GBCA Live: '28s That Left Their Mark

Whether they were a player ranked in the top 5 in the 2028 class in Georgia, closer to be ranked 50-100, or not being ranked at all, these rising Juniors left their mark on the GBCA Live event at Lakepoint Sports over the past weekend. No matter their size or position these players generated buzz and were the subject of conversations I had with other evaluators as well as some of the many college coaches who were in attendance. With just the Live Period events left in July before returning to school for their Junior year, these players are hitting their strides at the right time.    Coming off a very productive high school season where she was named the Atlanta Public Schools Player of the Year, Region 2 AAAAAA Player of the Year, and being named to the AAAAAA South All State team as a sophomore, Solomon is one of the most intriguing players in the entire state, but in the '28 class specifically. She does not have offers posted on her social media accounts, but I am more than certain that she has multiple offers from Division One schools with plenty of Power Four programs already extending offers. I saw her play against North Forsyth where she nearly scored 30 and completely dominated the game this past season. So it was no surprise to see her continue her excellent play at the GBCA Live event. She scored 24 points twice over the three days while leading Westlake to a 3-1 record. She is an excellent slasher to the basket and does an excellent job hitting the offensive boards before finishing smoothly around the rim. She is a very good shooter from the midrange and showed that she is capable of knocking down shots from behind three point line at the event as well. She finished with an average over 18 points in the four games putting her full offensive arsenal for the college coaches in attendance to see. She will be a high major/Power Four player in college with a chance to continue playing after that if she stays healthy and motivated.     Kenzie was one of the names I heard most when sitting and talking with college coaches at the event. One Power Four assistant told myself and Bob Corwin that if she were still at her previous school (mid-major) she would have offered her after seeing her play at GBCA Live. That was the general feeling from the other evaluators and coaches at Lakepoint--that she is and will be a Division One player. Forget the size. Her athleticism, high motor, and competitiveness offset whatever perceived slight comes with her height. She is an explosive and quick athlete who is extremely skilled and plays with no fear. On a very talented team that is coming off a dominant season culminating in state championship, Kenzie does not have to go score 20 points every night. She can pick and choose when to attack and get herself going on offense, scoring the ball without it being forced. She is an elite ball handler with the ability to create separation from defenders and space for herself off the bounce and knockdown shooter from three point range. With games scoring 13, 11, 17, and 11 points again in the championship game, she proved that against a high level of competition she can be counted on as a consistent and effective scoring option.     With the Parish twins it is all about strength, power, and explosive athleticism to start. Looking at them in warm ups it is clear that personal fitness is a priority with muscles protruding from their shooting shirts. They both touch the backboard with regularity and ease when laying the ball up before and during games. They both were excellent when I saw them at Peach Games. Gabrielle was a little more productive scoring the ball finishing the averaging in double figures at just over ten points per game. Campbell averaged right at 40 points per game over the four games, going 3-1, so she accounted for 20% of her team's scoring. Her biggest impact may come defensively where she uses that athleticism and length to play lockdown defense in the half court while causing serious problems in full court trapping defenses for Campbell and Team Elite Hubbard. With two years left I believe Gabrielle still has room to improve offensively with no trouble at all. She and her sister are both highly sought after recruits in the 2028 class holding offers currently from Howard, Stony Brook, Kennesaw State and Georgia State and their two newest offers coming from George Washington and Winthrop.     Chivers was another player I was familiar with by name and reputation, but had not seen in person. She quickly made a strong impression as I watched her and Morrow take on one of the very best teams in the state, Sandy Creek, on night one of GBCA Live. Nyla was excellent finishing as the leading scorer for both teams in the game with 18 points which came from all areas of the court. Chivers knocked down two shots from behind the three point line and shot a very impressive 8-10 from the free throw line. She utilized her speed and quickness to get to the rim and strength to finish through contact and draw multiple fouls. She converted tough finishes at the rim over taller defenders and in traffic. She followed that performance up with 13 points against Marietta and Athens Academy. There is a reason she holds multiple Division One offers, with her most recent coming from Norfolk State, South Carolina State, and North Carolina A&T in late April.     Coming off a very impressive sophomore season with Lamar which saw Foster win Player of the Year in A-D1 Region Four, the very talented prospect also eclipsed 1,000 points scored for her career. I have seen her training a few times at Pitts Academy and know that she is a very hard worker who has a lot of skill for someone her size. She finished GBCA Live averaging just over 14 points a game while leading her team to a very impressive 3-1 record. The sole loss came against the Canon School from North Carolina featuring Jakaila Gaskins who is ranked number 26 in the ESPN SportsCenter NEXT 2028 list. Foster had a very good showing finishing the game with 14 points with all of her field goals coming in the second half. In the first half she went to the free throw line and shot the ball six times making four and would return to the line another 3 times for six more shots in the second half. When she wasn't fouled she did a nice job scoring the ball inside converting five field goals. She is a player whose stock is definitely on the rise after seeing her up close and personal over the course of three days.     I saw D'Arrah's name on the transfer list put out by Kyle Sandy for Sandy Creek and was intrigued about a 6'1 Wing from Las Vegas coming to join a team loaded with talent. The obvious answer is to play with [player_tooltip player_id='899789' first='Morghan' last='Reckley'] and Jordan Avila, which is a very good reason to pick up and move across the country. Mitchell made it very clear, very quickly that she is her own player, but will fit in perfectly with that mix after watching them play twice at Milton's June Summer League. She took her game to a whole other level at GBCA Live and made a big impression on the college coaches and national evaluator Basketball Bob Corwin, who was raving about her play to anyone who would listen. Mitchell had two excellent games in particular versus two very talented teams full of college players also in Morrow and St. Francis. She performed very well finishing with 16 and 17 points in those two games going against other Division One recruits. Mitchell has the length, skill, and athleticism to play four positions effectively on the court. She plays with swagger and calm, smoothly scoring the basketball while making it look easy. She has offers from Texas Tech, Cal, SMU, and UNLV with the list sure to grow with more Power Four schools, sooner rather than later.

Whether they were a player ranked in the top 5 in the 2028 class in Georgia, closer to be ranked 50-100, or not being ranked at all, these rising Juniors left their mark on the GBCA Live event at Lakepoint Sports over the past weekend. No matter their size or position these players generated buzz and were the subject of conversations I had with other evaluators as well as some of the many college coaches who were in attendance. With just the Live Period events left in July before returning to school for their Junior year, these players are hitting their strides at the right time.