Hard In the Paint at The Sunshine Showdown
Chamiah Francis Chamiah Francis 6'3" | C Booker | 2026 State FL was a force out there and arguably the MVP of the entire tournament. (And there were some great individual performances at the Sunshine Showdown). Francis controlled the glass…
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Continue ReadingChamiah Francis Chamiah Francis 6'3" | C Booker | 2026 State FL was a force out there and arguably the MVP of the entire tournament. (And there were some great individual performances at the Sunshine Showdown). Francis controlled the glass and it stands out when you see her out-rebounding bonafide glass cleaners. You would see the ball in the air and then like an eclipse, it would disappear into Francis’s shadow (I had to get an eclipse reference in there ). On offense, Francis pulled out all the moves: the short midrange, the drive to the basket, the drive and spin, the up and under, etc. All of these moves were predicated on one thing – great footwork. Francis is crafty and has an high basketball IQ. She has a good understanding of angles on the court. Another area of Francis’s game that was impressive was ability to handle the ball. She took one coast to coast for the layup. In the pick and roll, she was deadly and a shoutout to her teammates for executing this play all weekend long. Her defense and shot blocking ability were “eclipse-like”. You would see the orange pill disappear and then reappear in the stands. Many people purchased special glasses to see the once in a lifetime phenomenon. I got to watch a few phenomenons for free, including Chamiah Francis Chamiah Francis 6'3" | C Booker | 2026 State FL . After seeing Francis play, I can still see, and my 2026 vision actually got clearer.
Madi Mignery Madi Mignery 6'1" | SF Cardinal Mooney | 2027 State FL is as good as advertised and showed all the tools in her tool bag: Mignery has a good midrange game, she can shoot the three, and she can get to the rim, and she can handle the ball. And there is one intangible that cannot be overlooked – She has a competitive spirit that is unworldly. To defeat her will take an all-out effort and then some. Back to the tangibles, Mignery has the all around game. She can get in the middle and maneuver for the open shot with the footwork and she can get out on the wing and pull the jumper or shoot the three ball in transition. Her rebounding is top level as well. She grabs the ball with authority and does so in traffic. Mignery was special and delivered an impressive performance this weekend.
Izellah Kendrick
Izellah
Kendrick
6'2" | C
Bloomingdale | 2025
State
FL
was a beast out there on the floor and her strength inside was unmatched. She showed soft hands receiving the passes in the paint and in transition, where she got a lot of easy baskets. Yes, transition. Kendrick does a good job of getting up and down the floor from the 4 and 5 positions and has a knack for getting the ball in the basket. Kendrick was also strong in the rebound department, especially on the offensive glass. She got her share of buckets off of offensive rebounds. Her strength makes it hard to block her out.
Jade Jones Jade Jones 5'11" | SF King's Academy | 2025 State FL balled out at the Showdown. Every time I looked up, she was making plays. Her strength and ability to play physical and absorb contact were really impressive. More impressive was her ability to score the ball in the paint. Jones is an aggressive defender who can defend in space and inside. Her intensity and competitiveness stood out and she was one of the top power forwards in the building.
Destiny Donaldson Destiny Donaldson 5'9" | SF Ribault | 2025 State FL was out there balling in the painted area. She hit the boards hard and got a lot of scoring opportunities off of the offensive glass. Donaldson also did a very I good job in transition. She is long and fast and did a good job of filling the lanes on the fast-breaks and scoring . Her athleticism was on full display: the speed, the lateral and backward movements, and the vertical.
Trishay Collins Trishay Collins 6'2" | C Heritage HS | 2025 State FL was a beast in the paint. I watched her in the presence of some college coaches and they were in awe of her athleticism, size, and basketball abilities. Collins was physical in the paint, displayed great footwork, and had a shooter’s touch in the paint. She can rebound well and can score on the inside. She also showed a nice jumper from the freethrow area
Carleyssia Wallace Carleyssia Wallace 5'11" | SF Palm Bay | 2026 State FL was balling out there and her game is versatile. Wallace has a smooth left handed jumper that she can shoot from the midrange area and behind the three point line. Wallace can also get to the rim and score. One drive comes to mind from Saturday at the Showdown – a game winner against one of the top 2026 (16U ) teams in the building. Wallace has a very good handles out on the wing and if given space on the court she can get to the rim with an “in and out”. She can also back the defender down and a conduct a spin move to the rim when she gets a defender flowing in one direction. Wallace also gets after it on the defensive side of the ball. She plays very good on-ball defense and has the strength to play physical in the paint. Her ability to shoot the outside jumper makes her a very difficult matchup. She is a baller.
Victoria Hall Victoria Hall 6'4" | C Winter Haven | 2027 State FL was a strong presence in the middle at the Sunshine Showdown. Hall did a good job on the boards and played inspiring defense. She didn’t always block the shot, but made the shooter aware of her presence. Offensively, she had a nice touch on her jump shot from the freethrow line area.
Rhianna Mateyka Rhianna Mateyka 6'0" | SF Ware County | 2025 State GA was really impressive at the Showdown. Her athleticism and physicality stood out when she was on the floor. She was really good in the midrange game and rebounded well. Defensively, Mateyka showed she could defend on the wings and was also physical enough to defend the bigs in the paint. She had one play where she denied an entry pass to the big, stole the ball, and initiated the fast break.
Brie McCoy Brie McCoy 6'1" | PF Creekside | 2026 State FL did a good job of posting up down low and once on position, she does a good job of sealing the defender, especially on the left block where she can get to her left hand. McCoy can shoot over a defender or through a defender and score. McCoy also showed some versatility to her game, shooting the midrange jumper from the freethrow line.
Casey O’Connell Casey O’Connell 6'0" | PF Canterbury | 2026 State FL had some good moments in Saturday at the Sunshine Showdown. The power forward is an inside and outside player who can score at all levels. O’Connell shot the three well and battled inside for rebounds and put back opportunities. The power forward scored on back to back possessions and the scores were impressive. Unlike most 4s, these consecutive baskets were launched from behind the three point line. O’Connell was one of the best stretch-fours in the building.
Meredith Venner Meredith Venner 6'3" | PF The Academy Of Central Florida | 2025 FL was steady all weekend . She rebounded well and did a lot of the little things on the court. She constantly helped out her ball handlers. She showed soft hands down low and could score the ball when needed. I really liked that baby hook she used to score on a few occasions. Venner played her role very well.