Observations: Sunshine State Preseason Classic (Day One)
The 3rd Annual Sunshine State Preseason Classic kicked off at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale. The day one field featured J.P. Taravella, North Broward Prep, Boyd Anderson, Calvary Christian, Blanche Ely, and University School. Final Scores: J.P. Taravella…
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Continue ReadingThe 3rd Annual Sunshine State Preseason Classic kicked off at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale. The day one field featured J.P. Taravella, North Broward Prep, Boyd Anderson, Calvary Christian, Blanche Ely, and University School.
Final Scores:
J.P. Taravella Trojans 57
North Broward Prep Eagles 64
The Trojans and Eagles seesawed small leads in this one throughout most of the game. I think the difference was the play of Maximus Fuentes, especially in the second half. The 2022 guard scored 27 points, leading all scorers in the opening match-up. Fuentes seemed to find the bucket with ease as the game wore on, propelling the Eagles to a victory after trailing at the half. I would give Fuentes one of the best overall performances of the three-game set. Kerby Dumay kept the Trojans around with 17 points.
Boyd Anderson Cobras 49
Calvary Christian Eagles 72
As I wrote in my player preview, the Eagles are a deep team and they showed it against the Cobras. Calvary Christian saw four players score in double figures. Noah Tovar, Greg Glenn, Dylan Canoville, and Carl Cherenfant all reached the mark. In addition, Sterling Young finished with nine points of his own. Glenn is the most athletically gifted player I saw all night. The sophomore can handle the ball like a guard, taking it behind his back before getting down the center of the lane for a layup. He also showed his athleticism on a steal in the second quarter before throwing down a tomahawk dunk through the middle of the Cobra defense. On the low block, he used his size to carve out space for buckets off the glass. Glenn is a complete player in every sense of word. I was impressed with Canoville, who is a strong looking player and showed it around the paint. The Ealges held the Cobras to a pair of single digit quarters and could be a problem this season given they can keep guys fresh with the amount of weapons they have. In the loss, I was impressed with the play of Kemari Brown. The Cobra guard finished with a team high 17 points.
University School Sharks 70
Blanche Ely Tigers 53
Last year, Roger McFarlane was an x-factor on a Sharks team with Vernon Carey Jr. and Scottie Barnes. With Carey at Duke and Barnes at Montverde Academy, I think McFarlane is thee factor as a senior this season. McFarlane scored 22 points, 15 of which came in the first half. He looked like a man on a mission, from scoring on layups to hitting long range 3-pointers. Along with Fuentes, McFarlane had the best overall night of anyone. Sophomore Taylor Hendricks connected on a pretty lob for a dunk late in the game, igniting the Sharks bench. If a reward was given for play of the night, I think he would have earned it. Hendricks finished with 11 points and has major holes to fill in the front court with the departure of Carey. If he plays well around the rim the Sharks could have a very big year. Blanche Ely fought all night in this one but just didn’t have the weapons to match-up with the Sharks. Colby King looked strong for the Tigers in the loss with 17 points.