Kingdom of the Sun: Teams and Players to Watch Pt. 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 16-team Kingdom of the Sun annual tournament is back this week with some talented squads going head-to-head to get a feel for where they are in the early season. Prep Hoops will highlight teams and players to watch and also give a recap with finishes and players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Winter Haven (8-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Devils are off to a hot start on a mission to get back into the state championship mix. Despite losing a couple of production pieces, Winter Haven is back and seemingly hasn't lost a step with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1055750' first='Isaac' last='Celiscar'] (21.7 PPG) and [player_tooltip player_id='1055762' first='Jamie' last='Phillips'] (17.4 PPG) leading the way. WH will enter the Kingdom of the Sun after just winning a tournament championship series in the 2023 Alpha Invitational on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Victory Christian Academy (6-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Victory jumped on the Polk radar last season while taking down some of the tough high schools in the area on the way to a state championship runner-up finish. The Storm are led by D1 FAU commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1055782' first='Lorenzo' last='Cason']</strong> who is stamped as the Real Deal. VCA is primed to make a run for the 2A title and finally get over the OCP hump. Playing in competitive tournaments as such will help VCA in the end season when things get tough.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Williston (10-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top team in Class 1A has steamrolled its way to an undefeated start to the season with state championship hardware in mind. No doubt, 6-6 senior [player_tooltip player_id='1830234' first='Kyler' last='Lamb'] (16.8 PPG) will be the leader and focal point of the team but the Red Devils have a talented supporting class including sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2299651' first='Deandre' last='Harvey'] (15.0 PPG) and lengthy senior Javon Brown (13.0 PPG). Interested to see how Williston finishes against other top talent.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Thomas Aquinas (10-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Raiders enter the Sun tournament with a decent record to kick off the season with hopes of landing their first tournament win. STA is still led by rising sophomore guard Drake (DJ) Sandi (13.0 PPG) who I'm excited to get eyes on. They will kick things off against out-of-state Math Civics and Sciences (PA) on Wednesday to start the tournament.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leto (8-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Excited to get eyes on the Leto Falcons squad consisting of two talented brothers, Daniel (20.5 PPG) and [player_tooltip player_id='1055777' first='Derek' last='Delgardo'] (19.5 PPG). Both are one of many talented rising prospects on the roster but stand out with efficient shooting from the field while also being two of the top defenders on the team. Leto will have a tough go in round one against a decent Trinity Catholic team.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rockledge (7-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rockledge Raiders are off to a hot start on the season while being led by senior University of Tampa commit [player_tooltip player_id='1306134' first='Ryan' last='Blount'] who's averaging nearly 30.0 PPG with 8 rebounds to add. Blount also has help from the experienced and talented junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2217935' first='Terrence' last='Shannon'] (13.0 PPG, 5.0 assists). Interestingly, the Raiders will run into a confident Victory Christian team in Game One of the tournament.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hawthorne (3-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hornets have only had three games this season but have not taken a loss yet. For the second consecutive season, Hawthorne is led by dual-sport junior [player_tooltip player_id='1450208' first='CJ' last='Ingram'] who has set the tone to start the year, averaging 26.3 PPG with 9.0 rebounds to add. It'll be crucial for Ingram to keep up that output if the Hornets want to get back into the state championship mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->