THE TEN BEST: Dec. 27-30th (Kingdom of the Sun & Battle @ Villages)
Between the Ocala-Vanguard’s “Kingdom of the Sun” Tourney, and the “Battle at the Villages” event, there has been a great amount of talent that has been seen over the last few days. It’s a lot to keep up with, but check out the Ten Best hoopers I’ve seen throughout that period of time.
Terry Ivery – The Villages: Height doesn’t matter with this kid. The 5’8” senior point guard notched 21 points in a win vs. Auburndale on opening day of The Battle. Terry was dangerous from outside the arc, penetrated the paint well, and even threw down a monstrous dunk. Terry rose for a couple of blocks in the paint, as well. Definitely a tough guy to ignore.
Jero Brown – Stuart-Martin County: Brown is flat-out fearless. He possesses a great deal of speed while in-transition, and knows how to absorb contact & finish at the rim. While he took a loss vs. Rockledge at the Kingdom of the Sun, Brown gave the Rock D a few fits while they looked for ways to slow him down.
Ramsey Robinson – Rockledge: At 6’5”, Robinson is a solid wingman who moves well without the ball—loved his ability to cut and free up space for others to drive through. He’s another guy that didn’t mind taking contact when it was his turn to attack the paint. Robinson finished with 20 points in a win vs. Stuart-Martin County.
Jaduhkiss Soto – Kissimmee-Osceola: There’s a great amount of patience to his game that I really appreciate. Against Ft. Lauderdale-Stranahan on opening day of The Battle, Soto scored 20 enroute to a win. He did it by hitting the long-ball, stroking the midrange J, and breaking defenders down, off-the-dribble. Soto’s solid.
Dakota Rivers – Windermere: Even more than his ability to score the ball, what you notice about the senior FGCU commit is his ability to shot-block. Rivers is 6’8”, and at this high school level, one of the biggest rim-protectors seen at the Kingdom of the Sun. He earned five blocks in the game. Rivers and his Wolverines earned a win vs. Illinois-Bolingbrook in the tournament semis, scoring 17 points in the process.
Nathan Beymer – Auburndale: Though the Villages got the win vs. Auburndale on opening day of The Battle, it was nearly impossible for them to stop Beymer from making his presence felt in the paint. He earned 22 points while going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. On the rebounding front, boxing out efforts were futile against Beymer. At least a third of his points came from putbacks off offensive rebounds.
Tre Mann – The Villages: At this point, there doesn’t seem to be anything the Mann (haha) can’t do. He notched 34 points vs. Auburndale at The Battle while hitting three treys and sinking 9-of-10 foul shots. If you get up close, he’ll burn past you for a jam. If you give him space, he’s capable of draining it from 35 feet. Tre will be the key to the Buffaloes’ success, this season. They are definitely in good hands.
Brian Dugazon – Ft. Lauderdale-Stranahan: “B-Duga” is a pesky point-guard who can definitely make things tough on you if you’re looking to stay in front of him. Dugazon has a great handle on the rock, and sets people up for success by the way he can dump it off to teammates for quick scores in-transition. At The Battle, his jumper was solid—can hit it anywhere from 10 to 25 feet, out. Looking forward to hearing of his progression over the next year and a half.
O.C. Brothers – Rockledge: All. Out. Hustle. That’s the best way to describe Brothers’ play in their win vs. Martin County at The Kingdom of the Sun. He can hit the three & the midrange, but also has solid courtvision while in-transition. Brothers’ is constantly looking for the open man when the ball is in his hands. On D, he notched a couple of steals that turned into points for his Raiders. Loved his consistent effort while on the floor.
Josh Colon – Windermere: Colon is a sniper from beyond the arc. At the Kingdom of the Sun vs. Bolingbrook in the tournament semis, Colon notched 20 points—including four treys. Everytime Bolingbrook would look to make a push, Colon would silence their fans with a bucket by himself, or by setting up others for a look. You could tel by his on-court demeanor, that he came to this event to WIN.