Ermil Fleurinvil, Orlando Downey Christian: A 6’7 junior, Fleurinvil oozes upside with his length, high-level athleticism, and endless motor. He is swift up and down the floor, active on the interior, and challenges opponents at the basket.
De’Shayne Montgomery, North Lauderdale Somerset Prep: The 6’4 senior combo guard had a very good outing on Sunday. Not only did he prove to be a consistent scorer from all three levels, Montgomery was solid in his playmaking abilities. He had several assists and near-assists both in transition and when driving to the basket. Montgomery also rebounded the ball well against bigger opponents.
Papa Gora Niang, Kissimmee Central Pointe Christian: The 6’7 junior surprised with his ability to shoot the three-ball. He didn’t surprise with his high-end athleticism. Quick off the floor, he gets to rebounds sooner than most. Niang is an improving ball-handler that will score after a couple of dribbles on straight line drives. His physical traits make him a versatile defender.
Kyle Jones, Jacksonville Paxon School: A 6’2 junior, Jones surprised us with his production after going over our notes. He did a little bit of everything, from hitting jumpers to scoring on the break to blocking shots. He has a solid frame and gives great effort on every possession.
Brian Fuery, U.S. Prep: A 6’7 senior, Fuery is a prototypical wing. He is very athletic, attacks the basket and can make shots on the perimeter. Fuery is quick to the ball coming off the glass, can start the transition game on his own, and covers a lot of ground very quickly on the defensive end of the floor.
Jasai Miles, Miami Country Day: We admit to not seeing a full game for the 6’6 junior, but it seemed like every time we looked over to the court he was playing on, Miles was doing something positive. We noted a couple of deep threes and a few strong drives that put points on the board. When he gets things going like that, Miles is difficult to contain.
Chris Mubiru, Orlando West Oaks Academy: The 6’4 junior often took a back seat to his senior teammates this past season. On Sunday, he unleashed an all-around game that generated some buzz. Mubiru has a solid frame, overpowers defenders on the drive and makes good shot vs pass decisions on the move. He can score or dish coming off ball-screens and can be a dangerous three-point shooter. He has a knack for grabbing offensive rebounds and quickly converting them into points.
Sam Alexis, Apopka: The 6’9 senior is young for his grade and it won’t surprise if he takes a prep year to upgrade his body and skills. He looked pretty skilled on Sunday. Not only did Alexis show off some solid if basic post moves around the basket but he also stepped away from the lane and connected on a couple of jumpers. He runs the floor well, controls his rebounding area, and does a good job of protecting the basket.
Gabe Fajardo, Homestead South Dade: The 6’3 junior is a strongly built scorer. He shoots well off the catch or bounce on either side of the arc, uses his strength to get to and finish at the basket in a crowd and rebounds well for his size. He’s an alert defender, is quick into the passing lanes, and plays opponents physically on that end of the floor.
Joviel Acevedo, Orlando Downey Christian: The 6’4 junior has good size at the point guard spot. On Sunday he shot the ball well from the perimeter but also got into the lane and found teammates for easy shot attempts. Acevedo has developed a reliable mid-range game and works hard on the defensive end of the floor.
John Ziegler, Tampa King. Opponents may overshadow the 6’1 junior physically but when the ball goes up no one is going to outwork him or outthink him. Zeigler constantly communicates on the defensive end, is alert to help and recover to shooters, and will pick off lazy passes in his area and quickly push the ball up the floor. He is solid when it comes to dribbling and passing the basketball and he has learned to make shots over taller opponents. Ziegler’s ability to catch and shoot from beyond the arc sets up drives with which he scores or gets teammates easy shot attempts.
Isaiah Sutherland, Orlando Christian Prep: The 6’6 junior was a solid role player for the Class 2A state champs. With his performance on Saturday, he may get a bigger role next season. Sutherland went 3-5 from the arc when we watched in four on four action. It will be interesting to see how he progresses this off-season.
Owen Aquino, Kissimmee Central Pointe: The 6’8 senior has good size and a solid frame. He rebounds his area well, has a good touch with either hand around the basket and is a surprisingly good passer out of both the high and low post areas.