First Coast Basketball Media Day Pt 2

The High School Media Day was a blast in Jacksonville this past week. The excitement was in the air as the players stood in front of television cameras,  behind microphones, and on the side of their teammates. Each player represented their school and spoke with great confidence.  Some even created bulletin board material for their opponents to use later this season. In this report, we look at  District 1 – 7A and how reclassifications and player movement have created parity and could play a huge part in who ultimately walks away with the District title this upcoming season. <strong>District 1- 7A</strong> Oakleaf, Mandarin, Sandalwood, and Bartram Trail are the returning teams from last season and Creekside is the new team in the District. Nease moved down a Class and Flagler Palm Coast was moved to District 2 – 7A . <strong><img class="wp-image-343381 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/20211019_101401-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="134" height="238" />Oakleaf</strong> was the District winner last year and was a unanimous selection to repeat the feat this year.  But, when [player_tooltip player_id="91651" first="Taliah" last="Scott"] transferred to Saint John Country Day, it reduced Oakleaf’s chances of repeating down a notch and raised everyone else’s chance to win the district.  Oakleaf is still a very good team and despite losing Scott, they still could be the team to beat. They still have two elite players on their roster in  2019  District player of the year Kayla Turner and the talented [player_tooltip player_id="91660" first="Fantasia" last="James"].    They also picked up a formidable guard in Kamiya Jones who should give  Oakleaf an extra scorer to make up some of the scoring void left by the departure of [player_tooltip player_id="91651" first="Taliah" last="Scott"].  At High school Media Day, it was apparent that Oakleaf is confident that they are still the team to beat in this competitive district. &nbsp; <strong><img class="wp-image-344043 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/20211019_100011-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="111" height="197" />Bartram Trail</strong> has a very good duo in [player_tooltip player_id="91656" first="Aja" last="Pollard"] and [player_tooltip player_id="145089" first="Dyllan" last="Hanna"] who has committed to FAU. Hanna is one of the most dominant players on the First Coast and Pollard one of the most Athletic. These two players will carry most of the load for Bartram,  but will need contributions from Junior guard Cierra Watson, Freshmen forward Kendall Kain, and  Freshman guard Sarah Bischoff . &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong><img class=" wp-image-344048 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/20211019_102420-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="112" />Mandarin</strong> was well represented at Media Day.  Mandarin’s three-sport athlete, Ellie Jackson made her 4th appearance to High School Media day and left no doubt that Mandarin’s first goal is to win District and then try and go deep into the playoffs. Jackson’s confidence is fueled by the fact that the Mustangs return 4 Seniors and a talented group of underclassmen, including Nykeria Thomas and [player_tooltip player_id="248287" first="Kiyana" last="Hunter"].  Fellow four-year starter Sam Freedman and Sophomore Nykeria Thomas accompanied Jackson at Media Day and both shared Jackson’s confidence and sentiment. The Mustangs came very close to taking down Oakleaf in the District’s semifinal game last year, but a buzzer-beater by Oakleaf’s [player_tooltip player_id="91660" first="Fantasia" last="James"] abruptly ended the Mustang’s season. <strong><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/20211019_103746-scaled-crop-1362x895-1635008384.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-344061 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/20211019_103746-scaled-crop-1362x895-1635008384-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></strong> <strong>Sandalwood</strong> made some noise at High School Media Day and the Saints feel they have a legitimate shot at the District title as well. Like Mandarin, Sandalwood returns 4 experienced Seniors, including shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="248618" first="Kayla" last="Johnson"] and point guard Dani Garcia. The Saints  top player is  6’4″ Junior center Jada Brown,  who is a matchup nightmare for almost every team in the District, except for Bartram.  Actually, Brown will be a matchup nightmare for 90 percent of teams in the State. The Saints will “come marching in” to this season riding on the talents of Brown and her talented teammates.<strong><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/20211019_095540-scaled-crop-1362x895-1635008490.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-344063 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/20211019_095540-scaled-crop-1362x895-1635008490-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></strong> &nbsp; <strong>Creekside</strong> was represented at High School Media Day by Junior center Kayla Kastor and  Junior guard Melissa Epting. No one works harder than these two talented Juniors and they will provide leadership for this young Creekside team.   Creekside will be a huge underdog this year, but will ultimately benefit from playing these tough District foes. &nbsp; <strong>Other First Coast  Districts to keep an eye on ( Will Preview in Part 3 of our First Coast  Media Day Coverage).   </strong> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">District  4-6A   (Atlantic Coast, Englewood, First Coast, Fletcher, Nease, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine)</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">District  2-5A  (Riverside,  Raines, Parker, Stanton, White)</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">District  3-5A (Orange Park,  Middleburg, Clay, Ridgeview, Westside)</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">District  3 4A  (Bishop Kenny,  Fernandina Beach,  Bolles,  Jackson, Wolfson, Yulee)</p> &nbsp;