Team Spotlight: Elite Basketball Academy 17U Girls

One of the showcase teams of the Elite Basketball Academy organization is it 17U girls team, which is coached by E.J. Williams.

 Williams' Elite Team is comprised of many of the top seniors in the Class of 2011 mixed in with a few very talented juniors to be. Together, they have enjoyed a very successful spring and summer basketball season.

 Elite Basketball has advanced to the championship game of the Midwest Slam in Schaumburg and the Windy City Classic in Chicago. They also advanced to the Final Four of a tournament in Murphysboro, Tenn. Locally, they have also been very successful, winning such tournaments as the STL Family Rockets Spring Slam at the St. Louis Sports Center.

 Williams has a very well-balanced team with excellent post players, good shooters and fine guard play. The overall versatility of his group is what keeps them competitive against the best regional and national competition.

 "We're pretty solid overall," Williams said. "We run the floor pretty well and we've got girls who can penetrate and girls who can knock down shots. We have a lot of girls who can do many things well."

 The one player who symbolizes the team's overall versatility is 6'2" junior Taylor Manuel, a very gifted post player from Incarnate Word Academy. Manuel is a truly unique talent with the size and strength of a dominant post player combined with the skill set of a guard. Manuel has a chance to be one of the top post players that has been through the St. Louis metro area in quite awhile.

 "She's like a guard in a post player's body," Williams said. "When we get into trouble, we usually try to get the ball to her."

  Manual anchors a big front line which also includes 5'11" small forward Brittany Carter (Incarnate Word) and 6'2" Carissa Richardson of Sullivan. Richardson and Manuel form a strong duo in the low post while Carter is a strong perimeter player who can shoot the ball from the outside. She was a key member of Incarnate Word's nationally-ranked state championship game last winter. Richardson averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds at Sullivan last season.

 In the backcourt, Williams starts 5'3" Jenny Rocha of St. Dominic and his daughter, Dajae Williams, a 5'7" junior at Kirkwood. Rocha is a tough, little point guard who has led St. Dominic to tremendous success during the past two seasons. Williams has been a top player for the Pioneers during her first two seasons on the varsity. Both guards are quite effective at penetrating and getting to the basket to create open shots for their teammates.

 "Both Jenny and Dajae are really good at breaking down the defense off the dribble," Williams said.

 Rounding out Elite's talented roster is forward Megan Hawkins (Fort Zumwalt East), who is another fine perimeter shooter; guards Jasmine Crawford (Hazelwood Central), Tiera Baker (Cardinal Ritter), Kalah Martin (Kirkwood), LaDonna London (Hazelwood Central) and forwards Julie Mullendore (Kirkwood), Natalie Fryrear (Kirkwood) and Kate Ruppe (St. Joseph's).

 Crawford and Baker bring more speed and quickness to the backcourt. Baker has been a key player in Ritter's recent success, which included a Class 3 state championship in 2009 and runner-up finish in 2010 while Crawford was a key player on Central's Class 5 third-place team in 2009.

 Elite Basketball Academy is finishing out the summer season in a big USJN Tournament in Chicago. They are currently 2-0 after the first day of competition.