Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational Recap

Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational Recap By Michael Wholey 1/8/21 9:00 AM EST The brand-new Wiregrass Sports Complex in Pasco County just outside Tampa was host to the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational shortly after Christmas. Kudos to Seffner Christian Head Coach Joe Cooper for pulling off this event in a challenging time for any event operator. Coach Cooper has established the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational as one of the top events in Florida and attracted a number of teams from out of state to compete against some of Florida’s top teams. With the current COVID pandemic, the event was limited to just Florida teams and Coach Cooper had the challenge of a number of counties banning teams from participating just weeks and in some cases days before event started. None the less, the 2020 Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational went off shortly after the Christmas holiday hosting just over 30 teams, dividing them into 5 brackets.   Champions Central Pointe Academy (Regional) - Caladesi Island Bracket Newsome – Anna Maria Island Bracket Southeast – Siesta Key Bracket Central Pointe Academy (National) – St Pete Beach Bracket Braden River – Clearwater Beach Bracket   Best Game Braden River defeated HB Plant 6-58 in the championship game of the Clearwater Beach bracket. In what was advertised as a battle between two of the state’s top 2021 prospects Florida State signee [player_tooltip player_id="91479" first="O’Mariah" last="Gordon"] and Vanderbilt signee [player_tooltip player_id="91489" first="Kendal" last="Cheesman"], it was unsigned 2021 guard [player_tooltip player_id="91507" first="Cheyenne" last="Stubbs"] from Braden River who was the game’s best player and ultimately led Braden River to the victory with her sharp shooting finishing with 28 points. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Braden-River-IMG_7614-crop-1151x756-1609733847.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-242906 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Braden-River-IMG_7614-crop-1151x756-1609733847-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="538" height="353" /></a> Best Team Central Pointe Academy defeated Cardinal Mooney quite handedly in the championship game 56-20 in the St Pete Beach bracket. They defeated Fort Myers 45-38 in the quarterfinals, then followed that up with a 49-40 win over Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate. Ultimately, I would like to have seen them in the Clearwater Beach bracket and match up against Plant, Carrollwood Day, Braden River, Florida State University High, Gulf Coast and Westminster Academy but their three day performance was solid and their roster is impressive. Adding into the fact that they brought two teams and their second team also won their bracket and they played the event without their 6’5 2021 post from India [player_tooltip player_id="219992" first="Harsimran" last="Kaur"], it is obvious that Central Pointe Academy is going to be a major player in the Florida prep hoops scene for years to come. Head Coach Wesley Arocho has established a program that is young and deep with a ton of length and skill. [player_tooltip player_id="219993" first="Silkiari" last="Vazquez"], [player_tooltip player_id="219994" first="Naylee" last="Cortes"], and [player_tooltip player_id="219996" first="Daniela" last="Gonzalez"] sticking together for the next two years is dangerous! <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Central-Pointe-Team-2-crop-1714x1125-1609733900.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-242908 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Central-Pointe-Team-2-crop-1714x1125-1609733900-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="586" height="386" /></a>   TBCI All-Tournament Team By Class (Chosen by TBCI event staff) 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="91489" first="Kendal" last="Cheesman"] – Plant [player_tooltip player_id="220031" first="Amarie" last="Goodwin"] – Brooks DeBartolo [player_tooltip player_id="91479" first="O’Mariah" last="Gordon"] – Braden River [player_tooltip player_id="91495" first="Taviyanna" last="Habib"] – Armwood [player_tooltip player_id="145094" first="Nyla" last="Jean"] - Plant Kayla McDuffie – Southeast Mia Nicholson – Wesley Chapel [player_tooltip player_id="91524" first="Janay" last="Outten"] – Fort Myers [player_tooltip player_id="220017" first="Marinique" last="Reddin"] – Wharton [player_tooltip player_id="91507" first="Cheyenne" last="Stubbs"] – Braden River [player_tooltip player_id="91499" first="Emma" last="Wallhoff"] – Westminster Academy Victoria Zidor – Cocoa   2022 [player_tooltip player_id="91581" first="Jaela" last="Davis"] – Brooks DeBartolo [player_tooltip player_id="91567" first="Olivia" last="Delancy"] – Carrollwood Day School [player_tooltip player_id="91558" first="Kailyn" last="Gilbert"] – Seffner Christian [player_tooltip player_id="219996" first="Daniela" last="Gonzalez"] – Central Pointe Academy Kaylee Kehler – Lakewood Ranch [player_tooltip player_id="91556" first="Tonie" last="Morgan"] – Florida State University High School Halei Murrell – Lenard Melahnie Perry – Carrollwood Day School [player_tooltip player_id="91562" first="Addison" last="Potts"] – Seffner Christian [player_tooltip player_id="91564" first="Jordan" last="Rosier"] – Florida State University High School Sydney Sandoff – Steinbrenner Guiliana Sepulveda – Central Pointe Academy [player_tooltip player_id="219993" first="Silkiari" last="Vazquez"] – Central Pointe Academy   2023 Tyja Bean – Spruce Creek [player_tooltip player_id="91637" first="Jordyn" last="Byrd"] – Cardinal Mooney [player_tooltip player_id="91658" first="Olivia" last="Davis"] – Cardinal Mooney Tyra Kennedy – Hillsborough Maggie Lauber – Durant [player_tooltip player_id="166163" first="Madelyn" last="Leslie"] – Gulf Coast   High School Duo’s Good High School teams have two really good players where the great teams have 3 or more. A number of teams had very impressive duo’s. Here are some of the top ones that stood out.   [player_tooltip player_id="91479" first="O’Mariah" last="Gordon"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91507" first="Cheyenne" last="Stubbs"] – Braden River Gordon is the headliner as she is signed to Florida State and is the reigning 2x Gatorade Florida Player of the Year but Stubbs is making the biggest impact transferring back to Braden River after being at Sarasota last season. Gordon and Stubbs are averaging 40+ points per game and capable of going for 50 or even 60+ combined any night!   [player_tooltip player_id="91489" first="Kendal" last="Cheesman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="145094" first="Nyla" last="Jean"] – Plant Cheesman is headed to Vanderbilt and Jean is headed to Georgia State next season. Both schools are getting skilled players that play hard and very unselfish. Plant Head Coach Carrie Mahon does a great job building a system around these two and filling in the roles. Their selfless attitudes and solid leadership are fun to watch and you can tell they have played together for quite some time.   [player_tooltip player_id="166163" first="Madelyn" last="Leslie"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91571" first="Katie" last="Ambrose"] – Gulf Coast Skilled perimeter players who played well throughout the weekend. Ambrose is an extension of the coach on floor and the little engine that makes the Gulf Coast train go. She is exceptional with the ball in her hands, pushing in transition, and finding open players for easy buckets. Leslie helps space the floor and knocks down open 3s from anywhere. Add 2022 6’1 Forward [player_tooltip player_id="91599" first="Reese" last="Tremitiere"] into the mix, when all three are playing well, the Sharks can take down just about any team in the state.   [player_tooltip player_id="91658" first="Olivia" last="Davis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91637" first="Jordyn" last="Byrd"] – Cardinal Mooney The best 2023 tandem is as good as there is in the state and flying a bit under the radar. The Sophomore pair is averaging close to 30 points per game. Add in Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="221699" first="Kennedy" last="McClain"] and this could be the state’s top team in the next 2-3 years.   [player_tooltip player_id="91558" first="Kailyn" last="Gilbert"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91562" first="Addison" last="Potts"] – Seffner Christian Potts has been committed to Missouri since 8th grade and Gilbert recently released a list of her top 8 schools back in November (Arizona, Virginia, Louisville, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Miami, and Mississippi State). The pair is still getting used to playing with each other and the rest of their Seffner Christian teammates as both were not with the team last year but the two are as talented of a backcourt as there is in the state and if they can figure it out by playoff time, they can lead Seffner to a FHSAA State Championship in 3A.   [player_tooltip player_id="91556" first="Tonie" last="Morgan"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91564" first="Jordan" last="Rosier"] – Florida State University High School Morgan is one of the country’s top guard and Rosier is headed to South Alabama next year. The two play exceptionally well together and Morgan is just flat out ridiculously good. She has a very rare combination of athleticism, skill, and basketball IQ. She is arguably the state’s top college prospect regardless of class.   [player_tooltip player_id="91499" first="Emma" last="Wallhoff"] and Lena Girardi – Westminster Academy Wallhoff is headed to Southern Miss next year and Girardi is just an 8th grader but her skill and scoring ability are hard to ignore. Head Coach Shannon Wallhoff (Emma’s mom) encourages team play, sharing of the ball, and making the extra pass but might need to look at making sure these two take some more shots because when they are hitting from the outside, it is scary and they can put points up in a hurry!   [player_tooltip player_id="91481" first="Chaniya" last="Clark"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91524" first="Janay" last="Outten"] – Fort Myers Davis and Byrd were the 2nd best guard / post matchup to Outten and Clark. Clark in my opinion is the state’s most under rated player as she has a rare combination of agility and skill combined with excellent footwork and great hands! Outten is a downhill guard who pushes ball in transition and gets to the rim. The team needs 1-2 more players to make a run in Lakeland as they have in the past but if Clark and Outten got it going they surely can compete with the state’s top teams.   Michael Wholey is the Senior Scout of Prep Girls Hoops Florida. You can reach him at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or on Twitter <a href="http://www.x.com/WholeyPrepHoops">@WholeyPrepHoops</a> and Instagram <a href="http://www.Instagram.com/WholeyPrepHoops">@WholeyPrepHoops</a>.