Deandrey Hardy, Miami Killian: The 6’2 sophomore went about his business quietly but after reviewing our notes we saw that he was quite productive.  He connected from behind the three-point line with consistency and also showed an ability to get to the basket and score in traffic.  Hardy will push the pace with the ball in his hands.  He showed active hands and feet on the defensive end, coming up with a couple of steals and scores to make opponents think twice about trying to attack him on offense.

Dallas Lambert, Port Charlotte: We were impressed with the 6’4 freshman when we saw him at the Wally Keller Classic a month or so ago  and he continued his positive play here.  Not surprisingly, especially in this type of individual showcase atmosphere, Lambert was all about getting to the rim.  He was effective in doing so but also had a few nice passes on the break which was somewhat eye-opening and refreshing.  Athletic with a quick first step, Lambert gets past defenders and collapses defenses.  He’ll try some tough shots but has the body control and touch to finish them off more often than not.  It will be interesting to see how his perimeter shooting advances over the next few season.s

Maodo Niang, Kissimmee Central Pointe Christian: The 6’8 sophomore played a solid supporting role for the SIAA state champs this past season.  His offensive skills will come in time but right now it is about his activity, aggressiveness, and athleticism.  Niang is going to get his points off putbacks, rolling to the hoop after ball-screens, and simply by beating others down the floor.  His second and third leap for rebounds are as quick and bouncy as most opponents’ first and he is very tough to keep off the glass at either end.  Strong with good footspeed he defends well both on the perimeter and in the post.  He’ll sometimes make mistakes by playing too fast, but that is something that coaches can live with now and correct as time goes by.

Alex Lloyd, Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy: The 6’4 sophomore is a weapon, pure and simple.  He can get a bucket in a variety of ways, disrupts on the defensive end,  and converts quicky from defense to offense and vice versa. Lloyd scores well with either hand around the basket after drives or in transition, is a reliable shooter on both sides of the arc, and an unselfish distributor of the basketball on the move.  Defensively, he is a blur in the passing lanes, has great instincts, and has the athleticism, wingspan, and lateral quickness to guard multiple positions.  Lloyd played just as well in Saturday’s second session, but we will only mention him in this report.

Myles Mayfield, Orlando Edgewater: A 6’8 sophomore, Mayfield uses his length and leap to impact the game around the basket at both ends of the floor.  He gets to rebounds quickly coming off the rim, is quick to put the ball in the hoop after grabbing a miss at that end or get the ball to teammates and sprint up the floor on defense.  Mayfield challenges shots in the lane and is especially effective coming over from the weakside to snuff shots out.  As his offensive skills continue to improve, so will his recruiting profile.  His physical gifts should intrigue coaches at the next level.

Darius Washington, III, Orlando Edgewater: A 6’3 sophomore, he showed off some scoring versatility and distribution skills that we did not see this past season.  He got some deep jumpers to go down, forcing the defense to play up.  That allowed Washington to get into the lane score.  Washington had some nifty assists on the move, both when driving to the basket against a set defense as well as in transition.  To top things off, he also had a couple of steals that turned into scores of the highlight reel variety.

Herly Brutus, Umatilla: The 6’5 sophomore was very quiet in game one on Saturday but certainly showed up and showed out in game two.  Brutus was able to knock in some mid-range jumpers, score by moving without the ball, and finding teammates for easy baskets.  With his size, court vision, and ball-handling skills, he has the makings of a point guard at the next level.  He rebounds well and is quick to advance the ball either via pass or dribble.  Brutus definitely has the length and lateral quickness to be a multi-position defender.  He can sometime be too unselfish but at least in this environment, it was refreshing.