AAU Beat
"Best of the Best" and "Fall Ball" 2009
College Showcase Event
October 5, 2009
Two Tigers fight for the ball with a Lady Clipper. On the floor is guard Lindsey Nichols while Kara Gallagher renders assistance from above. Both attend and play for St. Mark's.
(Photo courtesy Andrea Freud.)
There was a massive college showcase event held over the October 2nd through 4th weekend. It took place at several high profile locations including Villanova and St. Joe's. As it was held during the autumn "open period" when NCAA coaches are allowed to go out and look at promising young talent, the event was a major draw for college coaches and scouts all up and down the Northeast corridor. It began on Friday night with a shootout titled "Best of the Best." AAU team coaches send their best players to the shootout where they are then randomly assigned to scratch teams and play what amounts to pick-up games in front of the evaluating college coaches. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, the entered AAU teams played a 4-game tournament. All in all, lots of opportunities for young student athletes with serious aspirations in the sport to be seen. In years past, you might see two or three AAU teams from Delaware at this event, but this year, only the Wilmington Tigers sent a team.
Participating in the "Best of the Best" shootout from the Tigers were Lauren Baker (Ursuline), Katie Bay (Downingtown East), Tori Casper (St. Elizabeth's), Kara Gallagher (St. Mark's), and Allison Zimny (St. Mark's).
The event, for the players, was part nerve-wracking, part fun, and a whole lot of work! For the Tigers, by the last game on Sunday, only six players were suited up and ready for duty. So, at a game where maybe some of the girls were hoping for a little bit of a breather, they ended up having to each play pretty much the entire game. They did an admirable job under the circumstances.
Here are some wonderful, first-rate photos taken by Andrea Freud, a regular contributor to this website:
Former iPOW winner, Allison Zimny, is a starter who plays a variety of positions and looks at home in each one. She is strong underneath with the ball and out on the perimeter.
Two of the absolute best guards in the whole tourney. The New Jersey Lady Crusader on the left, Anna Fucci, was superb in all aspects of her game and led her team (one of the best we saw all weekend) well. For the Tigers, Lindsey Nichols (St. Mark's) was playing in just her first tournament for the team. If you tried to write out all the things she does for her team you'd run out of paper. In any event, she fits this team like a glove.
(Photo courtesy the New Jersey Crusaders)
Well-disciplined, very talented team. The New Jersey Crusaders.
Another quality guard making her Orange & Black debut over the weekend was UA's Audra Cranston. You wouldn't think it to look at her, but she plays as physically as anyone, has a great head for the game, and never complains.
Liz Freud comes all the way from the Dover area to play ball for the Tigers. A steady, consistent post player. A presence in the paint.
A couple of looks at Victoria Boyd with the ball. "V" is working hard to land a greater role on Padua's varsity this winter.
That brace you see on Katie Bay's left leg is no decoration. She suffered a very badly dislocated kneecap this past spring at an AAU tournament in Virginia. Still feeling her way back into the game, this senior hopes to be 100% this coming winter for Downingtown East High. Yes, she comes all that way to play for the team.
She gets knocked down but always pops right back up. St. Mark's Kara Gallagher leads the way for the Tigers on the physical end of things. A dominant post player since grade school (Corpus Christi), Kara is comfortable in areas of the court where only the bravest dare tread. Kara also brings a nice shooting touch - inside, outside, and from the charity stripe.
Liz (#25) and Victoria reacting to the former's shot.
"V" and Kara with the straight up arms - just like Coach Kulesza teaches them.
Lindsey contesting the shot.
Allison introducing herself to her opponent.
File this one under "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." On the left, super-acrobatic Lauren Baker (UA) twists and contorts her body as she goes up for the shot. Moments later, Allison strikes a very similar pose herself!
The six girls left standing, or in this case, sitting, at the end of the tournament: Allison, Liz, Lindsey, Victoria, Audra and Kara.
Yours truly on the bench with Alex Brown (Garnet Valley), Liz Freud and Morgan Joyce (Wilmington Charter) from an early game in the tournament.
This is what a Tiger cub looks like. Coach Kulesza's daughter, and Tiger-in-training, 8 year old Julie.
...And 6 year old Stefanie. Both girls are blessed with tremendous foot speed and agility. It won't be too long before they are playing competitively, just like their "big sisters" on the 16U team.
Any name mis-spellings, please email us. We'll fix it right away!