Florida Roundup: News Around Florida Volume 4

Florida Roundup: News Around Florida Volume 4 By Michael Wholey 1/7/21 9:00 AM EST As we head into month three of high school basketball, we will continue to update you of all that is going on in Florida. Here is the Florida Roundup: News Around Florida Volume 4.   College Decisions <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Kayla-Clark-2019-PC-scaled-crop-2410x1583-1609858984-e1609859009542.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-243283 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Kayla-Clark-2019-PC-scaled-crop-2410x1583-1609858984-e1609859009542-300x260.jpg" alt="" width="197" height="170" /></a>2021 Forward [player_tooltip player_id="91539" first="Kayla" last="Clark"] (Miami Central) recently made the decision to verbally commit to Bethune Cookman. Clark was the highest ranked prospect in the 2021 class who had yet to make a decision. In Clark, Bethune Cookman Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis is getting an extremely skilled and versatile post who can play inside and out. She averaged 14.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG as a Junior and was First Team All Dade County.   2021 [player_tooltip player_id="91535" first="Kayla" last="DeHerrera"] recently made the decision to attend Oglethorpe University. The 5’6 guard is a skilled ball handler who has excellent court vision. She is currently averaging 11 PPG for Saint Andrew’s High School out of Boca Raton. Oglethorpe, a division III college in Atlanta, GA, has recruited Florida hard. DeHerrera will join a roster next season that already features seven players from Florida. Katie Williamson (Calvary Christian), Reyna Buggs (City of Life Christian), Debra Buggs (City of Life Christian), Sydni Donovan (Cardinal Newman), Amy Vazques (Lake Mary), Nikki Reed (Seffner Christian), and Taylor Smith (U School) all are members of the Oglethorpe Women’s Basketball team. The team finished 8th in the <a href="http://www.D3hoops.com">D3hoops.com</a> Top 25 rankings and Taylor Smith was named WBCA All-America Honorable mention after averaging 13.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 2.6 APG.   2021 Omega Payton (Santa Fe Catholic / Tampa Thunder) recently verbally committed to Pensacola State College. The 5’7 Senior Guard does it all on the court and is an extremely well-rounded player who is a capable scorer, very good rebounder from the guard spot and does all the little and intangible things that good teams need. She is currently averaging 6.1 PPG, 3.8 APG, 6.1 RPG, and 6.3 SPG for Santa Fe Catholic.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Bailey-Carson-Dyouville-VC-crop-828x544-1609710547.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-242814 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Bailey-Carson-Dyouville-VC-crop-828x544-1609710547-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>2021 5’11 Wing [player_tooltip player_id="151265" first="Bailey" last="Carlson"] (East Ridge HS) recently signed with D’Youville in NY. D’Youville Head Coach Dan Glover is overseeing the transition from being a D2 college to D1 and is making Florida a priority recruiting, having made several trips down to the sunshine state. Look for Carlson to be a hybrid player in college. Coach Glover will be able to move her around to guard, wing, and even forward spots as she has excellent height, length, strength, extremely active on both ends of the floor, and fills up the stat sheet in a variety of areas. She is currently averaging 14.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 3.4 SPG. 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="91547" first="Jamia" last="Nesmith"] (Bishop Kenny / East Coast United) recently verbally committed to the University of Charleston. The 6’0 Wing/Forward is currently having a solid Senior campaign averaging 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds helping Bishop Kenny to an 8-5 record. 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="91558" first="Kailyn" last="Gilbert"] (Seffner Christian / Tampa Thunder) verbally committed to the University of Arizona via social media this week. She had previously narrowed down her recruitment list to a top 8 (Arizona, Virginia, Louisville, Georgia, Ole Miss, Miami, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt) back in November. Gilbert is presently ranked # 5 in the Prep Girls Hoops rankings in the class of 2022 and is a major impact player for Arizona who is super athletic and can score in bunches! https://youtu.be/ZaQFD88uR-o   Transfer News <img class=" wp-image-242811 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/IMG_7656-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="226" height="226" />[player_tooltip player_id="91562" first="Addison" last="Potts"] is back in Florida. Potts, a 2022 guard who is verbally committed to Missouri, was in New York planning on attending Millbrook School. With the season cancelled due to COVID-19 regulations in New York, Potts has enrolled at Seffner Christian and has suited up for the Crusaders left several games. The 5’11 point guard is an immediate impact player and will make a dangerous backcourt joining 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="91558" first="Kailyn" last="Gilbert"] and make Seffner an immediate threat to win the 3A FHSAA State Championship.   Player Statistical Milestones [player_tooltip player_id="91479" first="O’Mariah" last="Gordon"] (Braden River) recently joined the 2K Club in a 72-40 win vs Clearwater where she had 31 points on 8/16 from the field. Gordon is as elite of a scorer as there has been in the history of Florida. She continues to put up big scoring numbers on limited shots and impressive shooting percentages. Gordon is currently averaging 23.8 PPG and is capable of going for 30 or even 40 on any given night.   <img class=" wp-image-242817 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Siarah-Brown-OCP-300x293.jpg" alt="" width="274" height="268" />5’7 Sophomore Guard [player_tooltip player_id="91650" first="Siarah" last="Brown"] (Orlando Christian Prep) has joined the 1,000 point club. The athletic, dynamic 2023 prospect is the team’s 2nd leading scorer averaging 15.8 PPG helping OCP to a 6-4 record to start the season.   2021 5’6 Guard [player_tooltip player_id="220020" first="Shadaria" last="Smith"] (Wekiva HS) scored her 1,000th career point on December 14th vs Colonial HS helping Wekiva to a 59-58 win. Wekiva is currently 10-3 and Smith is a major contributor for the Mustangs, who are always a threat to make a run in Lakeland in 6A.   2021 [player_tooltip player_id="91497" first="Violette" last="Skipworth"] (Pace HS) joined the 1K Club when she scored her 1,000th career point on December 15th in a 48-38 loss to Milton HS. The 5’11 Senior is doing it all for Pace this year as she is the team’s leading scorer at 16/8 PPG and leading rebounder at 7.0 RPG. The Senior recently signed with nationally ranked junior college Florida Southwestern State College.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Sydney-Jackwin-1K-crop-507x333-1609710788.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-242820 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Sydney-Jackwin-1K-crop-507x333-1609710788-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>2022 Sydney Jackwin (Keswick Christian) also scored her 1,000th career point recently. on 12/18/20. The 5’8 Junior combo guard had 19 points on 7/16 shooting in the 55-35 win over Northeast and close to averaging a double-double leading her team in points (14.2) and rebounds (9.7). We will look to continue to cover news all across the state. Our audience supplies us with some of our best information. Keep us updated on Florida news be emailing me at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or DM’ing me through Twitter or Instagram @WholeyPrepHoops.