GBCA Live: 2030's Debuts to Remember

The state of Georgia is without question one of the top five states in America when it comes to girl's basketball and the players in the class of 2030 are a prime example why. We have five kids who were selected for the very exclusive Blue Star 30s event in St. Louis in August, a camp for the best rising Freshman and Sophomores in the country- [player_tooltip player_id='1821564' first='Jordyn' last='Avila'], [player_tooltip player_id='1867900' first='Payton' last='Day'], [player_tooltip player_id='1688677' first='Kennedi' last='Harris'], [player_tooltip player_id='1822566' first='Nkenna' last='Nwokoro'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1868145' first='Kimora' last='Wynn'], who is a Blue Star veteran having been to camp in August. Some also received invites to the Wooten 150 event in Las Vegas at the end of September, another All American type camp with the very best players in the country. There will be McDonald's All American committee members at both events and I expect those kids to perform very well if their excellent play this Spring and Summer continues. The 2030 class is not just top heavy with national recruits, but also has great depth with a large number of high performing and skilled players that have been selected to other invite only camps like GYBC, NGS All Star Weekend, etc. This class will continue the tradition of greatness with girls basketball in Georgia and may even take it up another notch.    Anderson looked good again in the very talented backcourt for Creekside coming off an excellent showing at the University of Georgia team camp. She has the electric-factor with the ball in the open court where anticipation builds very quickly trying to guess what she is going to do when she gets going downhill. Her fundamentals are excellent and her skill with the basketball is obvious for all to see. She has cat-like quickness making it extremely difficult for defenders to stay in front of her. While she has not problem giving the ball up to an open teammate for a better shot or creating scoring opportunities off the bounce for others, Nevaeh can put the ball in the basket efficiently and effectively from all three levels herself. She has been very good shooting the ball from three point range int he games I have seen her play this June. Anderson gets to the rim often and as a result the free throw line as well where she has also looked good shooting the basketball. She is a player who has a very high ceiling with a boatload of potential still untaped in my opinion. She projects to play to be a division one player on the college level.     I had seen Jordyn two or three times this spring with Sandy Creek at the Milton Summer League on Tuesdays in June and knew she was as good as advertised, which is saying something for a kid who is a household name in the state already without attending one class in high school. Against Morrow Avila finished the game with 15 points, going a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line in her first game of the event on Friday night. In game two versus an excellent McEachern team with very good guards, Jordyn scored 28 points including four three point shots made. Her poise and calm under pressure in the toughest bracket against the best teams there was validation that she is without question one of the very best 2030s, not just in Georgia, but in America. She has primarily played off the ball with [player_tooltip player_id='899789' first='Morghan' last='Reckley'] directing traffic for Sandy Creek. Those two in particular were a fantastic combination that looked like they had been playing together for years. For Jordyn, it's all about patience, efficiency, and a great decision making for such a young player that is so impressive. She is unbelievably skilled, but is already thinking on a very high level when it comes to in game decisions in real time. When the rankings come out at the end of July, she will be at or near the very top.     I am fortunate to sit with college coaches on every level and other evaluators like "Basketball" Bob Corwin, who is one of the most reputable in the country at these event and listen to their opinions about certain players. Bob saw Payton play and early and brought her name up to every college we talked to when watching games together. His track record in Georgia is excellent as he was one of the first to identify Kate Harpring and [player_tooltip player_id='899789' first='Morghan' last='Reckley']. He was a huge fan of Payton's skill, decision-making, and composure with the basketball at such a young age. I have seen Payton for 3-4 years now, so I suppose I am spoiled. It's not hyperbole when I say that myself and several other "experts" believe she could be one of the top three point guards in her class nationally. It's crazy to say, but as a rising freshman this is nothing new for her. She has playing with and standing out against much older kids for a long time. She does not turn the ball over, yet causes multiple turnovers a game. She passes up open scoring opportunities every game to spread the ball around and keep her teammates fed and happy. She creates turnovers and points in transition for herself turning defense into offense regularly. Speaking with Payton several times, she is a very intelligent kid with a great head on her shoulders. She is the kind of player every coach wants on their team. I have no doubt she will become th player that we all think she can.     