It’s Jazmin Carrasco’s junior year in prep 2017 and she’s ballin out at my old alma mater, Ventura High, draining shots, driving the lane on anybody in her way.

Flash to my cranium, E-Woods, does Jazmin have what it takes to make that D1 college hoop squad? My mind does the calculations, she kind of short at 5-4 and anything but strong. But her ace up the sleeve?

This girl loves this game with all her heart. Jazzy, as her friends call her, is madly and deeply infatuated with the game. Watch her play just once and you’ll see that she’s utterly all about playing the right way. She passes the rock, gives that in yo grill defense.

So in 2017 as I look to the heavens, I ask the basketball gods, “Will Jazzy play D1?” She’s got a shot I told myself.

Want to really know Jazzy? Rewind to her being just 5 years old, that’s when the love for hoop sparked heavy in her heart when her dad Benny put a basketball in her little hand.

Jazzy’s whole fam, that’s some big time cheerleading going on. At games they have jerseys on that sport their daughters name, they are the most supportive fans a kid could ask for.

Jazzy’s childhood? The whole fam watched Lakers games on TV, Kobe is her inspiration fosho. As a youngster, Jazzy would easily beat the junior high kids at her local neighborhood school.

But a moment of truth struck her down like a lightening bolt, a smoky bolt of destiny and she cried when she found out that she wasn’t great compared to other kids from all over other parts of the city, the county.

If you don’t venture outside your little world, the comp will let you know real quick. Jazzy cried hard, fought back the frustration of getting that hoop beat down when she tried out for the vaunted Team 805.

It was epiphany time as she realized she’d have to get crafty, slick, and learn to outwork and just out shoot the comp if she wanted to step her game up in AAU.

Lucky for Jazz, she met that dude, master trainer, coach, mind unlocker of the highest order. He is the singular mentor of a generation in Ventura County, the one and only George Albanez who founded Team 805.

I’ll let her explain, “I thought I was ‘all that’ in games as a kid, better than everyone until I started to play for Team 805. I realized everyone was way better than me. I realized that I was going to need to start giving 200% more to try to be best.

“George Albanez was so great for me. He was tough on me because he truly cares. Through all the tears I found a way to prove I belonged. I learned in prep to help my teammates get going, like Aubrey Knight who now plays at Colorado.

“After graduating Ventura High, I had the biggest decision - to pick a great coach, that good dude to put in my life to help this dream of playing for a D1, nothing less would do. So I picked Kenny Plummer, his Moorpark team on fire, full of joy, great vibe.

“I chose picking Moorpark even if it meant commuting 1.5 hours a day. I lived across the street from Ventura College but my destiny lay in putting my faith in Kenny Plummer. He was that difference maker for me and for many.

“I could trust him to help my dreams come true. He went all in to help me grow as a player and person. Kenny became my personal fitness trainer and I totally changed my eating habits in college. Coach Kenny and I worked out 4 times a week at 24 Hour Fitness.

“I gained 15 lbs of muscle which I needed to take contact at the college level. I gained speed, confidence and IQ with Kenny. He saw that my heart burned to play D1, that I really wanted to shut up all the haters that said I couldn’t make it. ‘Short girl, soft girl.’ they would call me.

“I was on this mission to be a D1 player, it was very personal to me. It was the biggest choice of my life to attend Moorpark and it’s exceeded my expectations of how great I hoped the ride would be!”

#can’t stop, won’t stop

Fast forward to Jazzy’s first year after prep and you see this transformation of a killa begin as Jazz touches down at Moorpark Junior College.

What did Jazz accomplish at Moorpark?

She blew up the Cali JC scene by being a dead eye 3 point killa threat, shot an eye popping 41% from behind the arc. 2nd in the state for made 3’s. She averaged 17 ppg and like 4 treys a game.

Jazz set 23 different Moorpark school records and earned all state JC recognition.

Jazzy combined with her great friend Bree Calhoun and from day 1 together they were close and on fire to show everyone topnotch achievement. These girls weren’t on 1, they were on 10.

Jazz appreciates and feeds off her best bud Bree.

How dope were they in college? Like D-Wade and LeBron did to NBA teams playing together at Miami, Bree and Jazzy would burn and torch down any and all that stood in their way in their journey together at Moorpark!

I shake my head as I think of how Bree and Jazz had way too much fun, a pure thrill to watch as they almost went unbeaten in 2 years. They remind me of that Snoop Dogg rap song Murder was the case that they gave me!

These two would devise secret foot taps, dance to each other’s rhythm in game. You see Jazz splash a 3 pointer, both girls would then bump shoulders, fist, pow handshake time.

Bree would drive the lane for an easy deuce, Jazz would give her this crazy tap, tap of the foot dance mid court. That’s some dope girls only club ish.

Jazz and ALL her Moorpark teammates? Beyond amazing to behold.

Why will Jazz always stay in my heart, in many others’ hearts? She’s a monster. 100.

My guy Mark Jackson recently asked me to define what a monster player is. I told M-Jackson “A monster gets their own game off, a monster will win by any means necessary, and makes other players around them the monster they need to be!”

Jazzy making her D1 dream come true isn’t 1/2 the story.

