Varsity Weekly: basketball star to Overtime Elite, Nike volleyball, golf, bowling, XC
There was talk that renowned junior basketball guard Mikel Brown, who left small-school power Orlando Christian Prep and played for national independent Sunrise Christian of Kansas last season, might land back in Orlando at The First Academy this year.
Instead he signed on with Overtime Elite (OTE), a breakout league for ages 16-20 years that allows elite players to bypass college and play for pay in a professional environment.
OTE gained major notoriety when its tandem of twin brothers, Amen and Ausar Thompson, were top five NBA picks in June. They came to Florida from California as sophomores and led Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest to a 2021 state championship.
Amen was selected by the Houston Rockets at No. 4 and Ausar went next to the Detroit Pistons as 6-7 guards.
OTE, which opened in 2021, has stated that it pays players “at least” $100,000 annually but is now cleared to permit athletes to decline salaries and sign on for a scholarship option that maintains their college eligibility.
It appears that Brown may utilize that option.
Another twins tandem, Matthew and Ryan Bewley, played a year as sophomores for West Oaks Academy of Orlando in 2021-22 before signing what was described as million dollar deals with OTE as 5-star prospects. After two years with OTE they signed in August to play college basketball for Chicago State University.
The Cougars third-year coach is Gerald Gillion, brother to West Oaks coach Kenny Gillion. Gerald coached the Bewley brothers in 2019-20 as the coach for Northeast High School of Broward County and director of the Team Breakdown travel ball program.
More hoops happenings
TFA did make a big pickup with All-Area Jordan Tillery (6-5) enrolling with the Royals. He’s a 6-5 wing who excelled for Oak Ridge last season after playing a key role as a sophomore member of the Dr. Phillips 2021-22 state runner-up team.
Don’t feel sorry for Oak Ridge. The Pioneers are loaded.
They gained Tim Winkler, a 6-10 sophomore, as a transfer from IMG Academy to go alongside a cast that includes elite junior guards Jamier Jones and Jalen Reece, UCF commit Cameron Simpson (6-6) and recent Virginia Tech commit Tyler Johnson (6-6).
Winkler has been hyped as a major college prospect since he was a 14-year-old averaging 34 points and 16 rebounds playing eighth grade ball for All Saints Catholic Academy in Naperville, a Chicago suburb.
Best in volleyball
Seven Orlando area girls volleyball teams played in the top division at the Nike Tournament of Champions Southeast event last weekend and all had solid results.
The best showings were by Winter Park, Hagerty and Oviedo. All three finished in the top six of the National Division, which had eight out-of-state teams.
Winter Park (7-2) went 4-2 in best-of-three matches and finished fourth. The Wildcats lost a semifinal against tourney champ Cornerstone Christian (18-1), a San Antonio, Texas, school that is nationally ranked.
Winter Park’s 6-3 senior, Fallon Stewart, racked up 121 kills and 41 digs in 15 tournament sets and made the PrepVolleyball.com All-Tournament team.
Also on that 16-player honor roll was Oviedo junior Rylee Yarborough. She suffered a concussion on Saturday and sat out when the Lions (7-3, 3-3) finished tourney play with a 25-16, 25-21 loss to next door neighbor Hagerty (5-3) in the fifth place match.
Hagerty, the 7A state runner-up last year, went 4-2 with junior setter Brielle Mullen delivering 111 assists and 48 digs.
Winter Park hosts Hagerty for a Saturday 6:30 p.m. match.
Timber Creek (4-3, 3-3) dealt Hagerty a pool play loss and finished 3-3 behind its senior trio of Dionna Mitchell (41 kills, 50 digs), Jayda Redd (54 kills) and Linda Marie Jordan (39 assists, 66 digs).
Kissimmee Osceola, 5-3 going into a Wednesday match against Horizon (4-1), beat nationally-ranked Flint Hill of Virginia and Timber Creek. The Kowboys lost 27-25, 25-13 to Oviedo while going 3-3 for the weekend.
Osceola sophomores Cate Palmi (74 kills) and Jordin Southall (52 kills, 41 digs) stood out and senior setter Alex Liggeri had 140 assists despite injury issues.
Senior Sam Bowron had 53 kills as Lake Brantley (5-5, 3-3) won three of its final four matches. Sophomore Lanie Varitek added 117 assists.
Olympia (8-4, 5-1) got 75 kills from senior Laney Perdue and was runner-up in the second tier division behind Ransom Everglades (10-0) of Miami.
In Tuesday play:
DeLand (4-3) rallied to steal a 22-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20, 15-13 upset win at Hagerty.
Sanford Seminole (3-1) swept Olympia 25-18, 25-10, 25-21.
Orangewood Christian (3-0) won 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 at The Master’s Academy (7-2).
Bishop Moore (3-1) topped The First Academy (4-5) in three sets.
Lake Nona (6-3) dealt Tohopekaliga (2-1) its first loss.
Southland Christian of Kissimmee and International Community started 6-0. Montverde Academy is 2-0 and hosts Lake Highland Prep next Wednesday.
Seventh grade phenom
Lake Highland Prep seventh grader Annabella Tomasic won the Winter Springs Invitational varsity girls cross country race with a scalding time of 17 minutes, 41.52 seconds last weekend. She won by nearly two minutes and that time is by far the best in Florida this season.
We’re hearing that the course was shorter than the 5,000 meter standard and FlRunners has not place Winter Springs times on its leaders list. But the fact is Tomasic is really good.
Extra points
• In girls golf, Ava Zhang carded a 32 for Windermere Prep as the Lakers teamed for a sensational 136 team score in a win over Trinity Prep at Grande Vista Golf Club. Yaxuan (Sofia) Zheng shot 33.
• Lake Mary Prep’s Barry Zhang shot 32 at Orange Tree Golf Club in a 143-157 Tuesday boys golf win against The First Academy.
• Jake Everson bowled a 483 two-game series for Lyman but Hagerty (4-0) topped the Greyhounds 2,390 to 2,353 on Tuesday. Hagerty is 4-0 and Winter Springs 5-0.
• Winter Springs (5-0) junior Richard Dannelly, a junior, is averaging 233 per game for Winter Springs (5-0).
Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
