Lexi Cunningham '16 Recruiting Profile

Alexa "Lexi" Cunningham

https://sites.google.com/site/lexiplaysbasketball

NCAA Clearinghouse ID# 1405714208
NAIA ECID# 027969
2015 AAU Season Statistics: 13 ppg (393/28); 54% 2FG (70/130); 44% 3FG (56/129); 90% FT (86/96) 

Summary/Introduction:

I am a 1-2 combo (point and shooting) guard at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas (class of 2016). A junior and 3rd year varsity player, I will be ready to play NCAA D1 college basketball in the Fall of 2016 (after more than another full year of varsity play). My personality and style of play is not overly flashy, dramatic, or unusually attention grabbing - and yet I am highly effective.

I have not participated in the recruiting process prior to 2015, so the establishment of this website is intended to jumpstart that process - with the goal of determining, by the end of this summer, where I will be playing in the Fall of 2016. My school does not submit statistics to national ranking agencies, like MaxPreps, so I will not appear there. And I have not paid to appear on any scouting sites or to be favored or promoted by any scouting agencies - so you will not see or hear of me that way either. With almost a year left still to get even better, my skills and abilities are what they are or will be and your direct assessment of them will be what it is or will be - together we can and will see if and how I might play a meaningful role on your team. :)

(Please view my video highlights -->)

Player profile and statement:

I am a 1-2 combo point and shooting guard at Westlake High School (6A) in Austin, Texas, class of 2016 (a junior) - playing for head coach Katie Hensle, who was an assistant coach at Texas Tech (D1, Big 12). I have the skills and desire to play and compete at the smaller D1 level, both athletically and academically, if I can find just the right program for me – one in which my particular skill set is needed and to which I can truly contribute. I have not paid to appear on any scouting sites or to be promoted by any similar organizations, as I prefer, and request, to have a direct conversation with coaches who might have some interest in a player like me. 

I have been a key player on the varsity team at Westlake since the beginning of my freshman year, when I played in and significantly contributed to every game, serving as backup to the starting senior point guard and otherwise playing as a shooting guard. During my sophomore year, last year, I started in every game and played all or most of each game - again alternating between point guard and shooting guard. This year, my junior year, our entire team is much the same as last year in terms of players and positions. I will have played 4 full years on varsity when I graduate in May 2016, and I intend, and will work, to improve even more by then. As in AAU, our high school team includes and regularly plays against D1 bound and signed players and, with Coach Hensle leading us, we run fast paced, complex offenses and defenses – all of which should serve me well as preparation for college. I also work weekly with an individual skills coach, Rich McIver - a former big NCAA Division 1 player himself.

I have played organized/competitive basketball for over 9 years - not only in school, but with several AAU affiliations during the spring/summer season as well. Last year, I played for a second season with Austin Elite (coached by Fonzell Martin and Tommy Gregg), starting in every game. But I have been invited to, and I have agreed to, play this year with Texas Elite Adidas (Christian Maroon). Our season has already begun, but our team is a new one - so we are still getting to know each other and learning how to play as a team, and our coaches are still learning our strengths and how best to use us (in which combinations at which times). My best use is on a team that plays well as team - a well disciplined team, where only as a last resort do possessions become a 1 on 5 play for whoever happens to have the ball. And in a conference where the rules are rigorously and consistently applied by the officials.

All of my coaches will vouch for my particular skills and style and can address with fair candor my potential contributions to your team. So far this year, mydouble digit points per game average is higher than last year, and in a recent exhibition I made 94 out of 100 free throws. Even so, I am not a player who's size or straightforward style is likely to draw in the peripheral attention of a roving scout/recruiter or sports writer at tournaments if they are unfamiliar with me or are otherwise not incentivized or predisposed to search for, feature, favor, or promote me - and yet my skills are solid and my style is highly effective. Because of my non-flashy style, the Austin newspaper called me the "Silent Weapon"! In tournaments, I have both received "all tournament" status and often lead in scoring. But my real strength is in being a team player - being able to, through sure ball handling and alert court awareness, make good things happen (by getting the ball to the right person in the right place at the right time).

I am highly competitive, but I am calm and cool by nature, so not excessively emotionally demonstrative on the court - even when others might see a reason to be (like hitting a difficult shot while also drawing a foul). I am innately happy and bring positive energy to the game, often smiling between plays and/or at halftime. I play for the fun that intense competition inherently is, and I enjoy success on the court - but my sense of self-worth is not defined by it. I am a strong ball handler and can, of course, dribble between my legs and behind my back while in competition - but I don't do this unnecessarily in games, as I so often see done.  For any player, there is always someone else who is quicker, or more athletic, or a better shooter - but my skills and abilities in each of these areas, as well as my ball handling and real time court sense, combine uniquely well to make me a highly effective team player. My strength isconverting drills and skills into real time decision making on the court during game time. 

I've heard several coaches, in basketball and other sports, say that hard work can often be more important to performance than even innate talent - I believe I bring both, but Coach Hensle says I am, in addition to being fiercely competitive, one of the hardest workers she's known (and I want to work hard to become even better before arriving at college.) I don't drink or smoke or do drugs, and I don't socialize with bad influences - I focus on my family, my education, my basketball, and my good friends.

I'm a 6th generation Texan, the 4th of 6 children in my family (having two younger siblings). I am the 4th (in a row) high school varsity athlete, behind my older siblings, and will be the 3rd college athlete among them as well. I'm very close with my family, so it would be nice of course if they could easily visit me where I go to school and play - BUT I'm even more focused on, and open to, opportunities that will place me in a program where I would quickly become a contributing asset, wherever that might be - and there's a lot to be said as well for considering an out-of-state education and experience, to get a broader perspective on life and get to know better another major region of the country.

As I mentioned, I play with many D1 bound and signed players (on both my high school team and AAU teams) and I hold my own with and against them. However, I am only just now beginning to engage the recruiting process - so the creation of this web site is intended to jump start that effort and facilitate the process of determining, hopefully by this summer, where I will be playing starting in the Fall of 2016. In addition to the information and video's here,you may want to talk with Coach Hensle as well - she was an NCAA Division 1 Big 12 women's assistant coach and, after having me for two full years, can and will give you a straight assessment of my strengths and limitations, and can comment on if and how best I might fit in on any particular kind of team. Coach Hensle has taught us how a great team can beat a team of great players.

I am registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, as well as the NAIA, and I've already taken the SAT and ACT, so I am ready for the next step. If you might be interested in recruiting me, I would love to see just how I might fit in and contribute. So I would appreciate any opportunity to visit more with you about your program and see what it would take for you to give serious consideration to recruiting and signing me. Thank you for taking the time to view me here!

Thank you for taking the time to view me here - please visit my website for more information and more videos!

https://sites.google.com/site/lexiplaysbasketball

Lexi Cunningham