The name Sumaiyah Lashley, may not mean much to basketball fans or college coaches right now. But that is about to change real soon. That’s because the next great player in the state of New Jersey is coming to the Shore conference. A player that is talented, skilled , athletic and dripping with off the charts leadership skills. A player that one day will be the face of SHORE CONFERENCE basketball.
When you’re as talented as Sumaiyah Lashley everyone is willing to offer advice. Everyone knows what is best for your future. I have seen this scenario play out a million times. For me it’s nothing new. For a kid and there parent it’s all new. Sumaiyah Lashley and her mom DEE truthfully have made some mistakes. Have listened to the wrong people at times . But that is all part of the process for any great player and there family. It’s trail and error and then you learn who to allow in your real inner circle. The inner circle that are the true decision makers. The ones who truly care about a child. SUE as I call her will find the right inner circle soon enough. But until then, she just continues to be the best 2029 player in the Shore conference. The most talented player to enter the Shore since Addy Nyemcheck. She’ll soon be the most recruited player in all of New Jersey. These things are in the cards and nothing is going to change this. That’s because SUE has something all the great ones have . A presence and balance in her life. So if you’re a college coach you want to pay real attention.
See, I always pay attention to to kids relationships with their peers. Especially when they are in a position of power. When you’re a great player you have lots of power. I quietly watch how kids interact with adults. See I want to know the truth about a kid. You must understand I have seen them all. But I have never seen a kid with Sumaiyah Lashley leadership skills EVER. She is inclusive towards the worst kid in the gym and the best. She stops and explains a drill to a kid who is lost. She moves kids to there proper group in training so they feel confident and included. See I have witnessed all of this. But above all SUE makes her peers very special. This is a gift, her super power. I watched her play grammar school basketball. She could score literally every time down the floor. Instead she passed the ball and cheered for here teammates. Coaches are you listening? This is one of the rare ones.
I am hard on Sumaiyah, in fact over the top hard on her. Yet there she is every single day in the gym for 3 hours, since 3rd grade. I yell and question her talent, her work ethic. Tell her she is no Justine Pissott or Madison St Rose and not once … not a single time has she been disrespectful. Despite that fact she is every bit in that class of great players at her age. See, this is rare stuff in an era when kids are spoiled and made to think somehow they are gods gift to the sport. Well SUE may not be god’s gift to the sport. But she is gods gift to coaches, friends and her mother DEE!
When you talk pure talent. The fact of the matter is Sumaiyah Lashley has no match. There has not been a player this talented to enter the Shore in years. Her athletic explosiveness jumps off the page. She has a college body right now. But it’s the yearly improvement that makes her so unique. She has developed an over powering game in the paint and is a deadly shooter. She is the perfect storm. A player with a special talent but a bigger work ethic than her talent. She makes everyone around her better. Every coach look smarter. The great ones do this!
Too many kids are moody, these days and full of excuses. Too many kids today believe the hype. To many kids are surrounded by folks with an agenda. Well those few folks will certainly try to find their way into Sumaiyah Lashley inner circle. Some certainly will succeed. But it won’t matter and here is why. SUE is talented and smart. She is a Girl Scout, raises money for kids without books. Every police officer in town knows her. You see Sue has a well rounded life. Her identity.does not just come from basketball. It comes from being a good person first. Everything she touches seems to turn to gold. She plays a instrument.. Does holiday concerts and is constantly on the move. Basketball is just one part of her life. She just happens to be one of the best at it.
So I say this to every single college coach in the country… NO EXCEPTIONS! Sumaiyah Lashley is the one. She is that kid that elevates your culture. That elevates her teammates. That motivates her coaches, community and student body. She is the one, a game changer. I have been doing this for 40 years and let me explain something…. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A KID LIKE Sumaiyah Lashley…. FACTS!