Top Performers: Nature Coast Summer Shootout (Day 1)

<p>The annual Nature Coast Summer Shootout kick-started on Friday. I took in 13 games on a busy day between four different gyms, Nature Coast High being the main facility.</p> <p>Here is a look at the prospects who stood out to me.</p> <h3><strong>Javohn Thomas &amp; Dillon Mitchell (Sickles)</strong></h3> <p>Sickles is young, but now has a lethal combination of speed, size and smarts. 2022 6'1" guard <strong>Javohn Thomas </strong>returns as the team's leading scorer and he's continuing to get better and better as an attacker. He's an unselfish point guard who gets everyone involved and calms down his offense. Alongside him is 2022 6'6" forward <strong>Dillon Mitchell</strong>, a transfer from Alonso. He had a monster putback dunk against East Bay in an afternoon tilt and really showed off his athleticism. 2019 6'10" forward <strong>Trey Jones </strong>is also in for a steady season, cleaning up misses and grabbing boards down low with his size.</p> <h3><strong>Jake Charske &amp; Elijah Russell (Forest)</strong></h3> <p>Forest has a real scoring threat in 2020 6'3" guard <strong>Jake Charske</strong>. He scored his team's first eight points in a victory over Armwood which included a pair of 3's and a nice attack at the rim. Charske never looked back as he had just about 30 points (not recorded) in the matchup. The Wildcats have a riser in 2022 6'6" forward <strong>Elijah Russell.</strong> A starter as a freshman, Russell is very active on both ends of the floor as an inside presence. He can handle the ball well and draw a lot of contact. Charske and Russell seemed to always be in sync.</p> <h3><strong>EJ Hubbert (Countryside)</strong></h3> <p>Coming over from Oldsmar Christian alongside fellow 2021 guard Anthony Bittar, 6'3" guard <strong>EJ Hubbert</strong> has needed some time to settle in at Countryside. We saw glimpses of that this week during the Marreese Speights Summer League, but nothing came more natural for Hubbert then Friday's trio of games. He was getting to the rack, hitting the mid-range and controlling the flow and moving defenders with his impressive dribble drives. Hubbert is a sneaky good athlete loaded with breakout potential as a junior.</p> <h3><strong>Chase Farmer (Land O' Lakes)</strong></h3> <p>2020 6'3" guard <strong>Chase Farmer </strong>displayed a ton of leadership and poise in a victory over Gulf in the 9:40 time slot. He plays a key role for Land O' Lakes nightly, but with 2020 guard Mekhi Perry on the mind with a toe injury, Farmer was asked to do even more than usual. He didn't shy away from the responsibility, connecting from long range and getting to the cup often. Farmer is one of the best scoring threats in the area.</p> <h3><strong>CJ Hawkins (Berkeley Prep)</strong></h3> <p>I liked what I saw in terms of resilience from 2022 6'6" Berkeley Prep guard/forward <strong>CJ Hawkins</strong>. He was limited against Anclote due to overbearing defense from 2020 forward Jakob Hester. Hawkins redeemed himself with a workmanlike performance against Steinbrenner later in the day. Hawkins was locked in, hauling in rebounds, being aggressive and scoring at will at times. For a shorthanded Berkeley Prep squad, he was asked to do a lot which will go a long way in his development.</p> <h3><strong>Denzil "Bo" Alleyne (George Jenkins)</strong></h3> <p>A transfer from Bartow, 2020 6'2" guard <strong>Denzil "Bo" Alleyne </strong>is a very talented athlete. A wide receiver on the football field, his presence on the basketball court is undeniable. Alleyne came off the bench for George Jenkins in a game against Crystal River. Not only get by defenders will his pure strength, but he was all over the glass, scoring off boards and drives to the hoop. Alleyne will be a big factor for his new squad all season long.</p> <h3><strong>Orien Adams (Nature Coast)</strong></h3> <p>This will be the <strong>Orien Adams</strong> show down low for Nature Coast this upcoming season. The secret is out on the 2020 6'5" forward who averaged 16.9 PPG and 16.7 RPG a year ago for the Class 6A state semifinalist Sharks. Adams still is raw as a ballhandler, but he gets it done in the paint as a brute scorer and hard-nosed rebounder. He did plenty in a loss to Zephyrhills and I fully expect him to be a double double candidate on most nights as a senior.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">2022 Sickles G Javohn Thomas with the crafty take. <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamParsonsCP25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamParsonsCP25</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JavohnThomas23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JavohnThomas23</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SicklesHoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SicklesHoops</a> <a href="https://t.co/5aZUj2jCDQ">pic.twitter.com/5aZUj2jCDQ</a></p> — ᴊᴀᴋᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴘᴇʀ (@JakePerper) <a href="https://twitter.com/JakePerper/status/1137034607227019264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2019</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>