Summer Surprises in the Sunshine State

We saw a lot of talent at the various college camps, high school camps, and summer leagues this summer. In this article we look at some of the players who have surfaced onto the scene and others who have made great strides from last year to this year. These players are some of the summer surprises who could impact the high school scene this upcoming season.    [player_tooltip player_id='248549' first='Jordan' last='Francis'] was a surprise performer this summer. Her offensive game is still developing, but she will definitely be a major contributor for Mandarin next season. She played well in the Orange Park Summer League and performed well at the Daytona State College Camp    [player_tooltip player_id='430455' first='Kimora' last='Hester'] might be the most explosive leaper on the First Coast. In addition to the explosiveness, she has very good handles and is very shifty. Hester has the ability to get down hill in a hurry. She looks to get into the paint and from there it's pure explosion. Hester literally elevates above the defendersb and finishes with a floater in the middle. Defensively, Hester has great lateral movement, great speed and quickness, and applies on ball pressure. Hester will be exciting to wtch this upcoming season.    [player_tooltip player_id='514545' first='Mariah' last='Young'] has been very solid at Orange Park during the summer league. She definitely doesn't back down from a challenge. Over the summer she showed a lot of versatility being able to play the shooting guard position and also move over to the point guard position when needed. She handles the ball very well, she gives 100 percent effort, and she is a total team player. Young can get to the rim on drives and showed the ability to go left or right. Her on-ball defense was very good during the summer league and she made offenses work for everything they got.    [player_tooltip player_id='687116' first='Shilah' last='Rayn Lord'] was a very nice player and one of the most athletic players I saw at the Daytona State Camp. She had a nice midrange game and was excellent in transition. She took a pass at the right elbow, went baseline, exploded to the rim with a left handed layup off the glass. A thing of beauty and an indication of the athleticism she possesses.    [player_tooltip player_id='633526' first='Kamela' last='Marshall'] has been better than good during the Orange Park Summer Leaugue. What really has been a pleasant surprise is her ability to drive the ball and finish with floaters and midrange jumpers. She started out this Spring shooting only threes. Now the electric shooting guard is showing the full package. She has the potential to be one of the top scorers on the First Coast next season.    [player_tooltip player_id='687115' first='Melanni' last='McLeod'] played well during the summer leagues. She is a gritty player who can get to the rim and score inside. McLeod did a good job of knocking down the short jumpers around the goal. McLeod's effort on the defense really stood out. She played an in your face defense that was fun to watch. McLeod will be a player to watch this upcoming season.

We saw a lot of talent at the various college camps, high school camps, and summer leagues this summer. In this article we look at some of the players who have surfaced onto the scene and others who have made great strides from last year to this year. These players are some of the summer surprises who could impact the high school scene this upcoming season.