Alex Cowling
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HoopGurlz Publisher
Posted Jul 7, 2006
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Alex Cowling and the East Bay Xplosion Black, a 15u team with previous success at AAU Nationals, has the look of a squad prepared to do damage on the NCAA viewing circuit - this summer, as well as next.
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PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON
OREGON CITY, Ore. - The two latest editions of the East Bay Xplosion's older teams have produced nationally elite prospects Jayne Appel and Jacki Gemelos in the Class of 2006 and Danielle Robinson in 2007. And it looks like the Bay Area program's brilliant run will continue.
The Xplosion's 15U team, the EBX Black, is a tightly knit unit that last year finished fourth at AAU Nationals and this year is competing only in NCAA viewing tournaments. It opened the End of the Trail tournament with a rousing, 27-point defeat of the Northwest Sagebrush, a perennially difficult team from the state of Washington. Consider that the Xplosion were missing one of their top players, Sam Bilny, out with an ACL tear, and it's not hard to imagine this 2008 squad tearing up the circuit next year.
Throttling fullcourt and halfcourt pressure eventually turned the game against the Sagebrush into a layup parade for the transtion-hungry Xplosion. There was enough hand-to-hand, halfcourt combat to showcase the talents of some of the team's better players, particularly Alex Cowling and Samantha Gipson, as well as steady and clever point guard Emilie Johnson and shooter-deluxe Ashlee Burns.
Gipson, a 5-foot-9 guard out of San Leandro High, could be the most highly sought-after prospect of the bunch in a shooter-hungry sport. She is long, has decent enough handle and a nice pull from the area codes. She is effective attacking the rim, though not necessarily off breakdowns, and is not really a high-intensity player, but gets results.
A bit unfortunate for her, Cowling is an undersized power player at 5-10, but her motor runs hard and consistently enough that she may be able to translate some of her game to the next level. Most likely it will be her ability to transport the ball, with either hand, in traffic and finish effectly.
The Xplosion are not big, but they make up for their lack of size with defensive intensity, timely perimeter shooting and a strong transition game. Coach Mark Anger's squad is a team that will make ballhandlers pay dearly for taking the ball up the sidelines. They are young, but have been together long enough to make a little noise this summer, then attack next summer with a bullhorn.
Samantha Gipson |
Emilie Johnson |
Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com and the editor-in-chief of Scout Media (www.Scout.com), an online sports network and magazine-publishing company and subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media. Glenn also founded and coached
the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girls basketball teams. He previously was a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle
Times. His work also has appeared in several national magazines and books. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). He can be reached at hoopgurlz@comcast.net.
Our Complete 2006 End of the Trail Coverage Menu:
Singularly Sensational
In the absence of her team's superstar, Caroline Doty has emerged as an elite player in her own right.
EOT Watch - July 8
Who is this girl, Melissa Jones, and why are all those coaches following her in Oregon City?
Team to Watch: CenCal Elite
Courtney Collishaw and her CenCal Elite teammates make a splash at the End of the Trail.
EOT Watch - July 7
Breakdowns of players, including Kayla Standish, from the second day of competition.
EOT Watch - July 6
Breakdowns of players, including Kelsey Bone, from the first day of competition.
Team to Watch: EBX 15s
Alex Cowling and the East Bay Xplosion Black are poised to do damage on the viewing circuit.
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