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Published Aug 11, 2021
Girls: SLAM Summer Classic to Feature Local Talent
Zach Smart
Staff Writer

A bevy of local talent will be featured in the upcoming SLAM Summer Classic, which is slated for August 14th under the lights at Dyckman Park. There will be both a girl’s regional game (12 PM) and a national game in the event.

Among top-tier players in this event are Paulina Paris, the Penn State commit and New City, N.Y. native.

Paris, who currently plays at Saddle River Day (NJ), was the back-to-back Rockland County Player of the Year while at Albertus Magnus High School in Rockland County.

Paris’ trust with the coaching staff at Penn State and the fact that she fills an area of need at point guard as a Class of 2022 recruit were key factors in her decision.

She wound up choosing the Nittany Lions over a handful of high major suitors, including NC State and UCLA. Surfacing as one of the top players in New York State since her freshman year at Magnus, the gritty guard’s game is a unique blend of swagger, toughness, and polished know-how.

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Having scored over 1,000 points at the culmination of a sophomore year at Albertus Magnus—a game in which she averaged 25 points and shot 55 percent from beyond the arc—it was clear that Paris was a three-level scoring threat and transcendent talent.

She transitioned seamlessly to Saddle River, registering her presence with a 33-point eruption during an 89-29 shellacking of Montclair Immaculate.

Having recently received an offer from Louisville, 2023 guard Angelica Velez will be among the noteworthy unsigned prospects in the event. A hard driving guard with tight handle and a knack for creating space, Velez has accumulated numerous offers emanating back to when she was an eighth grader.

She creates a deadly inside outside threat with 6-foot-6 Center and hotly pursued 2023 prospect Aaliyah Del Rosario, with her ability to manage the offense for New Heights and feed the post essential in the 1-2 punch.

Texas Tech, Georgia, Miami, UNC, East Carolina, Monmouth, and various others have offered the Bronx native. Velez has improved incrementally as a jump shooter and brings a different quality with her ability to weave into traffic, dish, and score.

The girls national game includes the no.3 ranked player in the country, Ayanna Patterson. The Class of 2022 wing, from Homestead High School and Fort Wayne, Indiana, is committed to UConn.


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