Sunshine State Showdown: Paint Presence

Several elite players six foot and taller used their height, length, and skills to do serious damage in the paint on both ends of the floor. Some players are right at six feet, while others far surpass it, all of them demonstrated throughout the weekend an ability to put points on the board for their respective teams consistently while helping to control the boards. Several of these players blocked and altered several shots, making their presence known on the defensive end of the court. Some names maybe familiar, while others are not. All of these players should contribute on the next level in college.    Buitchi was critical for Essence all weekend long, but especially on championship Sunday where her size and skill were instrumental in the their win versus an outstanding All Iowa Attack team. Buitchi moves extremely well at 6'6, at one point creating a steal and going coast to coast before finishing a contested layup at the rim. The fluidity and ease with which she moves so well is very rare for a someone that tall. She did a very good job defending on the perimeter keeping much smaller ball handlers in front of her and on the back end she used her anticipation and timing to swat shots far away from the rim. Buitchi's ability to catch the ball in tight quarters, keep it high away from guards, and finish at the rim makes her one of the best post prospects in the '29 class in the Southeast.     Much like [player_tooltip player_id='1215709' first='Miraldina' last='Buitchi'], it is almost unfair the way Manyawu moves at her size with confidence and fluidity. Watching her slash to the basket around defenders and getting to the rim, where she finished over defenders, was very impressive. She is a capable scorer with her back to the basket or facing up and a mismatch for almost every post defender. She has sneaky good ball handling also, which makes her dangerous on the break. Manyawu capitalizes on her physical gifts with a well polished offensive game. Destiny was very active on the offensive boards picking up second chance points for her team. She holds scholarship offers from multiple schools in every major division one conference and that list will only continue to grow.     I had not seen Lauryn play before, but it did not take long for her to make a big impression. The athleticism she displayed at 6'4 was rare and elite, she exploded off the floor getting very good elevation on her shot, rebounding the ball, and blocking shots. She flew by other players on the court sprinting in transition and did a nice job catching and finishing on the move. Turibio showed the ability to score in the post, catching and scoring before the defense could react on the left block one play and then catching the ball on the perimeter, ripping it through, and then driving left before scoring at the basket on anothe. It's the inside-out ability that makes Lauryn a very intriguing prospect. Turibio represented her country of Brazil on the 15U, 16U, and 17U level, and previously played in Tulsa, Oklahoma before settling in Florida.     If you watch All Iowa Attack's 11th grade EYBL team and Liv Johnson you would have no idea that she is only just finishing up her freshman year of high school. On the court she does not look like a freshman physically and when the ball goes up and the action begins, she definitely does not look like a freshman, rather someone who is right where they belong. No hesitancy or submission to the older kids, Johnson went right to work offensively playing with belief and a lot of confidence. She is a three-level scoring machine whose offensive skill set is much more developed than nearly any other kid her age, even in an age of specialization. Liv was effective attacking off the dribble down hill and was successful scoring and distributing the ball to her open teammates. She has a beautiful shot with a very quick release and the good elevation she gets makes her very difficult to defend at 6'1. There is a reason she has multiple offers from Power Four schools across the country and she can't legally drive yet.     Hartman is another player from outside of the United States who has quietly been making a name for herself the last couple years in Central Florida. The Dutch international has size and a lot of skill to go with her strength and toughness. Hartman is more traditional than the other "bigs" listed in that she has the ability and desire to use her considerable power to overwhelm smaller defenders. She has soft hands and a nice touch in the paint once she used her strength to establish position. Sophie drove the ball to the basket on several occasions, scoring two at the rim or getting fouled and making shots from the free throw line.Hartman also has the ability to consistently knock down shots from both the midrange and behind the three point line. Hartman will be a division one player, the question is where will that be.     When you come away looking like one of the better prospects on the court playing against All Iowa Attack, then that says a lot about a young player. Nkenna had a performance that could have left some asking if she was the best player on the court. The size and basketball intelligence she displayed to go along with her impressive, developing skill will have Nwokoro at the very top of the rankings, along with her teammate Jordyn Avila, for the 2030 class in Georgia. She blocked multiple shots throughout the tournament, while being far bigger than the opposing players without committing a lot of unnecessary fouls. She finished at the rim and knocked down midrange jumpers over the course of the weekend showing the work she is putting in on skill development. Nkenna has a chance to be not only one of the very best players in her class in Georgia, but in the 2030 class nationally.

Several elite players six foot and taller used their height, length, and skills to do serious damage in the paint on both ends of the floor. Some players are right at six feet, while others far surpass it, all of them demonstrated throughout the weekend an ability to put points on the board for their respective teams consistently while helping to control the boards. Several of these players blocked and altered several shots, making their presence known on the defensive end of the court. Some names maybe familiar, while others are not. All of these players should contribute on the next level in college.