GBCA Live: Sophomore Standouts

Toolsy wing. Florence can play inside and out. Throughout the summer she has shown quickness with the ball, able to make moves to the rim and the threat of knocking down perimeter jumpers. She's a springy athlete with the upside to become a two-way impact maker. Her length is disruptive on defense. Against Washington County, Samayiah tallied 6 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.     Bailey is a strongly built guard. She handles the point guard duties and uses her size to influence games outside of scoring. Against Cedar Shoals, Brown contributed in a variety of ways in the low scoring 22-20 win. She collected 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Bailey created nearly half of North Murray's scoring chances with her passing.     After earning minutes in Year 1, Ansleigh is ready for an even bigger impact in Year 2. Vandiver is a strong guard with advanced ball skills. The lefty is sturdy both offensively and defensively. She has a nose for the ball, going in to rebound and attacking on defense in the press. She sank a pair of threes to finish with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal in a loss to Sequoyah. The combo-guard will play a key role her final three seasons.     Buford will have a by-committee approach when it comes to scoring the ball outside of E'miah Fields. Sophomore Taliyah Weaver may be a big piece of the offensive puzzle. Weaver's quick and aggressive. She's comfortable looking for her shot as well as creating for others. Against Putnam County, Taliyah swished a three and hit two other jumpers to finish with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. Her energy and ability to fill up the box score should carry her.     The scoring machine creates mismatches. Lloyd has great physical strength and uses it to her advantage whenever she decides to post up. She has a power game on the block as well as a finesse game which sees her get to her turnaround jumper. Her southpaw shooting touch is most impressive, a knockdown three-point shooter. Michelle had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks against Jackson County while being face guarded. College programs will want to get familiar with Lloyd's robust game.     Ava used her size to her advantage against North Cobb, banging her way to 10 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. She sealed for lob passes and got on the glass for putbacks. Her strength is a major boon. Anthony does well controlling the paint. When she keeps the ball high to finish she is very effective.     Black caught my eye with her size, length, mobility and youth. Only a rising sophomore, Zhniyah has great tools to work with. She's active defending at the top of the zone and when guarding smaller players in general. Her offensive game has promise, swishing a three against Central-Macon and running the floor for her other hoop. Black finished with 5 points and 2 rebounds in the Trojans' 57-33 win.     The sophomore had a strong showing at GBCA Live. Haylie is a strongly built guard. She scores with both hands and can find points from all levels. Against new Manchester, she went coast-to-coast with her left hand, hit a one-dribble pull-up, scored on a drive and banked in a three while going 2-2 from the line. Haylie had 13 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal.     Kyla consistently scored in double figures to lead South Effingham. In a loss to Lamar County, Shuman was aggressive getting to the rim and drawing fouls, resulting in 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal while shooting 4-4 from the line. Kyla utilizes subtle bursts of speed to turn corners. She's got a soft touch around the rim. The Mustangs move the ball exceptionally well around the perimeter, Shuman adept at making the extra pass and connecting with threes. Her end-to-end speed with the ball resulted in numerous coast-to-coast takes through out the week.     In a 41-35 win over South Effingham, Jules shot 4-11 from the field including a crucial 3-7 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points, 1 assist and 2 steals. The GIAA transfer averaged 25 points per game as a freshman. While it will be difficult to replicate that right away in the GHSA, Gotell will make a major difference in the backcourt with her size, athleticism and smooth scoring touch along the perimeter.     The rangy hard-playing wing had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in a loss to St. Pius X. Bristol's length and nose for the ball lead to positive outcomes. Even though she may be more of a true wing, Davis' willingness to play in the front court has been a boon for the Lady Panthers as she consistently produces. Her quickness and long arms give bigger, slower opponents problems. She runs the floor for easy hoops and has good hands in traffic when collecting rebounds. Bristol scores with both hands. She has grab-and-go ball skills in transition. Davis spaces the floor and can shoot the three, which also opens up driving lanes for her against out of control close outs.