Austin Prep girls basketball has recently been known as home to Fope Ayo, a 6-foot-5 post player and consensus top-50 prospect in the country. Head coach Ushearnda Stroud and her team are eager to make Ayo's senior season count.
To do so, they’ll have to get over the hump they’ve grappled with for the past three seasons since joining NEPSAC.
Austin Prep moved up to NEPSAC Class AA last winter and went 16-9, with notable victories highlighted by a Jan. 15 home win against Wilbraham & Monson. But after losing as a No. 6 seed in the NEPSAC quarterfinals to those same third-seeded Titans, they must prove that they're not only capable of playing with the league’s best teams — but that they can consistently beat them.
With Ayo, plus standout supporting pieces — namely guards Tiffany Burns and Ruby Thompson — Austin Prep thinks it's ready to contend for a title.
“We’re so locked in on our main goal — which is just straight up winning — that our next step is the championship,” Burns said. “We got to the playoffs, we were a more than .500 team — like, that was what we wanted. Now, that next hump is championships.”
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Confidence is key for star center Fope Ayo
Ayo’s height, skill at the rim and defensive prowess have been enough to establish her as a nationally-ranked prospect. And while Ayo's game has certainly developed over the offseason, Stroud pointed out how her confidence has grown, too.
That confidence has made her more vocal, bolstering her presence as a leader for Austin Prep as she and Burns were named team captains.
“I can’t just expect people to do what they need to do—I have to help them with that as well,” Ayo said. “That’s part of my job.”
Ayo’s defensive ability is as important to her game as her offensive production; she was our NEPSAC AA Defensive Player of the Year in addition to an All-Class AA First Team member. She’s a premier shot-blocker and her size does not hinder her mobility, meaning she can stick with smaller players. That’s helped make her a consensus top-10 national recruit at her position despite the fact that she started playing basketball just four years ago.
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“There’s no one she can’t guard on the perimeter,” Stroud said. “She’s (also) fine with you guarding her; she’s used to the physicality.”
As Ayo enters her final season of high school basketball, she is getting closer to making a decision about where she wants to play next, having attracted attention from schools including Miami, Stanford, Michigan, and Florida State.
For now, though, her focus is squarely on the present—on helping Austin Prep to the Class AA championship.
“Our two keywords as a team are resilience and perseverance,” Ayo said. “No matter what people are saying about our team, or what it looks like, or how people are saying about our team going into this season, we know what we’re capable of, and we know how hard we work.”
What's the next level for Tiffany Burns?
As far as second options go, Burns is a pretty great one. The 5-foot-9 point guard was a NEPSAC Class AA honorable mention last season and has Division 1 interest from schools including Boston College, Providence, Siena and Merrimack.
Aside from being elite off the dribble — her pull-up jumper is a threat from almost anywhere on the floor — Burns is reading the court better than she did last season, connecting with cutters and making everyone around her a threat, too.
“I try to take my weaknesses and get them to elevate,” Burns said. “I think last year (it) was definitely decision-making, my outside shooting, being able to score against bigger kids and better kids. So that’s what I’ve been focusing on.”
Burns dove into film during the high school offseason, studying tape extensively.
“If you’re going to be that ACC or SEC guard, then you not only need to know your entire playbook, but you need to be able to scout other teams and know their playbooks, and know their styles of play, and what their options are,” Stroud said. “That’s her next level, because that’s something that a lot of high school kids aren’t thinking about.”
Burns makes one thing clear: she hates losing. But at Austin Prep, multiple players are working toward their own lofty goals. Burns thinks that’s going to make all the difference.
“We all have our own kind of things we’re climbing for,” Burns said. “It makes us so hungry, that every single time we’re in the gym it’s straight work, straight competitiveness, and that’s only going to translate to the games.”
Ruby Thompson leads the breakout potential
Thompson, a sharpshooter and emerging floor general, will play a big role as Austin Prep’s third option this season.
“The thing about her — she’s always gonna run up and down this floor as hard as she can, and she’s gonna shoot the ball whenever she’s open,” Burns said.
Thompson’s quickness allows her to get downhill and finish at the hoop, plus her ability to read angles and her on-ball defense makes her a key piece.
“Knowing that when I’m in the gym, [Ruby’s] in the gym—when I’m working out, she’s working out,” Burns said. “She’s putting in that amount of effort because she wants to be a Division 1 basketball player.”
Stroud says that dream of being a Division 1 player is getting closer and closer to reality as Thompson asserts herself alongside Burns and Ayo.
“She’s really started coming into her own,” Stroud said. “Coaches are calling to talk to Ruby— coaches are coming to see Ruby.”
Austin Prep is a small team, as it has been the past couple of years. Angel Efosa is no longer in the program. Many of the depth pieces are still young, including Ayo's sister Fiyin, a promising eighth-grader. They don’t care, though — they have faith in the combination of Ayo and Burns’ skill and leadership. And despite a short bench, Burns has faith that the roster is special in another way.
“We’re all dogs,” she said.
