Orlando Comets

This is an unprecedented level of success for one organization. It shows the value of preparation and year-round competitive ball. DEBO added six players--Angie Guiu, Jennifer Mossor, Jessica Pressley, Caitlyn Mitryk, Kelly Dwyer and Ashley McCray--to the list of those honored. Along with Girls Got Game, these AAU teams have dominated girls basketball in Central Florida for the last several years.

Blair and Deluzio made the All-Central Florida team last year, but this is the first time receiving such an honor for the other Comets' players. Blair averaged 12.6 ppg and 5.1 rpg in leading the Boone Braves to a berth in the Final Four. Deluzio averaged 14.4 points and shot 54.6% from the field in leading TFA to the FHSAA 2A state championship.

Sophomore Brooke Thomas had a breakout season for the Edgewater Eagles. Running point guard for a team that lost Samantha Shields, Tierra Brown, Anastasia Newton and Ashley Reames to transfer and Jessica Bivins to injury, Thomas led the Eagles to the 6A regional final and a 27-3 record. Brooke averaged 12.3 ppg, 4.2 apg and 4.6 spg.

Brooke is an original Comet. In fact, five of the players who made the All-Central Florida list--Brooke, Briyana, Angie Guiu, Jennifer Mossor and Kristin Thomas--were members of a 10U AAU team called the Cool Waves back in 1999. The All-Central Florida team has re-united those girls.

Sophomore Jordan Coleman also made a first time appearance on the list. Coleman averaged 12 ppg and 10.2 rpg in leading the Lake Mary Rams to the 6A state championship. She won MVP honors at the state tourney. Jordan was also a first team All-Seminole County selection.

Junior Samantha Shields had a dominating season for Trinity Prep. Statistically, Samantha dominated the state. She averaged 20+ ppg, 10+ rpg, and 10+ spg. That's a triple double, in case you didn't know. Samantha led Trinity Prep to the 3A finals, where they lost to Gainesville P.K. Yonge. Look for Samantha and freshman teammate Leo Montalvo to make this list again next year.

Junior forward Brittany Waters is another first time nominee. Waters teamed with Brooke Thomas and Kristin Thomas to lead Edgewater this season. The Comets Blue team will rely on B-Dub to anchor them in the post this season.

Finally, junior Tiara Jackson had a stellar season for the University Cougars. Averaging 17 ppg and playing point guard, Tiara led the Cougars to a fast start. Like last year, she had little help and the Cougars eventually faltered. But that didn't discourage the sportswriters from recognizing her talent and contributions to the team.

We congratulate all these girls and look forward to a successful AAU season in 2006!!

Thomas has taken a circuitous route to stardom. Discovered by Nik Nikic at a Trinity Prep track meet as a 6'2" twelve year old, Krystal started her AAU career with Nik's team, the Orlando Lightning 12U. That's a comparatively late start, but Krystal prospered. A natural athlete, Krystal blossomed as she learned basketball fundamentals under Nik's tutelage. She used her long arms to become a defensive force in the middle and gradually developed post moves to round out her game.

At that time the Lightning and Comets were fierce rivals. The Comets won the initial matchups by huge margins. But as Krystal matured the victory margins shrank. Finally, in 2003 the Lightning merged with the Clearwater Heatwave and the competition between the two (three?) teams became intense. The Comets struggled to dispatch the Lightning at 2003 AAU states and again at 2003 YBOA Nationals. Comets Coach Jack Givens expressed his admiration for the Lightning's burgeoning superstar.

After the 2003 AAU season the Lightning and the Comets put aside their differences and decided to merge. Krystal stepped into the Comets' starting lineup. Also, this merger proved to be the impetus behind the formation of the Comets Blue team.

The addition of Krystal to the Comets Red roster has sprung the team from being a Top Ten team nationally to being a Top Five team with aspirations of winning the national championship. Krystal's speed and athleticism have allowed the Comets Red to press and run effectively against much larger teams. Her defensive presence anchors a team whose defensive philosophy encourages risk taking.

