Player Profile: Ayla Habbal (England)

August 29, 2024

Player Profile: Ayla Habbal (England)

Ayla Habbal participating in Jordan Brand's The One basketball tournament | Various Media | Paris, France | July 27, 2024

Name: Ayla Habbal

Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon

Height: 5-6

Position: Point Guard

High School: City of London Academy

Graduation Class: 2025

Recruiting Email: aylaaaa24@gmail.com

LONDON, ENGLAND (U.K.) -- Ayla Habbal is a 5-foot-6 Point Guard from Beirut, Lebanon. Habbal and her family moved to London when she was 11 years old. She's currently a senior at the City of London Academy, and plays for CoLA in England's Women's Elite Academy Basketball League (WEABL) and Women's National Basketball League D1. Habbal was a member of Great Britain's youth national system in European championships and participated in Jordan Brand's The One tournament in Paris this past summer.

Being in tune with Habbal's game since the spring, there is a full belief that she's one of the best pure point guards in Europe right now. That might sound like a stretch to some, could sound good to others, but trust it when we state that she's the real deal. Habbal is a high IQ point guard with leadership qualities in finding open teammates, creating her shot and can get shifty in the open court playing confidently. In the game where our director, Tyreese Smith, watched the WEABL championship between CoLA and Copleston, Habbal helped guide her team to a 89-84 win while posting a 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds performance to take Finals MVP honors. From then on, we were fully aware of what we were getting into and couldn't let this opportunity slip.

She's a special prospect, who's beginning to receive interest from American schools, but let's cut to the chase and dive deeper into her game.

The RPN caught up with the 2025 prospect on a deep dive of her game, the move to the United Kingdom and her international journey in the hoops world.

Ayla Habbal Breakdown

Tyreese Smith: "Hi Ayla, so for my breakdowns and or evaluations, I love to dive deeper into a player's game. Analyzing the floor and at times the ceiling of what you do best vs. what you need to fine tune for the near future. It's a great way to understand yourself better with the comments from a scout. Let's dive into it though. What are some things that you believe you do best right now? With your strengths."

STRENGTHS

Ball Handling:

Ayla Habbal: "Ball control and dribbling is the first that comes to mind."

Tyreese Smith: "Great first choice to start. I believe ball handling starts the foundation as a basketball player as you need to know how to handle the rock in high pressure situations. In your style of play, you handle the rock at an exceptional level. Nothing too flashy, but nothing conservative as you get downhill with every move while being guarded."

Defense:

Ayla Habbal: "On defense, love to be on the tenacious side of the ball by making my player feel uncomfortable putting pressure on the ball."

Tyreese Smith: "Yes, one of my favorite things that I look for out of prospects is the ability to defend. Whether that is being a hound on the ball, having strong denial in the passing lanes, or being a beast in the paint. You have to be a dawg to survive in the game. One of the things that impressed me the most is having the mental capacity to still defend even if shots aren't falling. Seeing it a few times where you had an error, inside of a turnover or a missed shot, but you got it back in blood still producing on the defensive end. It takes character, heart, but a maturity in being able to navigate through your mistakes."

Leadership Qualities:

Ayla Habbal: "Being a leader. Helping my teammates individually with their struggles, or understanding the plays. I know this is something I take pride in."

Tyreese Smith: "Spot on. Being a leader goes a long way, but even in any sport you participate in, you're either born with it or not. It sounds vague, but I believe that leaders are born, and I mean there are ways to improve or become a leader over time. I know for me, it's hard to say someone is a leader if I'm not there in space 24/7 but seeing your interviews and how you conduct yourself as a person, I believe this is one of your strengths."

Passing Ability:

Ayla Habbal: "With passing, it is important to have a point guard with peripheral vision that sees everything which helps facilitate for teammates."

Tyreese Smith: "I agree. As a PG1, you have to be able to set the tone within the offense. Being able to facilitate, while looking at opportunities to score, it puts you ahead in an era where everyone only looks to get theirs. Seeing how well you handle feeding the open girl, running plays through a shot clock and at times putting on a show bringing a playground game to the court. It's very impressive."

Shooting Ability:

Ayla Habbal: "I believe my shot is very simple, but very effective move that makes it hard to guard."

Tyreese Smith: "With you having a solid foundation in your shot, I wouldn't adjust a thing. Excelling off the catch, going straight up-and-down on your shot, while getting to your high point, is an effective way of shooting at a good clip. Especially being 5-foot-6, you have to be able to explode off your feet to get a shot up. Very well done."

