City Rankings: Top 2025s in Clay and Columbia County

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370059' first='Nacoya' last='Blocton'] / 6-0 PF / Ridgeview</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blocton (cover picture) played well last season and her growth from the beginning of the year to the beginning of her Sophomore year has been very impressive. She played very well as a Freshman and during the AAU period. There are so many impressive traits of Blocton's game that are fun to watch. The first thing that jumps out at you is her ability to shoot the ball away from the basket at her size. She is a power forward who shares the paint with her big sister, [player_tooltip player_id='331713' first='Nia' last='Blocton']. She can mix it up on the inside, fighting for rebounds and powering the ball through the basket against opponents in the paint. Blocton can step outside of the paint and knock three-pointers down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Joleena Gardner / 5'10 C / Columbia</strong> <strong>HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gardner was another standout last year as a Freshman. I saw her in the Inside Exposure tournament and also against Nease. Her athleticism and her size really stood out and so did her skill level for such a young player. Her rebounding was impressive and she was within a few rebounds from averaging a triple-double last season. Gardner has nice footwork and did score in the paint and around the goal. Defensively, Gardner is equally impressive. She can guard positions 3 through 5 on the floor. She is athletic and agile and can move her feet to slow down the opposing wing players, and she has good size and physicality to mix it up in the painted area. Gardner is a great shot blocker with impeccable timing. She averaged nearly 2 blocks per game last year as a Freshman. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='248555' first='Trista' last='Brown'] / 5'8 CG / Oakleaf</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brown is one of the top Sophomores in Clay county and on the First Coast. I saw a lot of Brown over the course of the summer and she really made some improvements to her game. She really played well running the point and showed some improvement in a lot of facets of her game. She really was impressive on her drives to the goal and the most impressive thing about her attacks on the basket was the degree of difficulty on some of her shots. Brown also improved in the shooting department. She has always had the ability to get to the rim, but in the summer she showed she could handle the ball and shoot it from behind the arc.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Victoria Noble / 5'6 / Fleming Island</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season Noble's role was primarily as a three-point marksman. She fulfilled that role successfully, knocking down 38 tres as the main Freshman contributor on the team. Noble was known primarily as a three-point shooter as a Freshman, but this coming season, she will be asked to shoot the three, handle the ball, be a leader on the floor, and "sell popcorn at halftime." Noble is only a Sophomore and taking on the challenges for this year will prepare her for her junior and senior campaigns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Under the Radar </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jaeda Murray </strong> 5'9 Forward (Orange Park) is still developing offensively. She will make immediate contributions on defense and rebounding the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63129333346d6","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":"","_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /-->