The 2006 Sentinel Player of the Year honor makes up for an egregious oversight by this same journal in 2005. Last year, Krystal led the TFA Royals to a 29-0 record and a berth in the state Final Four. But Krystal went into the semi-final matchup against Father Lopez with the flu and didn't play well. TFA lost the game on a last second bucket.

Apparently, that one performance over-shadowed a stellar season by Thomas, because she was ignored in both the local and state polls when the post season honors were handed out.

Krystal didn't let the oversight weigh her down. She re-applied herself over the summer and attracted the notice of a number of big time colleges. Krystal is currently being courted by Florida, Duke, Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Texas and Maryland. Which only goes to show that college coaches know more about assessing talent than sportswriters!!!!

The 2006 season will be Krystal's last AAU season. Like most big time recruits, Krystal will sign during the early signing period and sit out the 2007 AAU season so as not to risk an injury.

But we look for Krystal to dominate AAU during the 2006 season and hopefully lead the Comets to a golden summer!!

Briyana injured her shoulder during the high school season but fought thru the pain and led Boone High school to a berth in the Final Four. Her surgery re-attached a ligament that held her shoulder in place. Briyana will undergo rehabilitation that will keep her sidelined for the bulk of the AAU season.

In her place the Comets have tapped Jordan Coleman and Samantha Shields. But even so, the team may have to endure spotty attendance. Coleman is committed to her high school track team until at least early May. She will miss several pool play Saturdays this spring as the Comets basketball schedule conflicts with her track team schedule. Coleman will not attend the Comets Saturday games at the Tallahassee Essence Classic next week, but will be there on Sunday.

In other Comets news, we now understand that Katrece Rollins will not be with Red team this year after all. Early reports had indicated that Rollins was set to join the team after finishing the school year in Atlanta.

Last year's backup center, Lauren Thomas, has been slated to play for the Comets Next Level 15U team. This leaves the Comets woefully short of centers. The Comets Red recruited 6'2" sophomore Sasha Chaplin of St. Petersburg Catholic to fill the spot, but the initiative fell through.

Various reports have the Comets Red negotiating to secure the services of a top center from South Florida but nothing concrete has materialized. Jamie Givens can play center for a few possessions. So can Jordan Coleman. But neither of these girls has the height or bulk to compete in the post for a full AAU season if Krystal Thomas is injured.

The Red team is continuing to address this issue.

The Comets Blue team is reporting delight with the addition of Charles Hardy to their coaching staff. Hardy is installing offensive and defensive innovations that has the team salivating to take on all comers.

With the loss of Laquita Curry, the Blue team looked to be in the same position as the Red team vis a vis their post players. But the Blue team retains two true post players--Brittany Waters and Jelana Childs--and Hardy's innovations are maximizing their talents.

We look to see the Blue team make some noise this year.

The Comets Fusion 15U team is picking up where the Miracle 13U left off. Coaches Kim Bivins and Faye Robinson have inserted Lauren Thomas at the center and have been pleasantly surprised at her offensive production. Lauren has always been known as a primarily defensive player.

Pairing Thomas with Ayiesha Vickers in the post gives the 15U team an imposing inside presence. Andrea and Andrell Smith give the team speed to burn. Jessica Bivins is slowly working her way back into shape after incurring an ACL injury in early November. She should be ready to play in the next few weeks.

The Comets Fusion have three-point shooting in Katie Gordon and Erin Knight. Pensacola's Bianca Lutley may join the team at point guard once the high school year is complete. Once again Faye and Kim have put together a well rounded team.

Harry Montalvo's Comets 14U team has brought in high powered help in the form of proven players. Ex-GGG players Jennifer Mossor and Lacey Lyons show up at practice to put Harry's girls through their paces. Twice-a-week scrimmages against the older Comets' teams ain't hurtin' them either.