Dobson came off the bench for Creekview versus Murray County in the game I watched her play. She provided some offense in a low scoring game while showing her ability to score the ball in a lot of different ways. She got to the free throw line where she was a perfect 2-2, scored from three point range, and also scored from inside the three point line. Dobson had been playing up and impressively for Tennessee United this Spring and Summer. She does not look or play like your average freshman. Everley is a physically strong kid who knows how to use the power she has built in the weight room finishing through contact at the rim and holding off on ball pressure. She can absorb contact and play through it and is a willing rebounder and a very good on ball defender. Her role could change drastically by the time the season rolls around in October. Creekview was missing a key piece in [player_tooltip player_id='974867' first='Brenley' last='Matthews'], but they had trouble scoring the basketball over the three days. Dobson could come in and replace a big chunk of the scoring that left with Kailyn Hamby. I would not be surprised to see her starting before the New Year and putting up some big numbers scoring the ball before the season is over.     Not only was this the first time I saw Nkenna play in person, but I also happened to be standing right beside her a couple times and she is every bit of 6'4 if not a little taller. I am 6'3 and she looked two inches taller than me side by side. Potential is the word here. She is NOT a project or "raw", but she is nowhere near the player she will be. That is a scary thought after watching her play at Lakepoint. Defensively, she may be the best shot blocker in the state and she hasn't started classes in high school yet. She swatted balls impressively out of bounds and with authority multiple times in the games I watched. She has phenomenal foot movement and agility for her size which allowed her to quickly come from the help side and erase shots from opposing players. These were not deflections but emphatic blocks with the "don't bring that stuff in here" kind of feel. Archer has a lot of talented, veteran players who can put the ball in the basket, so that was not her main job at GBCA Live. However, when Nkenna got the ball in close to the basket, she did a great job capitalizing on her opportunities scoring the ball. She kept the ball high and out of the reach of smaller guards not only when she had the ball on offense, but also after securing the many rebounds she did over the course of the three days. She easily could find herself in the top 100 nationally with continued work sooner rather than later.     Kimora is another player I have seen 4-5 times this Summer with Holy Innocents at the Milton Summer League on Tuesdays in June with some the of the very best teams and players in the state. She has performed exceptionally well in that setting somewhat behind closed doors, but her game was on full display for the college coaches in attendance (over 100) at the GBCA Live event at Lakepoint. She has offers from several Power Four schools already and coaches from those schools were there watching including, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Florida, and Mississippi State. I overheard coaches from the ACC and SEC during the course of the event next to me heap a lot of praise on her as well. Those two schools have not offered her as of the time I am typing this, but that could change very easily. She is gifted athletically with elite speed, quickness, and explosion when she elevates off the ground. Even against kids three years older than her, Kimora stands out with her ability to blow by defenders in the half court as well as transition and elevate over defenders on her jump shot as well as finishing at the rim. Her offensive bag is overflowing, but her ability to shoot the basketball consistently is what separates her from other players in her class. She has led her team in scoring as a 13 year old (recently turned 14) playing 17U with Kentucky Premier on the Nike EYBL circuit, something that is almost unheard of. She is already a national recruit for a reason. Her sister Kaiya finished her career at the University of Tennessee this past Spring.

The state of Georgia is without question one of the top five states in America when it comes to girl's basketball and the players in the class of 2030 are a prime example why. We have five kids who were selected for the very exclusive Blue Star 30s event in St. Louis in August, a camp for the best rising Freshman and Sophomores in the country- Jordyn Avila Jordyn Avila 5'10" | CG/SG GA , Payton Day Payton Day 5'7" | PG Grayson | 2030 GA , Kennedi Harris Kennedi Harris 6'4" | SG/PF GA , Nkenna Nwokoro Nkenna Nwokoro 6'4" | C/PF Archer | 2030 GA , and Kimora Wynn Kimora Wynn 6'0" | CG Holy Innocents Episcopal | 2030 GA , who is a Blue Star veteran having been to camp in August. Some also received invites to the Wooten 150 event in Las Vegas at the end of September, another All American type camp with the very best players in the country. There will be McDonald's All American committee members at both events and I expect those kids to perform very well if their excellent play this Spring and Summer continues. The 2030 class is not just top heavy with national recruits, but also has great depth with a large number of high performing and skilled players that have been selected to other invite only camps like GYBC, NGS All Star Weekend, etc. This class will continue the tradition of greatness with girls basketball in Georgia and may even take it up another notch.