings Bracket MVP.

Alayna will have the home-court advantage at Clarkston High School on Sunday. She’s crafty with the ball in her hands, sees the floor, handles it confidently, finishes around the rim, stretches the floor with her outside shot, makes the hustle plays, and is pesky with her long arms as a defender. Alayna will be an incoming freshman to watch at Michigan Jam Live 3v3 on the Clarkston Gold squad.

Alayna played up with Pr1de 16U at The Encore, and she fit right in with the older girls. Alayna drained a few smooth mid-range pull-ups off quick rip moves and created open looks as an effective facilitator. On day two, she delivered two highlight-worthy plays that had me awestruck. She swiped the ball away on the defensive end and raced straight to the basket for a speedy and-one finish, then tacked on the free throw. Soon after, Alayna buried the rare and-one three-pointer through contact from the wing. She rotated quickly to block a shot and stripped the ball away to cause a turnover. Her aggressiveness and comprehensive impact on both ends of the court were separators on the court.

Alayna was one of the younger players in attendance at the Prep Girls Hoops MI State Showcase, but she more than held her own with an impressive all-around effort for Team 2. She used her length and athleticism effectively on the defensive end, highlighted by a strong block against a taller opponent that showcased her timing and competitiveness. Alayna also stood out as a scrappy defender with active hands, consistently applying pressure and making things difficult for opposing players. Offensively, her quick first step helped her attack gaps and create opportunities off the dribble. She also brought great energy on the boards, battling hard for rebounds and coming away with several offensive boards to extend possessions for her team.

Alayna has been the leading scorer for Mystics 14U South this spring, but it was her court vision and facilitating that particularly stood out to me at the MBA Mother’s Day Classic. She surveyed the scene patiently on the perimeter and zipped a skip pass over the defense to a cutter in stride for an assist. Alayna fired hammer passes out to shooters on the perimeter after the defense rotated and handled the ball with poise. She escaped a trap to score a smooth floater along the baseline and made a smart backdoor cut for a layup.

Alayna is a guard from Clarkston that I was excited to see on the registration list for the P2W Headliners Invitational Showcase after I watched her stand out for Clarkston during a middle school game last fall. She is going to be a great addition to their backcourt next year. Alayna kept her eyes up and showed excellent fundamentals during the ball-handling drills. She changes speeds, heights, switches hands, and pounds the ball to keep control. Her balance, finishes, and step-through footwork were also among the best in drills. In games, Alayna was very impactful for Team Wings. She demonstrated a great basketball IQ after a penetrating drive into the lane. Alayna landed with a jump stop, pivoted, and fired a skip pass to an open shooter on the opposite wing for a triple, instead of forcing up a contested shot. She side-stepped a defender on a drive to score a contested layup, and I noted that her euro-step footwork was “smooth”. Alayna pushed the ball up the court and glided to the rim using a showtime fake-pass euro step to freeze the defender, then scored the high rip finish. She crashed the offensive glass, swiped the ball away on defense, and dished out assists.

Alayna stood out because of her court vision, passing precision, high motor, skilled ball-handling, and fancy footwork around the basket. One of her highlight plays was when she cut off a drive on defense with her quick feet, swiped the ball away for a steal, pushed it the length of the court with pace, and switched the ball to her left to sink a tough, contested floater. Alayna used dynamic low-crossover dribbles to penetrate gaps and delivered a sweet lob pass on the money for an assist after a spin move. Alayna deflected a shot after a hard closeout and dished great passes to teammates with her eyes up in transition. She poured in four points, while adding multiple rebounds, steals, and assists. Alayna will be an exciting addition to the high school program at Clarkston.