All in all, the Comets are preparing to unleash superbly honed teams once the AAU season starts in Tallahassee next week.

First off, congratulations to all the Comets girls who played so well in the high school season. Krystal Thomas, Lauren Thomas, Alexa Deluzio, Tierra Brown, Jamie Givens, Gabby Claxton, Asia Wilson, Jordan Coleman and Laquita Curry all won high school divisional championships this year!!!! Krystal, Laquita and Jordan all won MVP honors as they led their respective teams to state championships in the 2A, 4A and 6A categories.

Virtually all the Comets girls led their teams deep into the playoffs this year. Briyanna Blair led her Boone Braves to the Final Four. Brooke Thomas and Brittany Waters led the Edgewater Eagles to the Region 1 championship game against eventual 6A champion Lake Mary. Sthefany Thomas led Wesley Chapel (5A) to a district championship and a 21-3 record. Jelana Childs teamed with ex-Comets Denisse Marquez and Michelle Troche to lead Timber Creek to second place in their district.

We applaud all these girls!!!

But now it's time to get down to the training that created all these players. Yes, once again the AAU season is upon us. And a very critical AAU season it will be. This is potentially the last AAU season for a number of Comets. After competing at the very apex of girls basketball for the past 7 seasons, it's time for several of our girls to move up to the college ranks. The 2006 season will be the last season for them to be seen by college recruiters.

Gabby Claxton, Sharece Taft and Desiree Diaz "retired" from AAU play after last season. All three girls will graduate and move on to college in 2006.

2006 will be the final AAU season for Krystal Thomas, Jamie Givens, Sthefany Thomas, Tierra Brown, Briyanna Blair, Laquita Curry and Brittany Waters. All these girls are juniors and should sign with some college early in their senior season. Additionally, the Comets Red team signed Samantha Shields, a junior from Trinity Prep.

Who will replace these girls?

First of all, the Comets have a number of talented sophomores on the team already. Alexa Deluzio, Brooke Thomas, Jordan Coleman, Asia Wilson, Jelana Childs and Tiara Jackson are sophomores with one more season of AAU eligibility. The Comets Blue have signed sophomore Brittany Hardy, who should help with that team's depth.

Second of all, the Comets are expanding. In addition to the Comets Red and Blue 16U teams, the Comets have added a 15U team and a 14U team for 2006.

The Comets 15U are coached by Faye Robinson and Kim Bivins. They are composed largely of ex-FBVA Miracle players. Jessica Bivins, Ayiesha Vickers, Christeena Bryant, Bianca Lutley and Erin Knight are all on that team. The Comets 15U also picked up Kourtney Berry and Tamara Newell from DEBO and Katie Gordon from the Lady Wildcats.

The Comets 14U are coached by Harry Montalvo. For the past four years Harry has been the coach of the Dynasty. This year, he brings most of the Dynasty players under the Comets umbrella. The team consists of Leo Montalvo, Deaundre Young, Jennifer Knurek, Melanie Itajahy, Lianni Itajahy, Isabel Ehrli, Kasie Berry, Asia Dacosta, Terra McDaniel and Jasmine Whitting.

(If I've missed anybody's name I'll be sure to rectify it in later issues of Inside Stuff!!)

Additionally, the Comets Blue team returns just about all their players (except Laquita Curry, who has moved over to play with DEBO). Still coached by Dino George, the Blue team consists of Asia Wilson, Tiara Jackson, Brittany Waters, Brittany Hardy, Jelana Childs, Lallique Roman, Jessica George, Candace Thompson and Alma Rios-Cotto. The Blue team is also looking at Ariel Maxwell and Shekeyia Colyer.

All four teams will follow the Nike circuit before dividing up to play at AAU Nationals in mid-July. Then all four teams will come together to play at Nike Nationals in late July.

The Comets will hold a practice for all four teams at the Champions Center in South Orlando on Wednesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. Interested players are welcome to attend!!