2022 New Years Classic Day Two Sophomore and Freshman Standouts

<strong>2022 New Years Classic Day Two Sophomore and Freshman Standouts</strong> By Michael Wholey 1/16/21 6:00 PM EST <em>The 2022 New Year’s Classic was held in Miami last week at SLAM! Academy and had a loaded filed in the two-day event.  Youth was a common theme in these years New Year’s Classic.  And in watching this year’s event, it is obvious that the classes of 2024 and 2025 are very talented in the South Florida region.  We take a look at the Sophomore and Freshman stand outs in day two.  </em> &nbsp; <strong>FINAL SCORES - Saturday January 8, 2022 </strong> Batavia HS (37)                       Miami Country Day (64) Lourdes Academy (38)            Somerset Silver Palms (45) King’s Academy (42)               St. Thomas Aquinas (55) SLAM! (52)                              Western (51) Nova HS (32)                           Doral Academy (58) &nbsp; <strong>HIGH SCORERS </strong><strong>- Saturday January 8, 2022 </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217667" first="Kayla" last="Nelms"]</strong> (Miami Country Day) - 20 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="243926" first="Jordan" last="Race"]</strong> (King’s Academy) – 19 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91642" first="Kristina" last="Godfrey"]</strong> (Miami Country Day) - 16 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="221639" first="Gianna" last="Robles"]</strong> (Doral Academy) – 16 points <strong>Luciana Picasso</strong> (Lourdes Academy) - 15 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217665" first="Sofia" last="Mendez"]</strong> (Miami Country Day) - 15 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="151282" first="Alancia" last="Ramsey"]</strong> (St. Thomas Aquinas) – 14 points <strong>Alexia Sanchez</strong> (Doral Academy) – 13 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91641" first="Karina" last="Gordon"]</strong> (St. Thomas Aquinas) - 13 points <strong>Brooke Carlson</strong> (Batavia - IL) - 13 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="243928" first="Madisyn" last="McLeod"]</strong> (Nova HS) – 10 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153108" first="Taja" last="Stephens"]</strong> (Western HS) – 11 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="314842" first="Samantha" last="Bautista"]</strong> (SLAM! Academy) – 11 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="248693" first="Riley" last="Stoker"]</strong> (Western HS) – 10 points <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="331736" first="Karla" last="Quintero"]</strong> (SLAM! Academy) – 10 points <strong>Ji’Myah Branton</strong> (SLAM! Academy) – 10 points &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>CLASS OF 2024</strong> <strong><img class=" wp-image-374670 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/104-DSC08149-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="166" height="249" />[player_tooltip player_id="217667" first="Kayla" last="Nelms"]</strong> (Miami Country Day) – 6’2 Forward Miami Country Day has always been known for developing young talent and Nelms joins the long list of MCDS players that have made tremendous strides in their development.  Just a Sophomore, Nelms is in her 3^rd year as a varsity player and has transitioned from being exclusively a back to basket player to an inside-out forward that can mix it up down low but can also play face up.  Nelms dropped 20 points in Miami Country Day lone game in the event and she got it done in a variety of ways.  Throughout the battle vs Batavia from Illinois, Nelms showed her ability to knock down the open 3, slide down to the low block and post up as well put the ball to the floor from the perimeter and high post.  The development of Nelms perimeter game, opens things up for the talented Miami Country Day squad and enhances Nelms stock as a prospect.  The sky is the limit for this young prospect, and it is fun watching her continue to improve and develop new areas of her game every time we see her play! &nbsp; <strong>Luciana Picasso</strong> (Lourdes Academy) – 6’0 Wing Lourdes Academy and Coach Chris McKeon are consistently known for playing fundamentally sound, having multiple 3-point shooters on the court at the same time, running hard to guard half court actions, and playing unselfish.  This was my first-time seeing Picasso, and it is obvious that she is a perfect fit for Lourdes style of play and Coach McKeon’s system.  The 6’0 Sophomore scored 15 points, knocking down the open 3, making the extra pass to an open teammate and consistently moving without the ball.  