High School Scouting Report: Colonial High School

<em>The High School season has kicked off.  We will check in with teams all around the state with an outlook on their season and a breakdown of some of their top players.  This week we take a look at Colonial High School in Orlando, FL.</em> <hr /> <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Team Outlook</span></strong> Head Coach <strong>Cindy Richardson</strong> enters her 17th season with Colonial, and she picked up her 300th win earlier this season with a victory over Gainesville. In the 19-20 season, the Grenadiers finished 19-10, placing them as runner-up in their District last year. Three Juniors &amp; five sophomores return with the addition of four freshman to round out this Senior-free roster. This young but experienced team is full of hungry competitors who know how to win at high levels. They have players that play summer ball for CFE, Hoop Dreams Elite, and Orlando Basketball Club. The future is very bright for Colonial. Early in the season, the Grenadiers sit at 5-0 with impressive wins over Raines and Jones. They have a very balanced scoring attack with 8 players who are averaging over 4 points a game and only one player averaging double digits (Milan Santos - 10.2 ppg). 2024 Carmen Richardson currently leads the team in rebounds (5 rpg) and assists (3.4 apg). Their next three games will be no cakewalk as they face Timber Creek, Montverde, and Wekiva. They will also play some tough teams come tournament time as well as having Central Pointe and Lake Highland Prep on the schedule down the road. <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Returners:</strong></span> #11 <strong>Milan Santos</strong> (G, 2023) is a quick and shifty guard who can navigate through pressure defenses to find her open teammate with ease. She has a knock down 3-point shot and is currently the team’s leading scorer as mentioned above with 10.2 ppg. #2 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="166212" first="Sophya" last="Barreiro"]</strong> (PG, 2023) is a feisty and aggressive point guard who refuses to lose. Her ability to control the offense and make things happen is undeniable. She has top-notch ball handling skills and finishes at the rim, landing her as last year’s top scorer &amp; assist leader as a freshman. Her defensive energy and court awareness also resulted in her having the most steals and forced turnovers. #3 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="220012" first="Camila" last="Zbynski"]</strong> (PG, 2022) is a calm, cool, and collected point guard with a very high IQ who runs the offense with poise. She finds the open girl and can drain it from deep. Crashing the boards is a strength of hers which resulted in being last year’s leading rebounder. #22 <strong>Jaiden Ross</strong> (F, 2022), #23 <strong>Alyssa Saavedra</strong> (G, 2022), #5 <strong>Anaya Brown</strong> (G, 2023), #24 <strong>Brielle Marlow</strong> (F, 2023) &amp; #32 <strong>Shayla Sandiford</strong> (C, 2023) round out the returners as vital pieces to this year’s roster as each one contributes crucial minutes with their aggressive and defensive tenacity. <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Newcomers:</strong></span> #10 <strong>Carmen Richardson</strong> (G, 2024) is an all-around competitor. Her high IQ and drive teamed with her ability to play the 1-4 makes her a consistent threat on both ends of the court. She scores inside and out, and she is a defensive problem all over the court. #21 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="219929" first="Raeanne" last="Eccleston"]</strong> (F, 2024) is a long athletic forward who runs the floor like a guard but dominates the paint. She can pull out and hit the mid-range jumper and attacks the basket with dominance. Her defensive presence in the paint changes shots and she clears the boards on both ends. #1 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="221840" first="Dezmariah" last="Soto"]</strong> (G, 2024) &amp; #13 <strong>Camryn Patterson</strong> (SF, 2024) will both make major contributions this season as a limitless range shooter and a strong swing slasher, respectively. As defenders, both already have and will continue to lock up their opponents and make game-changing plays.