Azariah "AZ " Lee @AZLee_8 , Instagram- _az2029 , 5'9, 110, c/o 29 from Roberstville Middle School, TN is a fierce triple-threat scoring option who loves to get out in transition on the break. If AZ gobbles up a rebound or off steals, it's off to the races. AZ has mastered using her size as a weapon on both ends of the floor. AZ also is speedy and that first step leaves defenders in the dust. AZs greatest strengths of defense, size, speed, and court vision make her a well-rounded assassin and a matchup nightmare. AZ has nice size at the point guard spot and is a mismatch over most point guards and forces teams to adjust by putting a post-player up to defend her. That too is a real problem as AZ maximizes her speed to blow right by bigger players and they have to make another adjustment in an attempt to contain her. With AZ, defensively, it picks your poison. AZs defense is special and creates a lot of offense off her steals. But just for her and her teammates as well. AZ is unselfish and loves to get her teammates involved in the victory. AZ turns those steals into quick offensive possessions to whoever is out in front at that time. AZ uses that vision and IQ to see the gaps and knows exactly when to attack. AZ sees mismatches quickly and makes other missions to exploit them. AZ is just downright tough in transition and great at attacking downhill. AZ has tried to focus hard on sizing up her defender , getting to the Baskett, dumping it off to a big for the easy score when another defender comes over to help, or just finishing through contact earning that free throw.
In middle school, AZ averages 18-20 points a game ( they don't really keep stats in her middle school) . AZ is passionate about her defense and ruthless nightmare to any player she defends averaging about 7 steals a game. As a big point guard, AZ MA ages to average about 5 rebounds a game to boot. Playing AAU for BMaze Elite 2029 Future Rise and also plays up on BMaze Elite 15U GUAA and has set her goals to be better than her last game every single game. AZ wants to control the floor while seeing the entire court. Right now her defense creates her offense so he would like to focus on being more offensive. AZ is a point guard for her team because she can really handle the ball and distribute well, can never stop sharpening that.
Playing up against older girls last year and automatically being recognized as one of the top players by many even though she was only 12 from the class of 2029 really motivated AZ to keep putting in that work and to improve her weaknesses against those older more physical girls. Another thing that motivates AZ is her parents and grandparents. Her parents sacrifice a lot of their time to ensure IAZ is getting the training she needs, eating the foods she needs to eat, and making the grades she needs to make. AZ's dad has been her coach since she was 4. He knows he always wants what’s best for her and is going to push her to be the best she can be. Her mom is always there when she feels like she's not doing so well, to remind her that she is only 13 and has already invested so much time and energy and that great things are ahead in the time that God sees fit. AZ's grandparents (her mom’s parents and her dad’s mom) all passed away in the same year (2022). Her grandfather was a girl’s high school basketball coach and helped her dad coach her in AAU. He was a calm coach who would ask her after every game what she thought she did well and what she could improve on. His goal was to get her mentally prepared. AZ's grandmothers cheered her on from day 1. They loved watching her play in games or dribble in the driveway. They all motivate her to keep going.
A coach can always expect 1000% hustle and effort on both sides of the ball from AZ. Her coaches always put her on the best player and she usually can hold them to 2-4 points a game. They can expect that she will trust their instruction and what they’re asking her to do on the court. They can expect a player who just wants to keep going. They can expect a great teammate and hard worker. They can expect a leader.
AZ sees herself playing D1 basketball after high school. She watches them closely and tries to see the way they play now. Watching them gets her to ask questions about her game, like where it’s at right now even though she is 13 and what can she do now to go ahead and make changes that will need to be made to play D1 basketball. AZ thinks the coaches will like her size (hoping to continue to grow as long as she can). AZ thinks they’ll love her defense and how it creates offense. They’ll love her overall hustle and effort knowing she is always going to put in the work. AZ would consider a lower division cause she just wants to play ball. Her parents have always supported Her in basketball and explain that ultimately the goal is free education and the bonus is getting to play the game she loves. AZ's family has a tradition of professional athletes so she feels like they know what to look for. They always tell her they believe she is going to do great things. AZ's cousin is Nikki Caldwell Fargas. She played at UT and was head coach at LSU. She’s now the president of the Las Vegas Aces. She follows my career and makes sure to tell her parents the things she should be doing already to get D1 interest early. I assess that a high-level D1 opportunity will be waiting for AZ. Never seen such a defensive swagger and fire in such a young girl. Her mindset far exceeds her age and her passion to improve every single game is something you can't teach. I personally can't wait to track AZ's journey and watch greatness unfold right before my eyes. If you all didn't know AZ before now, ya better catch this rising star right now.
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