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Nine Comets Voted to All-State Teams

Posted by Kurt Coleman at Apr 23, 2006 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Jordan Coleman Krystal Thomas Alexa Deluzio Brooke Thomas

(KB - 04/24/06) Seven Orlando Comets Red team players were voted to various All-State teams last weekend.   Toni Gerty of the Comets Blue team was All-State.    And Jacky Nikic of the Comets Black team was voted All-State, too This is an astounding accomplishment for one AAU organization, especially since all of the players mentioned are underclassmen. 

Jordan Coleman, a sophomore, of was voted to the 6A first team. Jordan led the Lake Mary Rams to the FHSAA 6A state championship, was MVP of the state tourney, and led that team in scoring, rebounding and FG%. 

Krystal Thomas and Alexa Deluzio were voted to the 2A first team. Krystal and Alexa led TFA to the FHSAA 2A state championship. Krystal was MVP of the state tourney and led the team in scoring, rebounding and FG%. Alexa was TFA's second leading scorer and also second in FG%.

Toni Gerty of Spruce Creek was voted to the second team in 6A.    Playing point guard, Toni led Spruce Creek in scoring and assists. 

Edgewater point guard Brooke Thomas was voted to the third team in 6A. Brooke led her team to a 24-3 record and to the Region 1 finals. Brooke averaged 12 ppg and 6 apg for the Lady Eagles. 

Briyana Blair of Boone High was voted to the Honorable Mention team in 6A. Briyana led Boone to a 26-5 record and a berth in the Final Four in Lakeland. Briyana led Boone with 12.0 ppg and 3.6 apg. Brea verballed to Miami University in autumn 2005. 

Sthefany Thomas was voted to the FHSAA 5A All-state second team. Sthefany averaged 25.3 ppg, 9 rpg, and 5 spg for Wesley Chapel in Pasco County this year. Sthefany also was Pasco County player of the year. She has been invited to play for the Argentina National Team. 

Samantha Shields was voted to the FHSAA 3A Honorable Mention team after leading Trinity Prep to the regional finals and averaging a triple double for the season. Samantha averaged 18 ppg, 11 rpg and 10 spg after transferring to Trinity from Edgewater last year. 

Comets Black guard Jacky Nikic was voted to the first team in Class 4A for her efforts with the Bishop Moore Lady Hornets. Jacky averaged 14.9 ppg and 3.7 rpg in leading the Lady Hornets to the 4A championship game. 

We congratulate all these girls and encourage them to continue to strive for excellence!!

 

Briyana Blair Sthefany Thomas Samantha Shields Jacky Nikic
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What's News?

Posted by Kurt Coleman at Apr 20, 2006 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Comets Black Team Wins in Atlanta
(KB - 04/21/06)   While four Comets teams were scrambling to find the proper spin to describe their
showing at the Boo Williams Invitational, the Comets Black team held up their end of the canoe by
winning the Peach State Hoops Classic last weekend.    The win was the Black team's second in as many
weeks and established them as a major contender for AAU honors in Florida.

The Black team has made huge strides since we first saw them play in Tallahassee.     In that tournament they looked like a discombobulated consolidation of major satellites circling around a single player:   Jacky Nikic.     They had a team full of accomplished AAU players but no chemistry and little cohesion.   They scrambled around the court with only one play:   if you get open, take the jumper.

They lost a game to Dunedin, something no other Orlando team had ever done.
Since then they have quickly evolved into a multi-faceted team.     We saw them play at the Champions super regional and we were surprised at how quickly they'd gelled.     With only three weeks of practice time, the Comets Black beat the Comets Blue in the championship game of the Champions super regional.

In Atlanta the Black team kept up the pace and added to it.   Given the green light to fire away from the perimeter, the Black team took full advantage and marched thru the brackets undefeated.    They beat the Alabama Elite by 17 in the quarterfinals, Peach State Elite by 14 in the semi-finals, and Tennessee Team Pride by 16 in the finals.

Kristi Hopper and Jacky Nikic led the Black team's charge thru this event with their accuracy from the wing.      Hopper had seven treys against Peach State while Nikic drained five.

In the championship game, the Black team jumped out to a 39-13 halftime advantage before settling for a 16 point win.   Hopper led the way again with seven treys.

Chelsea Pennick, Simone Lowman, Chandler McCabe and Lauren Lee also had big games for the Black team.    Lowman, at 5'8", led the team in rebounding.

These wins were all the more impressive due to the fact that the Black team missed two critical players.    Point guard Brianna Smith and forward Ebony Walker did not make the trip to Atlanta with the team.

