Nike’s EYBL held its second session this past weekend in Memphis. This was the lone Live Period of the spring in which college coaches could attend. Let’s take a look at some notable numbers for the Florida Rebels.
17U
Session II was a stellar one for this group as they finished an unblemished 4-0 over the weekend. The wins came in a variety of ways: a pair of twenty-point victories in games one and four that were sandwiched around an eight-point win and a two-point squeaker. Game One over Team United saw the Rebels hold the opponent to just 32% from the field overall while they scored ten more baskets on two less field goal attempts. They also outrebounded Team United by a dozen. Game Two’s victory over Team Why Not out of California was all about the three-point shot as the Rebels went 11-20 from that distance. In the two-point squeaker over the NY Lightning, an 18-5 advantage in made free throws was clearly the difference. In the weekend’s final game vs The Family out of Michigan, it was a combination of stellar offense (50% from the field) and solid defense (32% for the opposition).
Cayden Daughtry, the 6’0 sophomore from Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian, continues to prove his talent playing up a year. One national outlet tabbed him as the Underclassman Performer of the Weekend and named him first team all-event. For the weekend, he averaged nearly 22ppg to go along with 3+ assists and 2+ steals per contest. Daughtry was scintillating against Team Why Not with 32 points which included an astounding 8-10 from three-point land. He tallied 28 points against The Family.
Jaxon Richardson, the 6’6 junior at Miami Columbus, didn’t play in the final game of the session but more than held his own in the first three games. Richardson finished with an average of 14 points and 5 rebounds per game. At 17-35 field goals, he was just under 50% from the field overall.
Donavan Williams, a 6’4 junior at Oak Hill, put up solid, all-around numbers during the weekend. He stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 13.5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.75 steals per contest. For his efforts, he earned Third Team All-Session honors as well as a spot on the All-Defense team from one national outlet.
Michael Madueme, a 6’5 junior from Orlando Lake Highland Prep, deserves a special mention for his fill-in performance in Game Four with Richardson unavailable. He contributed 6 points and 9 rebounds, unfazed by the moment.
16U
The 16s also went 4-0 this past weekend but they did so in somewhat dominating fashion. A 20+ point win over Team Durant kicked off the weekend, holding the opposition to just 30% overall from the field. That was followed by a 15-point win over Utah Prospects and a 20-point win over AOT out of Georgia on Saturday. Neither opponent was able to shoot better than 35% overall against this group of Rebels. Sunday’s final was another 20+ blowout win, this one over Vegas Elite as the Rebels doubled-up the shooting percentage (52.7% vs 26%) overall.
Oneal Delancy, a 6’4 sophomore at St. Petersburg Gibbs, had another sensational session. He averaged 21.5 ppg to go along with 6.25 rebounds and 6.25 assists per contest. He dropped 33 points on the Utah Prospects and had a two-game stretch of 15 assists to just 3 turnovers. His shooting splits of 50.1% from the field overall, 39% from three, and 86% from the foul line are impressive.
Carson Crawford, a 6’6 sophomore from Fleming Island, was arguably just as impressive. He finished with a double-double for the weekend of 14.8 points and 13.8 rebounds per contest and was remarkably efficient and consistent in doing so. He had a high game of 16 points and a low game of 13 points. It was nearly the same with rebounds: a high game of 14 rebounds and a low game of 12 rebounds (twice). Crawford shot over 50% from the field overall for the event.
Clarence Westbrook, a 6’1 sophomore from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, and Nijaun Harris, a 6’5 freshman from St. Petersburg HS, both averaged double-figures at 11 points a game. Each had a “single game stinker” but the other three were much more productive. Westbrook’s were games of 19, 16, and 9 points while Harris’ were 10, 23, and 11 points as both continue to show that they can take on a complementary role or produced numbers as the primary option.
15U
This group finished 2-1 for the weekend and it could have been a clean sweep for the Rebels program overall save for an 80-76 loss to Vegas Elite. The 15s started off the event with a 20+ point win over UT prospects, then held on for a two-point victory over AOT out of Georgia. Chalk those two wins up to defense and offensive balance. Defensively, they held the two teams to around 35% shooting overall from the field while knocking down their own shots at a 50% clip.
Josiah Gillard, a 6’0 freshman at Lake Minneola, led the team with 16.3 points a game with a high of 28 points against Vegas Elite in the final game of the event. He also provided nearly five assists per contest.
Branden Sharpe, a 6’4 freshman from Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, continued his stellar play for the team. He made a significant impact by averaging 13 points and nearly 7 rebounds a contest. Sharpe shot just under 60% overall from the field for the weekend.
Jahmir Wallace, a 6’4 freshman from Bartow, came close to averaging a double-double for the weekend with 12 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. A 22 point/15 rebound against Vegas Elite got people to sit up and take notice.
A special mention for Zion Siler, a 6’2 8th grader playing up. He averaged nine points a contest for the weekend against a major step up in competition.