Mount Dora Christian Shootout: Notebook

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>On Tuesday, I made the trip out to Mount Dora Christian Academy for a series of games. Loved the throwback gymnasium with the stage, and upper deck. In the few hours that I stayed these are some of the players who showed promise:</p> <p><strong>CG [player_tooltip player_id="818709" first="Rodney" last="Bryant"] 6-0 (2021) Mt. Dora Christian Academy</strong></p> <p>A quick shifty guard, Bryant was doing a little bit of everything in the two games that I saw. Against Cornerstone Christian, he pushed the ball up the court finishing in transition, got into passing lanes, and sank several 3-pointers. Expect to see another dominant year out of Bryant at Mt. Dora Christian.</p> <p><strong>SG [player_tooltip player_id="953698" first="Kaleb" last="Thomas"] 6-2 (2021) Mt. Dora Christian Academy</strong></p> <p>After a season averaging 6.3 PPG at perennial power Oak Ridge, Thomas decided to take his talents to MDCA for his final year. On Tuesday, Thomas was electric, shooting 3-pointers off the dribble, often in defender's faces. He also thrived on defense and in transition. Expect to see some big statistics next season out of the Bryant-Thomas tandem, and quite a few victories.</p> <p><strong>SF [player_tooltip player_id="818912" first="Joe" last="Poyser"] 6-5 (2021) Wildwood</strong></p> <p>With Marcus Nilback now graduated, and Division I bound, [player_tooltip player_id="818912" first="Joe" last="Poyser"] showed that he may be the next star out of Wildwood. Against The Villages, he did a good job of exploiting mismatches bullying smaller defenders in the post, and taking larger defenders off the dribble. In transition, the wing had a couple of big dunks. Not all is lost for Wildwood, as they say, tradition never graduates!</p> <p><strong>SF [player_tooltip player_id="709259" first="Sam" last="Walters"] 6-9 (2023) The Villages</strong></p> <p>With recent offers from LSU and Georgetown, Walters showed why he is so highly regarded as a member of the sophomore class. On defense, the 6-9 wing got low in a defensive stance and guarded the opposition's point guard full court. On offense, Walters showed off a quick crossover, and decent form shooting the ball from long range. With three more years to polish his game, and get stronger it’s scary to think of how good this young man will be by graduation.</p> <p><strong>PG Nathan Rembert 5-8 (2021) Wildwood</strong></p> <p>A recent transfer from Eustis, Rembert had the quickest crossover at the event. The speedy point guard plays with a chip on his shoulder, and showed that he will complement Poyser quite well next season. A pesky defender, and deadeye 3-point shooter, Rembert should be primed for a big senior season.</p>