Who Are The Top 10 Basketball Players Regardless of Class?
In this article:
Who Are The Top 10 Florida Girls Basketball Players Regardless of Class? By Michael Wholey 3/9/21 9:00 AM EST The state of Florida is loaded with talent at all positions and in all classes. We recently updated our Prep Girls…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWho Are The Top 10 Florida Girls Basketball Players Regardless of Class?
By Michael Wholey 3/9/21 9:00 AM EST
The state of Florida is loaded with talent at all positions and in all classes. We recently updated our Prep Girls Hoop Rankings in each class. In this article, we throw out classes and ask – Who are the top 10 Florida girls basketball players regardless of class? This top 10 list is based on the same criteria we use for our class rankings, evaluating players on their potential as a college prospect. These are the best of the best and they can ball!
# 1 2022 6’3 Forward Janiah Barker Janiah Barker 6'2" | SF Montverde Academy | 2022 State #3 Nation FL (Tampa Bay Tech / Essence) – Undecided
When you take a look across the college landscape and high-level collegiate basketball, Barker is everything college coaches are looking for. She is long, athletic and versatile. As the game of basketball transitions away from guards, forwards, and centers and transitions to position less basketball, Barker fits this style of play. At 6’3 she has the height and length to play inside but has great handle, moves exceptionally well and can play on the perimeter as well. She has an extremely versatile skill set with a rare and special combination of length, offensive skill, and athleticism. She has the ability to block a shot, get the defensive rebound, go coast to coast breaking down a defender or two, and finishing at the basket well above the rim. She can play 1-5 and has an unlimited ceiling! For this reason, she comes in at # 1!
# 2 2021 5’5 Guard O’Mariah Gordon O’Mariah Gordon 5'6" | PG Braden River | 2021 State #27 Nation FL (Braden River / Team Knight 17U) – Signed to Florida State University
O’Mariah Gordon O’Mariah Gordon 5'6" | PG Braden River | 2021 State #27 Nation FL or OMG has been named the Gatorade State Player of the Year each of the last 2 years, an award she was very deserving of. While Gordon is one of the state’s smaller players, don’t let her size fool you, at 5’5 she is a dynamite player packed into a small package and is a human highlight film! Her motor does not stop and she is on “go mode” 100% of the time at both ends of the floor. The Florida State signee is a major offensive threat, an extremely tough guard, as active as any player I have seen in a long time on the both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor and projects to be an immediate impact player in the ACC for the Seminoles.
# 3 2023 6’2 Guard Emma Risch Emma Risch 6'2" | PG Palm Bay | 2023 State #23 Nation FL (Palm Bay / Team Candice Dupree) – Undecided
Risch has been a mainstay on the exposure scene for several years now for good reason. Quite simply you don’t see many 6’2 point guards very often. Risch’s combination of height and skill have a number of major BCS coaches working really hard to acquire her skills on their college campus in the future. Risch has a great combination of scoring ability, court vision, and confidence on the court. She has been exposed to a number of competitive environments at a young age playing in a number of showcases nationally and internationally and holds a number of BCS offers. Her size is a major X-factor, allowing her to see over defenses and find open teammates as well as get her shot off and finish at the rim in situations where many other smaller guards struggle to get their shot off. Her game has room to grow but even with her young age, she is one of the top 10 players in the state!
# 4 2022 6’2 Forward Nyla Harris Nyla Harris 6'2" | PF Lake Highland Prep | 2022 State #34 Nation FL (Lake Highland Prep / Central Florida Elite) – Verbally Committed to Louisville
Harris just completed an undefeated season winning the 4A FHSAA State Championship with Lake Highland Prep. And when she is not suiting it up for the Highlanders, she is playing travel ball with Central Florida Elite all across the country in a number of high-level exposure tournaments. Harris has played up on the 16U and 17U divisions for several years now getting her noticed by the whose who of college programs. She recently made the decision to commit to the University of Louisville. In Harris, the Cardinals are getting a true inside/out post player who is skilled with both hands, has a strong lower base that she uses well to post up, finish at the rim vs contact and rebound. She is not just limited to an inside game as athletic and mobile for a 6’2 forward and her offensive skill often showcases her ability to score in the paint as well as stretch the floor from the high post and three-point line. Her length and athleticism make her an impactful defensive player as a shot blocker and rebounder.
