Dempsey’s Boca Ciega squad made it to last year’s Florida Class 5A Final Four before being eliminated by Winter Haven and will enter next week’s district tournament as the number 1 seed. We take this opportunity to go One on One with one of Florida’s most explosive guards LaTavia Dempsey.
Full Court Recruiting: How has your high school season gone so far?
Latavia Dempsey: Our record is 21-3 right now and we are looking forward to playing in the Pinellas County Tournament this week and the district tournament next week. I am currently averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assist and 5 steals so I am pretty happy with the way I have been playing.
Full Court Recruiting: What specific aspects of your game have you been working on to fine tune your game?
Latavia Dempsey: Make quicker decisions as I handle the ball a lot for my high school team and I keep trying to increase the speed of my game. The quicker I am able to make decisions, the better player I will become at the next level as well.
Full Court Recruiting: What schools are at the top of your list as far as recruiting so far? Have you visited any and what is your impression of them?
Latavia Dempsey: My recruiting is going well so far. I look for it to heat up some in the next few months but right now my top schools are North Carolina State, Baylor, Clemson, South Florida and Miami in no specific order. I have attended camps at both South Florida and Maryland.
Full Court Recruiting: What spring event will you be playing in this year? What travel team are you playing on?
Latavia Dempsey: I will be playing on FGB and we will be attending the Peach State Tip Off Classic in Atlanta, GA.
Tynia McKinzie is one of the top young (class of 2011) post players in Florida and was the 2007 FHSAA State Final Four MVP when her team (Pine Castle Christian) won the state championship in 1A during her 8th grade year. McKinzie holds down the paint for nationally ranked Lake Howell and is the youngest starter on the senior laden team. She has been the hot topic of recruiting around the south since her 8th grade year and she takes this opportunity to go One on One with Full Court Recruiting.
Full Court Recruiting: How has your high school season gone so far?
Tynia McKinzie: Great! We're ranked 23rd in the nation and just beat Lake Mary 69-39 to win the Seminole County Athletic Conference Championship. We are currently 21-2 and looking forward to the state playoffs.
Full Court Recruiting: What specific aspects of your game have you been working on to fine tune your game?
Tynia McKinzie: I've been working on my conditioning and speed so that I am able to play longer and at a quicker pace.
Full Court Recruiting: What schools are at the top of your list as far as recruiting so far? Have you visited any and what is your impression of them?
Tynia McKinzie: I am only in my 10th grade year so I am pretty open, but I attended Middle Tennessee's camp last year and I really enjoyed the campus and their staff. I have received interest from most of the schools in Florida and am excited about playing this summer.
Full Court Recruiting: What spring event will you be playing in this year? What travel team are you playing on?
Tynia McKinzie: I am playing for FGB and we will be attending the Peach State Tip Off Classic in Atlanta, GA.
Full Court Recruiting: What are your goals to wrap up the high school season on a positive note?
Tynia McKinzie: My goal is to help my team win the state championship and I hope that my teammate Ashley Jones becomes Ms. Florida Basketball. If she is able to accomplish that, it would mean a lot to me and to our school.
Kim Smith is one of the top shooters in Central Florida and was named to the Orlando Sentinel's All Pre-Season team in Central Florida. Smith is one of the top juniors in the state and is looking to finish her high school season strong before she moves in to the spring where her recruiting will continue to heat up.
Full Court Recruiting: How has your high school season gone so far?
Kim Smith: Our season at East Ridge got off to a super slow start. A couple of our girls we injured to start out and that did not help. We won both our pre-season outings but lost our first 2 regular season games. We got a much needed win against our cross town rival South Lake that kind of lit a fire in us and then won all 3 games in the Thanksgiving tournament we played in. Once we got healthy and finally started playing in a good groove the season really turned around for us. We’ve won our last nine games which has given us a lot of confidence going into our district tournament next week.
Full Court Recruiting: What specific aspects of your game have you been working on to fine tune your game?
Kim Smith: I always strive to work really hard, being the point guard, the team looks for leadership. That is really important. But for my game personally, I knew without a doubt that I needed to be much more aggressive on offense. I have always believed that an assist is so much better than a basket for myself but I have finally realized that to be effective and help my team be more successful, I need to score as well as distribute the ball to open players. With a 6’ 5” post, it sure is fun getting the ball in the paint and seeing it work. Our whole team has worked very hard to have an effective inside outside game and it is finally coming around. We have really worked hard this season and it is showing and paying off in big ways. We work hard in practice which always includes conditioning (even though the season is almost over) and we can all run up and down the floor as much as we need to during a game and not get tired. You would not think that makes a big difference but it definitely does.
Full Court Recruiting: How is your recruiting going so far? What schools have shown interest in you and have you visited anywhere? What are your impressions of those schools?
Kim Smith: After last summer, I got lots of letters from schools. Kansas State, Furman, UNC Wilmington and Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, University of North Florida, College of the Holy Cross, Indiana State and Tulane are the ones that come to mind right away and ones that I continue to receive letters from quite often. I have been to UNF and FAU and liked them both. Both programs are run very well and both have great academic priorities for their athletes.