Holiday Wish List: Florida’s Elite
Every coach would love to have some of the highly-lauded, five star Florida recruits as game-changers and faces of the program.
When ironing out ideas for Christmas gifts, however, you must invest thought into which gift would be best suited for which one of your loved ones.
Thus, this gift list is predicated on which gifted athlete best fits the needs of a program and aligns with the system implemented by the coach. Thus, let us peruse the quintessential gift list for a Florida coach
WING: Nassir Little, Orlando Christian Prep
With most games at the high school level running either a full 32 minutes or 40 minutes, efficiency parallels winning perhaps as much as any statistical category.
Having shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point territory these past two seasons, efficiency is synonymous with Little’s all around game.
Often described as the high school version of Kawhi Leonard, Little has a guard skill-set at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds. He can bury outside shots, explode off the dribble and score and knife into the teeth of defenders.
A sound shot blocker, Little is also on every coach’s gift list because of his versatility in being able to guard all five positions on the floor (a la former Montverde star and current Philadelphia 76er Ben Simmons).
Perhaps the most sought after attribute of Little’s game is his proficiency in the open court and high percentage above the rim game.
While most coaches don’t have the services of a methodical and defense dissecting creative point guard of Renaldo Segu’s type, it hardly matters.
On constant aerial alert around the rim, Little can turn most lob passes within five feet of the bucket into an extravagant flush. Long and bouncy, his nose for the rim and knack for throwing one down through traffic or on the transition leakout is what makes him such a hyper-efficient threat.
LEADER: Andrew Nembhard, Montverde Academy
You ever wake up on Christmas morning to unwrap a gift that was exactly what you needed?
As a traditional point guard whose quarterbacking style enables Mike Devoe and R.J. Barrett to get the right looks and flourish as scorers, Nembhard is tailor-cut for a high-scoring offense. If you have multiple gifted scorers in your lineup, accept no substitute to the Florida commit.
If a coach were to whittle down the gift list, it would perhaps be a tough decision between Nembhard and Elijah Weaver.
While the USC-bound Weaver was the second leading scorer behind D.J. Mitchell en route to Oldsmar’s SIAA state championship in 2017, he’s still got more of a scorer’s mentality.
If you need point who can create but more importantly take a significant percentage of scoring matters into their own hands, Weaver is the gift better suited for you. If you’ve already got a high scorer who is going to get a majority of the touches and your looking for a pure point guard who can rack up 14-15 assist performances in critical games, Nembhard is the best gift of choice.
STRETCH FOUR: Balsa Koprivica, Windermere Prep
At 7-foot-1 and capable of knocking down 3-pointers, you simply cannot deny the mismatch headache Koprivica creates for foes.
The big Serbian essentially has the same advantage Dirk Nowitski had, where his shot is virtually unguardable and gives him a bird’s eye view of the rim.
Beyond this, Koprivica can score with a refined post-up game and deliver smooth passes you simply don’t see many 7-footers pulling off.
COMPETITOR: P.J. Person
If we’ve learned anything from West Oaks players of the past, having that dog in you comes with the territory of playing for a stern defensive tactician in Kenny Gillion.
This much was evident with West Oaks alum such as Andres Feliz and Richardson Maitre. Both were not All Americans, but they were two-way threats who dove for 50-50 balls and never stopped grinding.
Person, a hard-nosed defender who displayed late game poise en route to West Oaks’ statement win over Aspire, embodied this same mentality.