IMPROVEMENTS

Body Language:

Ayla Habbal: "When things don’t go well, I need to keep my head up and focus on the next play."

Tyreese Smith: "I agree, seeing at times where there could have easily been moments where you wanted to crash out. Shots aren't falling, not playing your best or a bad day overall, you have to be able to play through challenges. It's the only way you are going to grow as a player towards the next level."

Endurance:

Ayla Habbal: "As a point guard, I run up and down a lot. Getting pressured a lot, so I need to have good endurance to stay focused in these conditions."

Use of Opposite Hand:

Ayla Habbal: "My left hand needs to be as dominant as my right."

Tyreese Smith: "Pretty self explanatory *laughs*. In all seriousness, yes your left hands has to be up to par with your strong side. I'd recommend building as many reps as possible with your opposite hand, just as much as your strong hand. Working through finishing, ball handling, to even in the weight room, you've got to be able to operate with both hands."

Reaction Time:

Ayla Habbal: "Working on my reaction times. Making sure I'm giving the right pass at the right time. Also, having a quicker reaction on defence, so that a ball handler doesn't get passed me so easily."

Speed/Agility

Ayla Habbal: "Making sure I have quicker feet, lighter body, but to also gain my speed again post injury."

Turnovers:

Ayla Habbal: "I cannot force a pass that isn't there. Hesitations lead to turnovers, especially during traps in a full court press. I've always been taught to, 'fake a pass, to make a pass'. It's an effective way to secure the basketball, while keeping the rock hot. In keeping the offense flowing."

Tyreese Smith: "Spot on. This was my first attempt at a true discussion towards a breakdown, but you seemed to have handled this pretty well. Took much work off of my hands, so I appreciate it. Now, let's move on to the real thing and learn more about you."

Ayla Habbal Interview

Tyreese Smith: "When did you first start playing basketball?"

Ayla Habbal: "I started playing basketball at the age of 9, which at that time, I had a passion for taekwondo and believed that this would be my future career. However, I have always been an athletic person. I was surrounded by retired athletes such as my parents, who both played basketball in my home country of Lebanon when they were younger. One day, I decided to give basketball a try. For my first practice, I showed up rocking a full Lakers jersey and football (soccer) shoes. As soon as I started playing, everything just felt right to me. Even the coaches saw the potential. After that one practice, I have been obsessed with this game ever since."

Tyreese Smith: "I know we touched upon this, but in short summary, how would you describe your game from the skill standpoint?"

Ayla Habbal: "From a skills standpoint, I would describe myself as a shifty guard that likes to create for others. I enjoy dishing out assists, and I know the right time for me to score when the team needs me to. On the defensive end, I am very confident with my ability to contain my player, and I am not afraid to guard the best player on the opposing team. Also, I believe that my midrange has improved a lot in the last season. It made a huge difference for me as it makes the game so much simpler just by reading what the defence gives you."

Tyreese Smith: "You've had both experiences in Lebanon and England, but how was the transition to the U.K. a few years back?"

Ayla Habbal: "Yes, I moved to London at the age of 11 about six years ago. I first moved to a new bilingual French school. There was a big change in terms of culture at a school that were full of a lot of international students. Whereas in Lebanon the majority of them were Arabs. I got to learn many different cultures and that made me change my perspective in different ways."

(2): "In terms of basketball, it was hard to find a team as England was not very popular for Basketball. It was a big change because it was Lebanon’s most played sport. I eventually found a team, but was very shy and didn’t talk much as I wasn’t very fluent in English. But the coaches helped and understood me as well as my teammates."

Tyreese Smith: "You've accomplished a lot within this past year. How was this past season with COLA?"

Ayla Habbal: "It was a tough year for me because I struggled with an injury for eight months which made me stay out most of the regular season. The last 3 months were the toughest. I was demotivated, and felt like it was never going to end. Fortunately, I was surrounded by really caring, and helpful people such as my coaches and teammates who consistently checked up on me. I got back when the playoffs started and I was worried about losing my confidence, being slow on court and getting tired easily. Thankfully my love for the game grew stronger and I was an added value to the team. We won all four leagues, and I got MVP in one of the leagues."

Tyreese Smith: "Having the chance to compete in Paris this past summer, had to be one of the basketball memories to date. From your words though, how was the experience playing in the Jordan Global Tournament?"

