Impact Players at Florida Prospects Thanksgiving Classic in Orlando (Part One)

Florida Prospects hosted a Thanksgiving tournament that lasted two days and featured 19 teams in total this weekend. I attended the event all day on Saturday to see 16 of those teams play at Dr. Phillips HS. Here are some of the top players I saw in the first half of the day in Orlando: &nbsp; <em>Game 1 - Father Lopez defeats Boone to move to 5-0 (54-40)</em> <strong>Khadija Faye 6'4 Sr. - </strong>She was the best player of the morning session as she came alive in the second half to lead the Green Wave to a 20-8 outscoring of the Braves in the third quarter. The first half was all Boone, but Khadija lifted her team with her shot blocking and rebounding ability against a smaller Boone team. Khadija, a Texas Tech commit, finished with 16 points in a strong victory for her Daytona Beach team. <strong>Gabby Watson 5'6 Sr. -</strong> She is the best guard on this team and showed it on Saturday. Gabby contributed 16 points with 9 of those coming from behind the arc. I like her game and think she has the skill and IQ to play at the next level. <strong>Tiera White 6'1 Sr. -</strong> TT did not have her strongest offensive game, but she had some BIG blocks and rebounds that helped secure the win after their impressive second half. The two bigs for Father Lopez were just too much to handle for Boone. Tiera, a Quinnipiac commit, ended with 9 points in the victory. &nbsp; <strong>Maddy Morales 5'7 Sr. -</strong> She was the best shooter in this game and played a very strong first half. Madeline is committed to Florida Southern Conference and you can certainly see why. Her shooting was big, but she also moved well off of the ball and played tough defense. <strong>Leilani Guion 5'9 Sr. - </strong>Another Senior in this game that possesses a lot of skill. She was the best athlete in this one, and also the best ball handler. She scored 6 points, but assisted on a lot of the other baskets with her ability to drive and create. Leilani will continue her basketball career at Eastern Florida State College. &nbsp; <em>Game 2 - Raines gives Colonial their first loss (50-43)</em> <strong>Nyla Allen 5'7 Sr. -</strong> She was the best player in this game and took over after a slow start for the Vikings. One of the few seniors in this one, Nyla put up 23 points on strong free throw shooting and the ability to get around any opponent with her speed and handles. They simply couldn't stop her in this scrappy matchup. &nbsp; <strong>Milan Santos Fr. -</strong> This Colonial team is very young compared to Raines who has a nice group of upperclassmen. The top 3 players for the Grenadiers are Freshman who are going to learn a ton this season. Milan was the most impressive for me even though she did not lead the team is scoring with 6 of her 10 coming for the charity stripe. She is small, but I think there is some potential with this team consisting of Milan, Sophya Barreiro, and Anaya Brown. &nbsp; <em>Game 3 - Seffner Christian dominates Haines City (79-59)</em> <strong>CC Mays 5'7 Sr</strong>. <strong>-</strong> Triple-double alert! CC had 19 points, 17 boards, and 10 assists in a message sending win. She didn't miss a free throw and did just about everything right. CC, a Marshall commit, is tough to stop when she drives to the hoop, and she also hit a couple threes to cap off her big day. <strong>KK Davis 5'7 Sr. -</strong> As one of the two Western Carolina commits at this tournament, KK is one of the best passers in the entire state. She scored 10 points and always assists on a big chunk of the Crusaders buckets in each game. She also racks up a lot of steals that turn into offensive output for Seffner. <strong>Chimera Iloanya 6'0 Jr. - </strong>I think her goal is to bank-in a three pointer at each game I attend. As the only impactful post player for this team, she carries her weight as she added 15 points in this one. Her mid-range game is fantastic and she can even score from behind the arc with a great looking shot. I have to imagine she is on a lot of college's watch lists. <strong>Kali Barber 5'7 Sr. -</strong> Another Senior on this squad who is committed to play at the next level at Maine Maritime Academy. I love the energy she brings to this team and the scoring when she needs to. Kali had 11 points and is a quality shooter on this balanced team. <strong>Nini Davenport 5'5 Fr. - </strong>The best shooter of the early session, without a question. Nini had 19 points on six 3's. She was hitting from DEEP. One of the best shooting strokes/forms I have seen from this class of 2023 shooter who puts it up in rhythm and knows her role as their shooter. &nbsp; <strong>Jasmine Edwards 6'1 Sr.</strong> <strong>-</strong> The Hornets were very shorthanded with only 6 players, so Jasmine did not see the bench very often. She put up a lot of shots, but made the most of them by scoring 33 points. Jasmine is a scorer, through and through, and she can do it at all three levels. She will play her college ball at Jackson State. <strong>Jada Garbutt 6'2 Sr. - </strong>Haines City didn't do a very good job of getting Jada involved, so she only finished with 7 points in this one. Jada, a Palm Beach Atlantic commit, has a great frame and is a talented athlete who can get up for a rebound on either end. The Hornets will need to work on their chemistry and get her involved if they want to be successful against quality teams like Seffner. &nbsp;