Prospect Watch - ORL

By Glenn Nelson
HoopGurlz Publisher
Posted Wed, 07/18/2007 - 07:50 Gone because of an ACL injury, but not forgotten, Brooke Thomas makes a commitment - plus more notes from around the nation.

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STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

ORLANDO - Brooke Thomas of Orlando, Fla., was one of the nation's top 2008 point-guard prospects until an anterior-cruciate tear forced her under the radar. Before and during that injury, Wake Forest was a persistent recruiter and its patience and faith was rewarded with a commitment on Tuesday.

Thomas, 5-foot-3, will join former high-school teammate Brittany Waters at Wake Forest. The two teammed for 27 victories the last season they played together at Edgewater High School

A four-star prospect, according to HoopGurlz.com, Thomas suffered the ACL tear in her left knee during the Breakdown Magazine Battle for the Rankings viewing tournament on Sept. 30, 2006. Thomas missed her junior season at Edgewater, which nevertheless won the Florida Class 6A state championship. She returned to action with her club team, the Orlando Comets Red, this spring and just last week had a good run at the Nike Summer Showcase in the Chicago area, according to Comet coach Garfield Blair.

"She got her defensive swagger back," Blair said on the Comets' team website. "Before, she couldn't cut and keep up with quick guards. Now she is much more confident in her defense."

Thomas was one of the catalysts last summer of a Comets Red team that won the 16U AAU National Championships and the Silver Bracket at Nike Nationals. When healthy, she was perhaps the fastest guard in the country with the basketball and a strong, nearly unstoppable penetrator, even off a dead start in halfcourt situations. Thomas also is a very good distributor with good range on her shot, and an extremely disruptive defender with quick hands and feet.

RIM SHOTS

• Rumors of Alyssia Brewer's imminent commitment to Tennessee are untrue, according to her club team's director, Steve Kozaki. The Cal Storm's Brewer, ranked No. 20 in the 2008 class by HoopGurlz.com, likely won't be ready to make a decision until the end of the summer, Kozaki said. The latest school list supplied by the 6-3 forward included Baylor, California, Duke, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas, USC and Vanderbilt.
• The Storm is headed to its event in Hawaii and, according to Kozaki, will bring back injured star Shawna-Lei Kuehu, who has held at No. 24 in the 2008 class in spite of an ACL tear suffered in the fall. Also in tow will be Vicky Tagalicod of Hilo High, a 5-10 guard in the 2009 class who, like Kuehu, is considered one of the top prospects ever developed in Hawaii. Kuehu, of Punahou High in Alea, Hawaii, may be cleared to play by Nike Nationals, July 28-31, but she is unlikely to play, according to Kozaki. "There's no use risking anything," he said.
• The pool schedule is out for Nike Nationals. Pool A includes the Alabama RoadRunners, Georgia Metros, Michigan Crossover, Spokane Stars, Tennessee Flight Silver and West Coast Elite. Pool B is comprised of All-Ohio Black, Boo Williams Summer League, Cy-Fair Shock 90, GA/Lina 76ers, North Tartan and OGDL. Pool C has California Storm, Cal Swish, DFW Elite, The Family, Georgia Elite and the NYC Gauchos. Pool D includes Essence of Florida, Fairfax Stars, Illinois Hustle, Liberty Belles, Orlando Comets and Philly Belles.
• Darriel Gaynor, a 5-6 point guard from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nev., has trimmed her schools list to Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego and Washington. She plans to wait until the fall and take her official visits before committing.

Chris Hansen contributed to this report

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Glenn Nelson is the publisher and founder of HoopGurlz.com. He also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams. Glenn previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work also has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here. He can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.

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