Ayla Habbal: "It was an amazing experience overall. It was a new environment as there was a lot of media following us. I got the chance to compete against the best players around the world, which helped me recognise what I need to improve on. To become the best and know where I stand. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the result I wanted but the experience was great."

Tyreese Smith: "You’re still at a very early stage of your career. What kinds of things are you doing to make yourself the best player you can be?"

Ayla Habbal: "I would put my answer into four parts with the physical, mental, leadership and the educational aspect."

(2): "Physically I do strength training on my own and the team’s program. I also do plyometrics three times a week to improve my explosiveness, and quickness as it is important to have as a guard. I do 100 push ups as my daily routine."

(3): "Mentally I have worked and still working on my mental fitness and resilience. Last year was an important year for me to learn how to overcome mistakes and to bounce back from them. Working on limiting turnovers and through missed shots. To keep my head high."

(4): "Leadership wise, I am working on owning my own leadership style, which is really involving every teammate on her own. Help them find solutions to their problems. But, mostly leading by example in training, discipline, nutrition and hard work."

(5): "By learning the game, I am consistently watching my own film and other professional games at a high level, within all leagues. Such as Euroleague, college basketball, high school circuit and the british basketball scene."

Tyreese Smith: "Which basketball player is your favorite and why?"

Ayla Habbal: "I have different favourite basketball for different leagues. For the NBA, it’s Kyrie Irving, and for Euroleaugue it’s Facundo Campazzo and Shane Larkin. Even though they are different player, they have a very similar playing style and also match mine too. One thing they have in common is there midrange shot. This is very important as they are the smaller players in the court, and have to play smart. Another thing that I love about their game is the way they can play off screens. They are very smart with the way they play off what the defence gives them and punishes them for it. There is so much more to mention, but for the most important ones their speed and explosiveness is incredible. It doesn’t make them seem small compared to others as they make the most impact, and take control of the game."

Tyreese Smith: "Who would you consider your role model?"

Ayla Habbal: "My main role model is David Goggins. About a year ago, I saw him go viral on social media and it got me interested at knowing who he is and what he does. I recently bought a book, 'Can’t hurt me', that is written by him explaining his childhood life story and how he grew up. I like David Goggins for his mentality, and the discipline he has to become the best version of himself. He talks about how we shouldn’t rely only on motivation because it’s a short term feeling, and won’t be enough to reach our end goals in the long term. Therefore he explains that sometimes we need to do things even though we are, 'not in the mood'. Another athlete that I look up to is (Christiano) Ronaldo. I really respect him on how he treats his body by feeding it the right foods, and recovers by sleeping and napping a lot, which improves your longevity and muscle recovery."

Tyreese Smith: "What do you believe are the greatest challenges most players are facing today?"

Ayla Habbal: "I think social media is a big challenge that a lot of top athletes are facing today. This is because the media most of the time mediates stories and can make the athlete look either look bad, or good as it is controlled by the producer. This can lead to the athlete receiving hate from fans, which can ruin their image and reputation in the long run. This will affect the athletes mental health, and can affect their performance on the court."

Tyreese Smith: "What is one important lesson you've learned from your time as an athlete?"

Ayla Habbal: "Enjoying the journey rather than just the destination. Enjoying every moment of the process because you will never know how long it will last for, or when it will end."

Tyreese Smith: "You will be pretty busy again soon, but what are some goals and the outlook heading into next season?"

Ayla Habbal: "As I was injured for most of last season, having to play multiple games a week at a consistent basis is going to be hard. Adjust and balance my time between school and basketball. But, for my goals, I want to help lead my team to win all leagues such as U18, WEABL U19 play and D1 women. I am hoping to be captain of the team. To help my teammates on and off the court as I am aiming to become more vocal, and getting out of my comfort zone."

Tyreese Smith: "Thank you Ayla for taking the summer to help me put this together. A great way to end my summer series. Do you have any words of encouragement or motivation for people? Any last words?"

Ayla Habbal: "One thing I recently read. It was after a hard practice, my body was sore and I had a strength session next. I wasn’t motivated to do it, but as I was walking into the sport centre I read a quote on the wall saying 'Discipline makes today hard, but it makes tomorrow easy.' Now, every time I don’t feel like doing something, I remember this saying, and it helps me push through my tough workouts knowing that tomorrow will be easier. Thank you for having me!"

Ayla Habbal - Class of 2025