The District of Death: Opening Round Standouts

<p>Last night I made my way over to Olympia to watch the opening round of the Class 7A, District 3 tournament. Every year this district is known as one of the toughest and this year is no different with six of the seven schools ranked in the Top 25 in state for Class 7A, per Max Preps. These are some of the players who stood out:</p> <p>Games Watched:</p> <p>West Orange 77</p> <p>Lake Brantley 45</p> <p><strong>F [player_tooltip player_id="953460" first="Mike" last="McCalister"] 6-6 West Orange (2021)</strong></p> <p>On a team loaded with seniors, it was clear that West Orange was ready to go just by its energy and body language in warm ups. McCalister came out of the gates hot scoring nine points in the opening quarter including two dunks in transition and a corner 3-pointer. A senior leader, McCalister finished the game with 24 points scoring mostly in transition and underneath the basket. The big man battled for rebounds all game, and really set the tone for this Vikings team. Expect to see a solid career out of the forward over the next four years as he takes his talents to Division II Embry Riddle.</p> <p><strong> </strong><strong>G/F [player_tooltip player_id="1069197" first="Jack" last="Main"] 6-3 West Orange (2021)</strong></p> <p>Last year, Main was the team’s defensive stopper. While his defensive intensity remains the same, it has been great seeing him look for his offense more frequently in his final high school season. He has improved his 3-point shot greatly from being virtually a nonthreat from distance a year ago to being a player opposing teams scout for. Against Lake Brantley, he had several impressive moments however on what was possibly the play of the game he drove hard left, elevated and proceeded to dunk on a defenders head for an and one. On the game, he scored 17 points knocking down three 3-pointers and made some very impressive passes. On one highlight play he made a no look inbounds pass from near half court that found his teammate right under the basket for an easy score. Recruiting wise Main has been offered the opportunity to play at Division III Penn State Abington, Dean College and Eastern University.</p> <p>…. 6-0 SG <strong>E.J. Yorke </strong>(2021) had a solid game picking his spots to finish with 15 points. The guard had a quick release on his jumper and can knock them town off the dribble , standstill or coming off of a screen.</p> <p>Apopka 64</p> <p>Evans 59</p> <p><strong>PG [player_tooltip player_id="714918" first="John" last="Latimer III"] 6-1 Apopka (2021)</strong></p> <p>Down 30-21 at the half things were not looking so good for the Apopka Blue Darters. Adjustments were made, perhaps there was a star player-coach pep talk in the locker room and Apopka fought hard and came out with a win. In the first half, Latimer III missed a few shots but was still able to finish with nine points prior to intermission. In the second half he turned to his bread-and-butter mid-range pull up, and when he started to see the ball go in, troubled times were ahead for Evans. After knocking in three mid-range pull-ups in the beginning of the third quarter Latimer III started to get going down hill scoring on many drive attempts and was able to find his way to the free throw line. Finishing the game with a career-high 35 points, Latimer put on one of the greatest high school performances in my recent memory in the second half scoring 26 points to lead his team to victory. Recruiting wise the Apopka guard has offers from Presbyterian, NJIT, Holy Cross and Rollins but is wide open at this point.</p> <p>…..6-0 G <strong>Myrick Davis</strong> (2021) was another senior who fought hard to extend his high school career finishing with 15 points for Apopka.</p> <p>……Evans was led by a pair of junior guards 5-9 PG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="955607" first="Jyshaun" last="Melvin"]</strong> (2022) and 5-8 G <strong>Aviree Anderson</strong>. Melvin led the Trojans in the first half scoring 14 of his 17 total points and Anderson also scored 17 points. Evans finished the season with 13 wins and 13 losses and returns a majority of their lineup.</p> <p>Olympia 96</p> <p>Ocoee 54</p> <p><strong>SG/SF [player_tooltip player_id="818881" first="Tyeree" last="Bryan"] 6-5 Olympia (2021)</strong></p> <p>When Bryan is focused and aggressive, he is one of the best players in Orlando. Last night in the opening round, Ocoee had no answers for the athletic wing especially in the first half as he scored 16 of his 22 points. The senior scored from all three levels knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, connecting on mid range pull ups, and attacking the basket driving strong, finishing with either hand. Division II, Division I Junior College’s and NAIA schools have all been in contact with Bryan who is one of the more underrated players in the city.</p> <p><strong>PG E.J. James 6-1 Olympia (2023)</strong></p> <p>One of Orlando’s premier sophomores “Jizzle” James dominated the third quarter scoring nine of his 18 points. A fluid athlete with a quick burst of speed James flies around the court and can get to the basket and finish with either hand, but he seems very comfortable driving left. James also found success from deep knocking down a pair of stand still 3’s off the catch. With Bryan and White both graduating expect to see huge numbers out of James during his junior season.</p> <p><strong>PG/SG [player_tooltip player_id="1069191" first="Jacari" last="White"] 6-3 Olympia (2021)</strong></p> <p>After missing a season and a half of high school basketball with a knee injury, it has been nice to see White find success in his last season at Olympia. The guard was more patient than I had seen him before, picking his spots to score and he also found his teammates for scoring opportunities. In the first half the senior helped Olympia get out to a strong start netting 11 of his 13 points. A shifty guard who can break defenders down off the dribble and play suffocating defense, White is a player college coaches should be aware of.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>…. Ocoee was led by 6-3 <strong>Johnny Taylor</strong> (2021) and 6-4 <strong>Christian Chambers</strong> (2022). Both players scored 15 points and all of Chambers’ points came from behind the 3-point line.</p>