Brawl At The Palms: Praiseworthy Playmakers

Each event I attend and evaluate is different, but there is one constant and that is the kids that just make plays always make themselves known. Because of the layout of the Wellington Sports Academy if you stood up and looked around you could see the action on the other 5 courts in the main gym. So in passing or while sitting on an entire game to evaluate, these players were impossible to miss with their playmaking ability and positive impacts on their individual teams.    Sydnee is a player I am very familiar with from Georgia, but have not seen in person for since the Insider Exposure Cherokee Invitational in December. Hunter has very fine skills on the offensive end as result of a lot of time put in the gym refining her craft. I have seen Sydnee myself working hard on her ball handling, shooting, and other aspects of her game at training sessions with Pitts Academy. She is a true three level scorer whose solid base of fundamentals allows her put the ball in the basket quickly with not a lot of wasted time or dribbling when she gets the ball. She is a true sharpshooter from the midrange as well as behind the three point line and finished well at the rim in Wellington. Hunter was the primary ball handler for [program_tooltip program_id='1237402' first='HER' last='Elite'] 17U EYCL and proved with her performance that she is more than capable of playing the point guard position at the next level. Hunter unselfishly gave up shots and points for the betterment of the team this past high school season when Creekside's point guard and the number one prospect in 2027 class in Georgia, CeCe Dennis suffered a season-ending injury early in Creekside's campaign.     Sarah was very good in every game Central Florida Elite 17U Gold played. When the offense was run through her she put the ball in the basket with little fuss and a lot of skill. Jean showed a strong ability to attack the basket and finish through contact where she either scored and/or found herself at the free throw line a lot of the time. Jean was also very good without the ball competing the entire time she was on the court. That effort resulted in steals, offensive rebounds, and beating other players to loose balls. Sarah did a good job turning that defensive effort into offensive productivity scoring on the break multiple times. It is obvious that Jean likes to compete and kids like her who have no backdown are harder to find than you would think. She should be on the radar of college coaches in Florida.     Kalyn helped to make up a very good backcourt for [program_tooltip program_id='1237402' first='HER' last='Elite'] 17U EYCL alongside [player_tooltip player_id='743579' first='Sydnee' last='Hunter'] and Ella Copeland. She is a very skilled combo guard who was impressive the times I watched Booker T Washington this high school season. She plays with a maturity and patience beyond her years playing up. She does a really nice job dictating the pace and tempo and not letting full court or on ball pressure bother her. She was very efficient scoring from all three levels while not forcing shots or trying to make something happen when it was not there. Thomas saw the floor well and her decision making was on point when choosing to give the ball up to an open teammate or create for herself off the bounce. She shot the ball well in the games I watched from the midrange as well as the three point line.     Washington was another kid I wasn't familiar coming into the event, but her stellar play throughout was hard to miss. Washington is listed as a wing essentially, but she had the basketball in her hands a lot on the break and in the half court helping to run and facilitate the offense. She was very good handling the ball and her decision making was excellent turning the ball over less than a handful of times combined in the games I watched. When Washington switched gears and was more aggressive trying to score the ball, she made it looking easy knocking down catch and shoot jumpers from the midrange and three point line. She also shot the ball very well from the free throw line. She did a good job keeping the defenses she faced guessing and off-balanced by also attacking the basket with her dribble. Jy just made plays time and time again for herself and her teammates. I hope the college coaches that were there saw as much of her as I did. She could be a good player for the right program on the next level if given the opportunity.     Kimora played with an edge for the Suns in the games I saw and was a very good backcourt mate with [player_tooltip player_id='1232412' first='Jy'Aira' last='Washington'] helping lead the offensive attack. Attack is the right word as Green did so with reckless abandon, but under control, as she got into the paint and created problems for every team she faced. Whether she pulled up for a short jumper, finished at the rim over taller defenders, or created contact and got to the line, Green put points on the board efficiently and effectively. She is a physically strong kid who defended her position well and also contributed on both ends of the court rebounding the basketball.     Anderson was one of the better floor generals who lead her team vocally and with her play at the all-important point guard position for Central Florida Elite. I saw Anderson up close at Live at Lakepoint recently and came away impressed with her ability to run her team. She does a good job relaying the call in from the bench to her teammates and then directed traffic like the school crossing guard. Anderson is an excellent ball handler and gets the ball where it needs to go in little to no wasted time or movement putting her teammates in the best position to score, something she is more than capable of doing herself. Anderson is a real threat that must be respected from three point range while also possessing the ability to get in the paint and cause problems, both on the break and in the half court.

Each event I attend and evaluate is different, but there is one constant and that is the kids that just make plays always make themselves known. Because of the layout of the Wellington Sports Academy if you stood up and looked around you could see the action on the other 5 courts in the main gym. So in passing or while sitting on an entire game to evaluate, these players were impossible to miss with their playmaking ability and positive impacts on their individual teams.