It seemed to me that Jazzy’s hunger to make that D1, it was contagious. Her teammate and friend Brittany Van Buren had played D3 ball at Whitman College in Washington during Jazzy’s freshman year.

Brit saw how dope the Moorpark ride was and switched to Moorpark this past season, Jazzy so supportive. Brit then earned a D1 scholly from Eastern Washington after playing for Moorpark.

How dope is that for Jazz to not only make her own D1 dream come true, but grind, collab, and help your teammate live out their D1 dream? One word. Special.

Even Jazzy’s prep and college teammate Barbara Rangel, who is now playing for Hawaii, told me playing with Jazz makes you a better person and player.

Helping make others look good in game doesn’t end with Brit. Jasmine Nichols of Oxnard High, I sense will make a D1 scholly goal a reality after balling with Jazzy this past year.

The same with Oxnard’s Myesha Lumas who is headed to ball at Moorpark JC next year and could very well be a future D1 scholly player following in Jazzy’s footsteps.

What is Jazzy’s legacy? She set the tone, put her JC on the map, set forth a blueprint on how to dream that D1 dream from sleepy ol’ Ventura County.

I’m often asked by friends, “Didn’t you go to Ventura College? You talk about the epic men’s teams coached by Phil Mathews. Didn’t you play with and against great dudes like Ced Ceballos to James Ennis who span from the 1980’s till just recently. You speak highly of Ventura College’s men squad.”

Yes I say, and so what’s the point I ask them?

My friends ask why don’t I support the Ventura College women’s college squad. I tell them and my reason might be controversial but I care about kids in the country. And kids that play JC ball I care about as much as a Kindergarten kid I might be teaching.

I have strong feelings and wouldn’t recommend my worst enemy’s kid to play on the Ventura College women’s team. Real talk. Young kids have an urban slang term that says it all, “IDFWU.”

That sums it up for how I feel about Ventura College Women’s coaches. Yes, there are 3-4 kids that play for the Ventura College Pirates that I love and appreciate, so it’s not the players, it’s the coaching.

I tell my friends I was a Ventura College Pirate but my heart lately has been a Moorpark Raider after watching Jazzy’s Moorpark team annihilate and beat down VC for the past few seasons, winning every game by 20, 30, 40 points per contest.

I had to get that out because I define myself by celebrating pro positive people who don’t hold out a kids recruitment letter, then screw them over in transferring. Young kids who are naive at age 18 shouldn’t have a bunch of shady stuff done to them, feel me?

The biggest compliment I can give Jazzy’s teams is that they are so fun to watch. I never thought I’d love watching JC hoop in 2020 as much as watching the Ced Ceballos 80’s era teams but I do in Moorpark’s case. I’m proud I used to teach with Ced’ mom Francine in South Central LA in the mid 90’s. Facts!

Sacramento State is getting more than a 3.92 stellar student out of JC with J-Carrasco, who will be a communications major. They are getting a winner, a believer who spreads the joy.

Jazz isn’t afraid to sweat, she put up 5 rebounds a game in JC along with averaging 5 assists per contest. That is remarkable because I know girls that are 6 foot that don’t get 5 rebounds a game.

I’ve never seen Jazz outside of basketball without a smile on her face. She’s all about making others totally happy around her, she’s that bright ray of light and energy.

Jazz dreams of having a career in broadcasting after college hoops, like my girl Jordan Canada is doing now. Jazz has swag like J-Canada.

Jazzy is that appreciative person who had great and tough coaches who put much time and effort into her, like Ann Larson of Ventura High. Jazzy told me about all those zig-zag drills in prep that Ann had her do, and the meticulous post passing in prep that translated into college.

Jazzy’s cousin Jacob Alexis is a personal trainer in Colorado and would invite her out summers to grind, Coach Plummer of Moorpark had Jazzy pumping iron 4 days a week, constantly building up her body and mind.

How does Jazzy repay that?

Just as her idol growing up, Kobe Bryant would do - give back, help that next generation. Jazzy trains for free this Balboa Middle School 8th grader from Ventura named Kayla.

Jazzy? She learned to be that “lil cold train that could” and defied the odds of a small guard making it big. She pays it forward like her parents taught her, to be real to the game of basketball, be real to the game of life.

I’ve come full circle in saying I wondered in 2017 if Jazzy as a junior would be a D1 player. If I had gotten to know Jazzy better before her junior year, I would’ve looked into her eyes and seen the determination and would have never questioned her resolve that would carry her to achieving that D1 goal.

It’s not for E-Woods to contemplate, silly rabbit, it’s for a kid to grab destiny by the throat. Shout out your name to the basketball gods, scream to them and say “I’m ready for all the smoke you offer, throw the kitchen sink at me. I will make these goals come true.”

With Jazmin Carrasco, it was fated, written in the stars all this time. She chose to believe, chose to put in the work to go down as being a JC legend and now she’s on to keep writing her book at Sac St.

I appreciate Jazzy, she’s more than a friend, she’s someone I look up to for a variety of reasons.

Her friends call her “The Lone Wolf” because she’s on this amazing path, walking alone to just be dope. She might be a self described homebody, hardly had enough time for her boyfriend in college.

But she made good on that promise to herself and that made all the difference for this lil cold train that could. 100%.