She has a high basketball IQ, plays unselfish, shoots a high percentage from the field and her length and wingspan and excellent physical attributes for a big wing. &nbsp; <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-376494 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/95-DSC08136-144x300.jpg" alt="" width="144" height="300" /></strong> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217665" first="Sofia" last="Mendez"]</strong> (Miami Country Day) – 5’7 Guard Mendez really looks to be settling into her role with Miami Country Day and finding scoring opportunities within the MCDS offense.  The 5<em>’7 </em>guard plays hard on both ends of the court, is extremely competitive and tough, and is a skilled offensive player with a scorer’s mentality.  She showed the ability to make the open 3 off the pass, as well as put the ball to the floor and pull up from mid-range as well as take it all the way to the rim on the way to 15 points and helping MCDS to the 64-37 win over Batavia from Illinois. &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>Brooke Carlson</strong> (Batavia - IL) – 5’7 Guard <img class="size-medium wp-image-376495 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/86-DSC08125-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Carlson was the talk of the gym on day one of the event, dropping 29 points and getting it done in a variety of ways, displaying her savvy off the dribble open court moves, 3-point range and great court vision.  Facing a tough Miami Country Day team, it was obvious that the scouting report was to not let Carlson beat them and make her give the ball up and have someone else from Batavia must step up from a scoring standpoint.  Carlson played composed and handled MCDS multiple defenses and full court pressure well.  She plays cool, calm, and collected as well as extremely unselfish.  She played more of the floor general and handled MCDS pressure and found open players giving them the opportunity to knock down the open shot and attack the rim while scoring a team high 13 points along the way. &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>CLASS OF 2025</strong> <img class="wp-image-376496 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/20-DSC08019-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="183" height="276" /> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="221639" first="Gianna" last="Robles"]</strong> (Doral Academy) Robles has consistently been Doral’s top scorer throughout the season.  After a quiet day 1, Robles scored a team high 16 points in Doral’s 58-32 win over Nova High School.  Robles rotated from the PG position to the SG position and was able to score both from the 3-point line as well as off the dribble.  She did a good job putting it to the floor and getting by her defender and into the teeth of the opponent’s defense. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong><img class="wp-image-376499 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/73-DSC08107-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="181" height="272" />[player_tooltip player_id="314842" first="Samantha" last="Bautista"]</strong> (SLAM! Academy) - 5’6 Guard <strong>Jim’Miyah Branton</strong> (SLAM! Academy) - 5’8 Guard Bautista (11 points) and Branton (10 points) both scored double digits and were a fun 1-2 punch to watch in the backcourt in what turned out to be the game of the night, as SLAM defeated Western 52-51 in a back-and-forth battle.  Both players are savvy with the ball in their hands and fearless attacking the rim.   They consistently push the tempo, looking to score every time they touch the ball and like to play downhill.  The future is bright for SLAM! with these two in the back court. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="248693" first="Riley" last="Stoker"]</strong> (Western HS) – 5’10 Guard / Wing Stoker had two great days in the gym at New Year’s Classic.  The long, young wing is a talented offensive player with a high ceiling due to her ability to knock down the perimeter 3 and her long wingspan and athletic body.  Having gotten the opportunity to see her play 3 games in the last month, both at the Tampa Bay Invitational and the New Years Classic, it is obvious that Stoker is instrumental in Western standing at 11-6 and being one of the top teams in Broward County.  She gives them additional depth, outside shooting, and youth! <strong> </strong> <strong>Michael Wholey</strong> is the lead scout for Florida Prep Girls Hoop Florida and a former division one Assistant Coach at American University, University of Memphis, and Georgia Tech.  Wholey and the rest of the Prep Girls Hoop staff, seek to cover the entire state of player, keeping subscribers up to date with player evaluations, recruiting info, and statewide news.  Our audience often supplies us with some of our best information.  If you have any information on players, teams, or statewide news in the state of Florida, emailing Michael Wholey at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or DM him through Twitter or Instagram @WholeyPrepHoops.