We're still in the process of gathering the Black team's schedule and roster.    Have patience with us!!

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Fusion Ousted; Comets Return Home

Posted by Kurt Coleman at Apr 15, 2006 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
(KB - 04/16/06) The Comets Fusion 15U spotted the Philly Belles a 22-2 lead in the first half and were summarily ousted from the Boo Williams tourney this morning. The Fusion slept well into the opening moments of this game. By the time they woke up it was all over. Belles' center Stephanie Holzer grabbed numerous rebounds and keyed the Belles fast break as they raced to a 20 point lead and milked it the rest of the way. The Fusion put on a few spurts and whittle the lead down to 13 at one point but were never able to get any closer. The Belles answered every spurt with some crips passing and got layups on the other end. Philly moves on to face the Minnesota NC Heat in the semi finals. The Fusion are packing their bags for the long return trip to Florida. SG will recap this tournament in more detail in Milquetoast Gazette later this week.
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Player Spotlight: Briyana Blair

Posted by Kurt Coleman at Apr 11, 2006 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
 
(KB - 03/27/06)  Briyana Blair looked disgusted.     Her teammates were out on the court running and gunning at the 2006 Tallahassee Essence Classic and she had to sit on the bench, her arm in a sling.    She drew her lips back in a Popeye-the-Sailor-man grimace and sighed.

It's going to be a tough twelve weeks.    The heart of the Comets Red perimeter defense is out on injured reserve.     For the first time in her basketball career, Briyana is going to miss the AAU season.

We remember Briyana as a plucky nine year old playing fiercely against 12 year old boys.   The boys routinely knocked her unceremoniously to the floor.   She got up slowly every time, tears streaming down her cheeks.   And then she'd immediately throw herself on the floor after the next loose ball.   At the end of every game she was sure to have five salty white tear streaks down her face, bruised elbows and knees, and just the hint of a Popeye-the-Sailor-man grin.

Why?

Her team invariably won by a point or two.   She didn't like losing.

Since those developmental years, Briyana's AAU team has won the Florida state championship every single year.    They've won the YBOA national championship twice.     They've finished in the Top 10 at AAU Nationals four times.

Briyana's elbows and knees still suffer after every game.    But there are no more tears.   There's no crying in basketball.

As we mentioned earlier, Briyana is the Comets' top perimeter defender.   When the opposing team has an offensive stud on their roster, you can be sure Briyana will be assigned as her defender.     Brea takes no prisoners.    She delights in ripping ballhandlers in open court and taking them to the rack.      The size and speed of the victim doesn't matter to Briyanna.      Point guards and centers are all equal candidates for lockdown.   When her high school team flew to Delaware to compete against Usuline Academy, who was Brea assigned to defend?

Elena Delledonna, a player seven inches taller.

You may have heard of her.

In 2006 Briyana led her high school to a 26-4 record and a berth in the state Final Four.     She averaged 12.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.6 apg and shot 56% from the field.

Brea gave her verbal commitment to the University of Miami in the fall of her junior year.
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What's News?

Posted by Kurt Coleman at Apr 9, 2006 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Comets Sweep Super Regionals
 
(KB - 04/09/06)   The Orlando Comets won championships in the 14U, 15U, and 16U divisions at the Champions AAU Super regional yesterday.     Harry Montalvo's Comets Red 14U avenged a pool loss to the Tampa Inferno in a very big way, downing their West coast rivals 80-57.    Deandre Young led the Comets with 21 points and Leo Montalvo chipped in 18.

The Comets Fusion 15U won their second significant tourney of 2006 with a 55-45 win over the Orlando Sixers.   Kourtney Berry and Amanda Woodside led a late first half surge as the Fusion took control of this game.  They spent the second half trying out different lineups as the Sixers struggled to claw back into the game.

The Fusion allowed the Sixers to creep within eight points but no further.    Reserves Berry and Woodside made a strong case for starting jobs with their all-round hustle and high shooting percentages.    Woodside was particularly effective in the paint, giving the Fusion rebounding and presence in her minutes on the floor.    She has improved greatly since we last saw her play.

The Comets Black 16U completed an unexpected run to the 16U championship.  They rebounded from an early 16-8 deficit to beat the Comets Blue 16U, 72-61.     Jacky Nikic led the Black team with 20 points and teammate Brianna Smith tallied 14 points as both teams qualified to play at AAU Nationals this year.

Brittany Hardy led the Blue team with 19 points, but once again she fouled out of the game early.    Seventeen of her points came in the first half.

B-Dub (pictured here) also played well.   She finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.