# 5 2022 5’10 Guard Morgan Tonie (Florida State University HS / Central Florida Elite) – Undecided
Tonie is an elite point guard who has excellent basketball IQ, great court vision, dangerous open moves in the open court, and great ability to get to the rim. She is a floor leader and extension of the coach on the floor with a good balance of running her team, getting the ball to open players in scoring position, attacking the basket in transition and the open court, and stretching the floor knocking down the 3. Her top 8 list of colleges is some of college basketball’s best programs (NC State, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky, FSU, Oregon, and UNC). I think Tonie is a potential WNBA prospect based on where her game is right now. Her game seems to have very few weaknesses and her combination of height, skill, and IQ is unlike anything I have seen in a player in a long time.
# 6 2022 5’8 Guard Kailyn Gilbert Kailyn Gilbert 5'8" | CG IMG Academy | 2022 State FL (Seffner Christian / FGB) – Verbally Committed to Arizona
Gilbert is one of the most athletic players in the entire country. She has incredible leaping ability, speed, and lateral movement. Combining her athletic ability with her commitment to playing hard every single possession in both ends of the floor make her one of the state’s top prospects. She has an explosive first step, with superb handle, makes it near impossible for defenders to keep her out of the paint. Gilbert’s game definitely is more of a 1on1 game and one that is best in transition and in open space. I think being brought into a college program and learning how to play in a team offense will be a transition but her athleticism and offensive skill are so high level, once she figures it out, she will have a chance to be big time college player!
# 7 2022 5’8 Guard Sydney Shaw Sydney Shaw 5'9" | SG DME Academy | 2022 State FL (American Heritage / Miami Suns) – Undecided
Shaw has been on the exposure circuit since 8th grade playing 17U EYBL with the Miami Suns Team Fowles and a national high school schedule with Miami Country Day and now with American Heritage. In four years of playing High School basketball, she has won 3 state championships. She is a dynamic scoring guard who can play both the 1 and 2 positions. Her ability to her defender off the dribble 1on1 is elite with a number of deadly combination moves. She is a streaky scorer who is unstoppable when she gets it going!
# 8 2021 6’2 Wing/Forward Kendal Cheesman Kendal Cheesman 6'2" | PF HB Plant | 2021 State FL (Plant HS / Tampa Thunder) – Signed to Vanderbilt
Cheesman is coming off one of the most impressive high school seasons I have witnessed in a long time. The 6’2 Senior averaged 17.9 points and 9.7 rebounds while surpassing the 2,000-career point mark. She is a near impossible matchup at the high school level being able to go inside and out depending on the matchup. Look for it to be a lot of the same, as Cheesman is another one of these players that perfectly fits basketballs transition to position less basketball. Cheesman has deadly 3-point range, is an extremely efficient offensive player and has the size and toughness to mix it up down low. She has a high IQ, great court awareness and is an exceptional rebounder on both ends of the floor.
# 9 2021 5’9 Guard Ja’Leah Williams Ja’Leah Williams 5'9" | CG Blanche Ely | 2021 State FL (Blanche Ely / Team Knight 17U) – Signed to the University of Miami
The University of Miami commit is a dynamic, skilled guard who plans with a confidence second to none. She is extremely dangerous in the open court with the ball in her hands with the ability to get to the rim, break down a defender in the open court, drop a dime, or even pull up from 3. She recently led her high school squad to a state championship, averaging 18 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals per game and being named Broward County Player of the Year in Class 6A-7A by the Sun Sentinel.
# 10 2023 5’8 Guard Taliah Scott Taliah Scott 5'8" | SG St. John's Country Day | 2023 State #31 Nation FL (Oakleaf HS / FGB) – Undecided
Scott was one of a number of high profile prospects who transferred high schools this year. She stepped on campus at Oakleaf and immediately made them a contender with her scoring ability. They 5’8 talented guard is a natural scorer who can knock it down from anywhere on the court. She averaged an impressive 23.4 points per game while shooting 40% from the field and 36% from 3 while getting the FT line more than 6 times per game. She is a high level athlete with natural scoring ability and a great combination of height and athleticism making her a matchup nightmare!
Michael Wholey is the Senior Scout of Prep Girls Hoop Florida and he can be reached directly at WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com or on Twitter or Instagram at @WholeyPrepHoops.