Operating a high tempo offensive attack rife with shooters and experienced scorers, Alexa Mustafaj authored a breakout junior year as one of the states and perhaps the country’s best passers. Mustafaj was the engine that propelled everyone around her, including McDonald’s All American and clutch Notre Dame-bound shot maker Sonia Cintron.

The Class of 2021 Mustafaj was a supplemental scoring piece for Beth Wooters’ traditional New York power, averaging 15.4 points. As a true point guard, Mustafaj had several games of six or more assists. With her purity of vision and ability to see the floor, Mustafaj has an advanced skill set and is cognizant of where her teammates are and their tendencies.

Mustafaj is a classic case of a student athlete taking the smart and secure route, as she committed to Division-3 Middlebury over the summer and prior to a senior season now marred by uncertainty. With the coronavirus pandemic making the recruitment process more difficult by the day (with a 2021 scholastic season not promised at all), Mustafaj chose an elite academic school where she could play meaningful minutes from the get-go.

She’s a glaring example of making the right call, rather than waiting and trying to garner higher level offers. In today’s environment, with kids obsessing over Division 1 and willing to risk weighing the market during a COVID-19-ravaged season, many will sabotage their chances by waiting in the wings for that higher level scholarship offer.

Typically, there is more delusion on the boy’s side, where players adopt the “Division 1 or bust” mentality and kill offers from Division II programs or get suckered into seedy prep/postgraduate academies which promise maximized exposure and skill development and fail to deliver.

With COVID-19 hampering the live period and preventing coaches from seeing live talent until April 15, there has never been this much adversity in recruiting. Mustafaj choosing the right fit early, at an academically elite school where she will have the ball in her hands early and often, is a wise and less popular route. Given today’s circumstances, it was a necessary move which saved her from potential uncertainty.