Rivers running City of Palms

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Winter Park got a freebee into the winners' bracket of the City of Palms Classic, and they are taking full advantage behind the star power of Austin Rivers.

Winter Park (Fla.) 75, St. Benedict's (N.J.) 60

Austin Rivers (2011, Winter Park, Florida soft commitment)

Rivers came out ready to play, St. Benedict's tried to guard him straight up and Rivers made them pay. Made them pay to the tune of 45 points (15-24 from the field, 4-7 from the arc, 11-15 from the line). Rivers maintained his burst throughout the game and proved why he is one of the best, if not the best, scorer in the 2011 class. His first step to the basket going right is special. He has added the ability to score going left. And when in rhythm, his three-pointer is dangerous.

Brett Comer (2011, Winter Park, Florida Atlantic commitment)

A great complimentary player to Rivers, Comer is solid with the basketball at the point and control the ball defensively at the point as well. On 5-10 shooting from the field and 6-7 from the line, Comer was the only other Winter Park player in double figures. He also led the team with 4 assists to 2 turnovers to go along with four steals. But perhaps one of his most telling plays was when he made a quick recovery on speedy Myck Kabongo, knocking the ball out of bounds from behind.

Myck Kabongo (2011, St. Benedict's, Texas commitment)

Impressed with the improvement in his jump shot, but his confidence in it is still slight enough for defenders to play off him. Hit 3-9 tonight. Love his passion for the game and his concern for making winning plays. Definitely deserves his five-star ranking.

Paterson Catholic (N.J.) 63, Montverde Academy (Fla.) 51: Overtime

Myles Mack (2011, Paterson Catholic)

A supreme undersized scorer, Mack spent most of the game controlling the ball at the point guard position with Kyle Anderson in foul trouble. He handled it well with three assists to two turnovers and pumped in a game high 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Make no mistake about it, this guy will help a high major win games.

Fuquan Edwin (2010, Paterson Catholic, Seton Hall commitment)

Made tough bucket after tough bucket on the baseline. Finished with 17 points.

Derrick Randall (2011, Paterson Catholic)

He cleaned up all the messes for a game high 12 rebounds and blocked three shots to go along with his eight points.

James Bell (2010, Montverde Academy, Villanova commitment)

Once again Bell led Montverde. On 6-11 shooting he went for 14 points while also grabbing four rebounds.

Milton (Ga.) 71, St. Frances (Md.) 68: Double Overtime

Julian Royal (2011, Milton)

For the second day in a row Royal has played a much more physical brand of basketball than we have seen from him in the past. On 9-11 shooting from the field, Royal tallied a team tying 20 points. It appears that he is turning a corner in achieving his potential and is playing and producing like a high level four-star prospect.

Dai-jon Parker (2011, Milton)

Parker was the go-to guy on the perimeter, scoring 20 points on 7-19 shooting. His seven turnovers are cause for concern.

R.J. Williams (2010, St. Frances)

The undersized point man played with a great deal of heart, carrying his team throughout much of the stretch. He hit a high degree of difficulty lay up at the buzzer in regulation, and then picked Shannon Scott's pocket for what would have sealed the game in the first overtime if not for missed free throws. Williams finished with a game high 22 points on 8-13 shooting. He also had eight assists to seven turnovers to go along with five steals.

Greg Lewis (2011, St. Frances)

Lewis bounced back from a poor performance on Monday, coming close to a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Lewis is a still developing power forward with a high major body and a good does of athleticism.

Sam Cassell Jr. (2011, St. Frances)

Cassell hit some big shots down the stretch for St. Frances, ending up with 13 points. He also ran the pont for the majority of the second half of the game. He sits somewhere on that mid to high major fence as a prospect. Will be interesting to see how his body develops over the next year.

Findlay Prep (Nev.) 78, De La Salle (Ill.) 47

Cory Joseph (2010, Findlay Prep)

Played the type of floor game that demonstrates why he is so highly valued by Rivals.com. He snagged a game tying 10 rebounds and dished out six assists to one turnover while also coming up with three steals. He shot 5-9 from the field, scoring 13 points. Joseph has an efficiency to his game complimented with an athletic burst that coaches crave for out of their point guard.

Tristan Thompson (2010, Findlay Prep, Texas commitment)

In his typical fashion, Thompson grinded his way to a double/double of 18 points and 10 rebounds in a matchup against Mike Shaw of De La Salle. Thompson only missed two shots from the field, but his free throw shooting remains a challenge for him, especially because of the way he draws fouls. He made only 2-9 free throw attempts in this game.

Marko Petrovic (2010, Findlay Prep)

Petrovic plays the role of three-point specialist for Findlay, and he plays it well. He knocked down 5-6 three-points to account for all 15 of his points.

Nick Johnson (2010, Findlay Prep)

Still more of a solid ball handling shooting guard, Johnson is a willing passer who sees the floor well. He had a game high eight assists.

Mike Shaw (2011, De La Salle)

Shaw played with good energy the first half despite the troubles his guards had with the defensive pressure of Findlay's guards. He grabbed six of his seven total rebounds in the first half. He also made some nice passes and played more under control with his dribbling. He did, however, settle for too many three-pointers in his scoring game. He went 0-7 from behind the arc while shooting 5-10 inside the arc.

Alex Foster (2013, De La Salle)

Disappointed in Foster's rebounding effort (only one rebound in 19 minutes of play), but was highly impressed with a couple offensive plays that bode well for the future. One was a high level catch and weak hand finish on the break. The other was a spin move into a difficult 7-foot jump hook that went down. Foster also has a reliable midrange jump shot. He has a chance to be an elite prospect in the class of 2013.

Westchester (Calif.) 64, Penn Wood (Pa.) 62

Jordin Mayes (2010, Westchester)

Once again Mayes was the stabilizing force for Westchester. He worked his way to the line for 12 attempts and scored a total of 16 points. He also had a team high in assists and steals with five each.

Kareem Jamar (2010, Westchester, Montana commitment)

Simply put, he has been as good a catch and shoot guy from behind the arc as even the foreign guys from Findlay in this tournament. Hit 5-9 from three out of his total of 17 points.

Aaron Brown (2011, Penn Wood)

Brown comes across as a left handed version of Kentucky signee Stacey Poole. He is a 6-foot-5 slasher with a big time body with a lot of pop.

Ft. Myers (Fla.) 54, Sagemont (Fla.) 51

Will Sheehey (2010, Sagemont, Indiana commitment)

Sheehey's game is marked by activity and competitiveness. He gets to the rim and finishes and rebounds his position. I don't know how much of his scoring will translate at Indiana, but he will find a niche as a defender, rebounder, high motor wing player. Sheehey led Sagemont in scoring with 16 points in a lose to Ft. Myers. As indicative of his abilities right now, he shot 0-5 from the arc and 7-11 inside the arc.

Recruiting news

Greg Lewis has a top six of Georgetown (offer), UMass, Xavier (offer), Maryland, Florida State (offer) and Virginia Tech (offer).

Julian Royal expects to be a spring signee during his senior year, but he is considering offers from Wake Forest, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Virginia Tech.

2012 prospect Evan Nolte, who has been Milton High School's top rebounder, has offers from Georgia and Auburn. He is also getting interest from Clemson, Florida State, Oklahoma and UConn.

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