#10 – Florida Essence
After coming off a rough 2008 campaign the Essence went out and picked up two of the biggest gems in Florida this year in Alexis Prince (6’2’’ F Orlando Edgewater 2012) and Alicia DeVaughn (6’5’’ C Hollywood South Broward 2010). Full Court has DeVaughn ranked as the #8 player nationally in the class of 2010 and Prince is one of the top 5 players in the class of 2012. How good is Alexis Prince? In an ESPN article Kelvin Powell (Essence Director) said Prince was a cross between Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx/LSU) and Brittney Griner (Class of 2009 #1 Player 6’8’’ Post). One would wonder how they would be able to corral these two players after a rough 2008 season. The answer could be because between Kelvin Powell and Kim Davis (the two Essence Club Directors) they work as hard as anyone recruiting throughout the southeast. They have proved this knack for recruiting with a 2007 Nike National Championship where the pulled players from Florida, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
Fab 5 Essence Players
Alicia Devaughn – 6’5’’ C 2010 South Broward (FL)
Alexis Prince – 6’2’’ W 2012 Edgewater (FL)
Alexis Burke – 6’0’’ W 2010 Bainbridge (GA)
Rachel Hollivay – 6’4’’ C 2011 New Hope (MS)
Jaterra Bonds – 5’8’’ G 2010 PK Yonge (FL) – University of Florida
While the Essence is headlined by Devaughn and Prince’s additions they did have a core of young players on last year’s team to build on. That core consisted of 6’0’’ combo guard Alexis Burke who is from Bainbridge Georgia. Burke is an inside outside player with great range and is ranked #30 by Full Court in the Class of 2010. Niya Johnson is a 5’8’’ point guard who could end up being a national list type player out of PK Yonge in Gainesville, Fl. Johnson played significant minutes for the Essence last year during Nike Nationals as an 8th grader. Rachel Hollivay has been a long time Essence player and is the anchor with DeVaughn in the middle. Look for Hollivay to be one of the top post players in the country in 2011. Finally, the only committed player for the Essence is Johnson’s teammate at PK Yonge Jaterra Bonds who will be staying home to play for the University of Florida.
Not all was paradise for the Essence this year, Cassie Peoples (5’6’’ PG 2011 Cy Fair TX) played the majority of the minutes at point guard last summer broke her leg in the state playoffs in Texas. People had wondered if Peoples would stick with the Essence after moving from Florida to Texas in the summer. Peoples has already committed to the University of Texas. That becomes irrelevant now in the early viewing period with Peoples being on the mend. The Essence has already picked up Jamierra Faulkner 5’6’’ PG Lake Worth Trinity Christian 2010 and her cousin Danielle McCray 6’1’’ F Lake Worth Trinity Christian 2011 to help replace Peoples at the point. Faulkner was the MVP of Miami Camp last summer and is one of the most underrated guards in the country.
While last year was a down year for the 2007 Nike National Champions, the off season additions put the Essence back into the top of the Nike Circuit and with a few things going right for them don’t be surprised if they don’t break into the top 5 nationally.
Next up….#9 Tuesday March 24, 2009