Top Performances: South Florida
Phillip Lyttle, Forest Hill
Little was a veritable superman and the engine who propelled Forest Hill to the championship of their own tournament. Hill registered a triple double with 30 points, 12 boards, and 10 assists. He added six steals in one of the most thorough and impressive performances witnessed in the Palm Beach county landscape this season.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Class of 2018 guard has a drive-first mentality. He thrives at knifing through traffic and getting to the rim.
Miles Coleman, Dwyer
In what was by far the most dizzying and pulsating game of the Charger Classic, Coleman was the centerpiece of a massive upset bid. His deft long range 3-point shooting triggered an 11-o spurt to start the game. Coleman continued to stake his claim as one of the area’s more underrated prospects in the second half, displaying an advanced pull-up game and rearing his highly skilled scoring acumen on a court with four heavily heralded Division-I signees and prospects.
Coleman, who was offered by North Florida as a sophomore, has growing interest from programs such as Stetson and Lipscomb. After a performance of this magnitude, it’s clear the 6-foot-5 guard is too good to be an unknown in the Class of 2018. With his timely scoring against a University School team that’s ascended the mountaintop of the country’s elite, this was certainly evident.
Scottie Barnes, University School
In assessing how uncharacteristic a first half University School put together in a 66-62 victory over Dwyer and also witnessing how much they sputtered before ultimately closing the door, it’s clear how much Barnes’ absence affected them. Before Barnes suffered a rough spill that relegated him to the sidelines, he put on a show for a local crowd with many family members and friends from his West Palm Beach hometown in attendance.
Barnes scored 15 points, pulled down 12 boards and doled out 10 assists in University School’s win over Fort Myers-based Canterbury on Friday night. He sent the gym into a frenzy during one acrobatic dunk during the second half.
With Barnes’ ability to play some point forward, coupled with his length and potent athleticism, the 6-foot-8 forward has the chance to be the best player out of West Palm Beach since Derek Harper. The former NBA guard, Harper was trending this week as his jersey was retired by the Dallas Mavericks.
Japhet Medor, Lake Worth
One year after serving as a backup to All-State guard Trent Frazier (now at Illinois) at Wellington, Medor has been one of Palm Beach County’s highest-impact transfers.
The Lake Worth point guard enforces an uptempo attack and scores at all three levels, with a knack for getting into the lane and finishing in crafty fashion. Medor scored a game-best 26 points to lead Lake Worth over Orlando foe Dr. Phillips.