Pre-Season Classic Nov 19th, 2010 @ Raines HS

5:45 pm Raines vs Andrew Jackson
7:15 pm tallahassee Rickards vs Providence
8:45 pm Montverde Academy vs Miami Senior

Nov 20th, 2010 @ Raines HS

5:45 pm Andrew Jackson vs Miami Senior
7:15 pm Tallahassee Rickards vs Raines
8:45 pm Montverde Academy vs Providence

Game 1 :Winter Park vs. Evans

Austin Rivers final season at Winter Park High School has begun the same way his Junior season ended: with a win. Rivers, who is headed to Duke in 2012, and the Winter Park Wildcats easily defeated Evans 64-48 at West Orange High School. While the season has begun the same way last year ended, many other things about Winter Park has changed, including its’ entire rotation.

With transfers  Senior Austin Keel (Winter Springs) and Junior BillyDee Williams (Edgewater) being added to the mix under Head Coach David Bailey, it looks like it could take some time for the team to gel together and by time I mean one quarter. After trailing after the first quarter against Evans, the Wildcats went on to win by 16 points and have a complete team effort in doing so.

Austin Rivers led the charge for the Wildcats, pacing them with 24 points and 4 rebounds, including an alley oop dunk off the backboard from teammate Brett Comer that woke the crowd up. Along with the effort from Rivers, FAU signee Comer added 11 points and 3 steals, new transfer Austin Keel contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals and Junior transfer BillyDee Williams added 9 points and 9 rebounds (6 offensive) off the bench.

While Evans didn’t have many bright spots to brag about, they do have one future stud in sophomore big man Dre’Kalo Clayton who added 21 points and 8 rebounds, including a number of step out jumpers and a three ball.

With potentially four future Division 1 players in the main rotation, it looks like Winter Park is ready for yet another run at another state championship and don’t be surprised to see a more balanced attack from Winter Park all year long.

Winter Park concludes this two day event with a match-up against host West Orange on Thursday night.

Game 2: Edgewater vs. West Orange

The host of this two day event, the West Orange Warriors, controlled the game from start to finish on Tuesday night. With 2 returning starters and 5 other returners, the Warriors of West Orange were well balanced and controlled every aspect of the game in the 57-41 victory over Edgewater. While West Orange had a balanced effort, they were led on the floor by senior guard Dewayne Gallimore who had 8 points, all of which came in the first two quarters of the game. Fortunately for West Orange, they will most likely improve on their record last year of 17-10 with a veteran team.

While Gallimore is their floor leader, they have a number of juniors who are exciting to watch and in just 24 months should be suiting up somewhere in Division 1 basketball.  Those Juniors include 6′6 forward Eric McCree, who had 11 points, and Junior guard Branden Williams and Sophomore forward Will Richardson who had six and nine points respectively.

With a strong core group of guys looking to be around for the next couple of years, I expect West Orange to use their athleticism and ability to play full court defense to challenge many teams, not only in the Central Florida area, but across the state. Again, while Edgewater also didn’t have many positives in the game, senior forward Tim Burkett had 11 points and they also have a talented Freshman in 6′1 guard Eddie Keith to continue to keep an eye on.

The event concludes on Thursday with West Orange hosting Winter Park and Evans and Edgewater battling it out as well.

DeVon Walker

Walkers play at “ The Workout”, put on by Tom Topping and The Breakdown Battle for the Rankings, really has the basketball world buzzing. DeVon is a 6’5 shooting guard who handles the ball and passes the ball extremely well, making him a possible point guard prospect in the future. He is a freak athlete, showing off hammer dunks with either hand in traffic. Walker even showed off an accurate jump shot with capabilities to consistently knock down the open three ball.

DeVon, a member of the 2012 class, attends Winter Haven High School in Polk County, Florida, where he leads his team in multiple statistical categories.Walker is a “do it all player”, leading his team in points per game with 18.2, rebounds with 7, steals with 2, and assists with 6.  With his recruitment really heating up, DeVon currently holds scholarship offers from Richmond, FAU, and Liberty University, with a wide variety of other schools banging on his door. UCF, USF, Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Clemson are all in hot pursuit of Walker’s services at the moment, although only FAU, Richmond, and Liberty are making the trip down to Winter Haven this fall to evaluate him.

DeVon had this to say about what he is looking for in a school for his future decision: “I am looking for the potential to win and a school that will make me a better basketball player and person. I want a school that I feel comfortable with, a coach who wants to win and make his players all they can possibly be.”  Walker is coming off a last season record of 11-10, but we expect him to raise his level of play this season and continue to make a lot of noise with the college program ranks.

Montel Williams

After seeing Montel, a 6’1 point guard, multiple times this fall at the Adidas Superstar Showcase, Hoop Mountain fall showcase, and the Battle for the Rankings, we are convinced that he has established himself as a division one player. Williams is a lockdown on the ball defender, has a tight handle, has very limited turnovers at the point guard spot, and has a sweet stroke from the behind the arc. Montel is the starting point guard of a highly talented Dwyer High school team that is expected to make the trip to the state final four this year. He has been a four year player for Dwyer and after working hard this summer, has finally put all of his pieces together.

Montel played on the summer circuit with a newer AAU team “ One Church, “ coached by Don Stephens. According to Stephens, Montel showed his progress this summer playing with the team. Stephens said “ Montel had an incredible summer, every game we played in all summer I felt like he was the best player on the floor and because of him I felt like we had a chance to win every game. He’s a great kid and very easy to coach.”

After making such an improvement this summer and fall, Williams has proved himself to his four year high school coach Fred Ross. Ross had this to say about Montel Williams: “Montel has been a four year player for me, he can really stroke the ball from three point range and has recently made the transition from the two guard to the point guard spot. I believe Montel will be a steal for a college program because no one really knows about him and with his improvement that will change.”

We are really looking forward to seeing Williams flourish this high school season and his recruitment heating up. Montel is a great kid who works extremely hard in the classroom and on the court, and he will be a great addition to a number of different college programs.

Alton Roberts, a 6’2 senior guard, is ready for his final season at Norland High School, out of Miami, Florida. Roberts had a solid junior campaign last year, averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, leading his team to a final record of 18-8.

Alton played on the spring and summer circuit with the Florida Rams travel basketball program. During this time he traveled the country, playing at some of the nation’s top exposure events for high school basketball players.

Roberts has a solid list of schools that he is receiving interest from, including North Florida, Campbell, Jacksonville, and High Point. He doesn’t plan on making any college decisions until early 2011.

“I’m looking for a place that I can call home in a school. My top school is the school who shows me the most love.” – Alton Roberts on what he is looking for in a college program.

After trimming his list to three, Kansas State, Louisville, and N.C. State, Angel’s decision is finally in. Rodriguez is an extremely tough 5’11 point guard, that lead his Dr. Krop team to a 26-6 Record last year and to a state championship finals appearance.

Angel has decided to give his commitment to Coach Frank Martin and the Kansas State Wildcats. Rodriquez officially visited all three of his finalists before making his decision. Rodriquez is one of the top point guard in Florida with high hopes to take his team back to states.