Prospect Spotlight: Alie Fulks (2020)
Shawnee Heights 2020 guard Alie Fulks is putting together a strong senior season for the Lady Thunderbirds. At 5’8, Fulks is a strong guard who makes good decisions with the ball and works hard to take good shots within the…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingShawnee Heights 2020 guard Alie Fulks is putting together a strong senior season for the Lady Thunderbirds. At 5’8, Fulks is a strong guard who makes good decisions with the ball and works hard to take good shots within the Heights’ offense.
“I feel like I am good with the ball under pressure and run the offense well, I move well without the ball know when to take shots and when to set up others,” Fulks said. “I am a good on ball defender as well as help defender and I have improved into a reliable good 3 point shooter, can get to the basket using either hand and can finish with both.”
A year ago, Fulks averaged 12 points, made 37 3-pointers and shot 44 percent from behind the arc as Shawnee Heights went 9-12 overall.
“Last school season was sort of a building year for us, we needed people to step up and score the ball,” Fulks said. “Looking back we had so much team growth last season as a whole from beginning to end. We lost to Spring Hill in substate, but this year as a team we believe that we can make a further run to state.
“Personally, last season I think more than anything I gained the confidence offensively that myself and the team and moved into more of a leadership role.”
Fulks doesn’t play travel basketball during the offseason instead focusing on training several times per week, lifting weights and working on conditioning.
She also plays club soccer in the fall and says that has helped her stay in shape and ready for the season.
“Right before the season, there are local leagues to prep for the season with your team, so I was able to do that to prepare with games,” she says.
This season, the Thunderbirds are off to a 2-3 start through the holiday break and says there have been a few games that could have gone either way.
“Every game as a player I try to improve more and more by being a good teammate, being the hardest worker, and letting the game come to me and not forcing anything,” Fulks said. “I feel as a team we have high potential this season to do good things, so I think we just need to keep improving. The game I’m most looking forward to is actually the game right before the break, against Topeka Seaman because we are no longer in the Centennial league anymore and our schools used to have the biggest rivalry with them.”
Fulks says her dad has had the biggest influence on her basketball career to date.
“He always pushed me and he always made me go to these different camps or trainings even if I didn’t want to, but I could just tell he always believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself,” she said. “It wasn’t until a couple years ago where I really gained the confidence that I was good and could be better and I owe that all to him.”
While she isn’t a fan of any particular player, Fulks says she lets the game to her and tries to be her team’s hardest worker.
She recently committed to play at Washburn as a walk-on and earn time with the junior varsity and work her way up from there.
“It was kind of unexpected but I’m really just looking forward to being able to play at the next level and just continue playing in general because it’s been such a big part of my life for 14 years,” she said.