Winter Haven versus Lakeland Standouts

<p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Lakeland and Winter Haven went down to the wire. The district foes were the last undefeated teams and Lakeland’s win has solidified their first place status. Both teams are filled with juniors and sophomores that will keep this rivalry going for a few seasons.</p> <p>Winter Haven</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1055750" first="Isaac" last="Celiscar"]</p> <p>The 6’6 wing is playing a new role for Winter Haven. He’s bringing the ball up the court, allowing him to use his athleticism to get downhill and score off the bounce. Tonight, the pull up jumper and floater were dangerous weapons for him. Celiscar also hit several threes off the catch, one on the wing and the other from the corner. He’s still rebounding at a high level for the position, throwing assists out of drives, and showing the motor that’s helped him to a top 15 ranking in the state’s 2024 class.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1055762" first="Jamie" last="Phillips"] </p> <p>Phillips shared the lead ball handler role with Celiscar in this game. He’s still showing the passing I’ve liked throughout the season while getting paint touches. The sophomore had two primary ways of scoring in this game. First was getting downhill for his floater. The second was posting up smaller guards where he can finish over the top of them. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="814550" first="Dylan" last="James"]</p> <p>James’s handle continues to improve over this season. He dropped off a 6’5 defender before kicking out to an open shooter for an assist. The junior continues to hit shots all over the court, rebound outside of his area, and supply rim protection force his team. He looked on the break weaving through traffic.</p> <p>Lakeland </p> <p>Roijah Hardy</p> <p>Hardy caught my eye with his size. He’s 6’2 with a muscular frame built for explosive movements. He’s a shifty ball handler that can get to the paint and has elusive moves on the drive to get clean looks at the rim. His first step puts defenders on his hip where he creates contact for foul calls. The junior had a great night at the line where he went 7 for 11 from the stripe. That free throw line success showed up in his ability to hit elbow pull-up jumpers.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1301760" first="Tyler" last="Williams"]</p> <p>Williams is an athletic 6’5 wing that can hit shots from the midrange and beyond the arc. He has impressive physical tools with long arms and speed included. He had a mean chase down block in transition and disrupted an alley-oop pass that turned into a transition score to cement a couple of defensive highlights.</p> <p>Daidren Zipperer</p> <p>Zipperer is an athletic 6’1 guard that made tough finishes at the rim. The junior has nice speed with the ball in his hands. He opened up the game with an 8 point quarter highlighted by two threes.</p>