Tag: montverde

Montverde girls basketball three-peats as Chipotle Nationals champions

Led by Ohio State signee Jaloni Cambridge, Montverde girls completed the three-peat of the Chipotle Nationals by beating IMG Academy.

The Chipotle Nationals look different from last year after its sponsorship changed from GEICO, but on the girls’ end of the bracket, there’s still a constant:

The Montverde Eagles. The Montverde Eagles. And, for the third time in a row, the Montverde Eagles.

Led by Jaloni Cambridge, the team defeated IMG Academy in the championship 61-53 to complete the three-peat. Cambridge scored 17 points, nine assists, and six rebounds, capping an all-around excellent tournament run. She also posted a triple-double in the opening round and scored 33 points in the second round.

USC commit Vivian Iwuchukwu also had 17 points. She served as a reliable scorer alongside Cambridge this run, helping set the tone on the offensive end.

Montverde’s defense clamped down, particularly on the defensive end, where IMG made only two of 13 shots from behind the arc. Kelis Fisher was phenomenal for the Ascenders, scoring 24 points and going 8-for-11 from the free throw line, and Tajianna Roberts chipped in 16 points, but only three players scored at least 10 points. Outside of Fisher, Roberts and Deniaya Prawl, only three points were scored between five players, two of whom appeared for no more than three minutes.

The impact of Heloisa Carrera was limited. She grabbed a whopping 16 rebounds in the semifinals, but Montverde held her to just six this game.

Maybe most important was Montverde’s work against five-star Leah Harmon. The Miami commit only got up three shots and scored just one point, a testament to the defensive effort from the Eagles.

Montverde finishes its season 24-4 and got back one of those losses against IMG in February by winning on Saturday. It’s the perfect season-clincher for the senior class, which includes Cambridge, Iwuchukwu, and four-star Eris Lester. With three in a row, this team has the look of a dynasty.

The Eagles stormed both the boys and the girls brackets, sweeping the tournament and walking out as champions on both ends.

Related: Montverde boys basketball completes undefeated season with win at Chipotle Nationals

Duke commit Cooper Flagg named 2023-24 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year

Cooper Flagg, the top prospect in high school, has been named the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Cooper Flagg, one of the best high school prospects of the decade and leader of the 31-0 Montverde Academy (Fla.) Eagles, was named the 2023-24 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year on Wednesday.

The Duke commit received the award from former Blue Devil Paolo Banchero, a star on the Orlando Magic.

(Credit: Joe Greer)

“It’s just an incredible honor to be included in this list of players,” Flagg said to Yahoo Sports of the award that has been given to stars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Jayson Tatum. “Just seeing how all the hard work is paying off and it just motivates me to keep getting better and better.”

Flagg is a 6-foot-9, 195-pound do-it-all wing who can score at all three levels, plus play elite defense with the size and speed to guard one through five and strength to block shots. He’s also a good passer, showing off his modern-day skill set at Montverde with averages of 16.1 points, 7.6 rebounds,3.9 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game his senior season.

“I’ve gotten to know Cooper a little bit at Jayson’s camp,” Banchero said to the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s just been awesome following his journey, and to present him with an award like this, it’s dope for him and also myself.”

Montverde has been the clear-cut No. 1 team in the Super 25 all season long behind Flagg and a bevy of five-star talent around him. The Eagles are undefeated heading into the Chipotle tournament in early April, having taken down several of the next-best teams in the country.

Flagg reclassified from 2025 to 2024 in August, shortly after he dominated at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam, in which he averaged 25.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 6.9 blocks, and 5.7 assists per game while posting a double-double in all seven games and recording three triple-doubles, all with points, rebounds, and blocks.

As the projected top pick of the 2025 class, he committed to Duke over UConn and Kansas. In an interview with SLAM Magazine, he talked about the decision:

“I think after I got on campus at Duke, I really started to feel it, to be honest,” he says. “That’s something the coaches definitely stressed to me, that once you get to campus, it’s something you have to feel. And [I knew then] I wanted to go to Duke and that’s where I wanted to play college basketball. What went into the decision, I mean, I was just looking for a coaching staff I was really comfortable with, but [also] a coach and staff that was really going to hold me accountable. Being on the visit, I got to see them in practice, and see how they were holding their guys accountable, and really pushing them to be better.

Montverde is prepping for the Chipotle Nationals basketball tournament, formerly known as the GEICO Nationals, but Flagg has one more trophy for his mantle before that begins:

He is the 2023-24 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

(Credit: Joe Greer)

Michigan State basketball commit playing on ESPN2 on Friday evening

Michigan State basketball commit playing on ESPN2 on Friday evening

Michigan State basketball was able to get a huge recruiting victory when they landed a commitment from 2024 4-star guard Jase Richardson. Jase, the son of MSU legend Jason Richardson, currently plays for Columbus High School in Florida.

On Friday night at 5:30 pm ET, you can watch Jase play basketball on national television in the ESPN High School Basketball Showcase, which will feature a match-up between Columbus and Montverde, live on ESPN2.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

GIECO Nationals: Preview the 4 girls basketball teams competing for the championship

Preview the GEICO Nationals girls basketball tournament featuring McDonogh, Long Island Lutheran, Westtown and Montverde.

Four of the best girls basketball teams in the country, including the top two teams in MaxPreps’ rankings, will be displaying their prowess at the GEICO Nationals this week.

McDonogh (Md.), Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.), Westtown (Penn.) and Montverde Academy (Fla.) will vie for the prestigious championship on March 31 and April 1, with the opening games taking place on Friday.

Between those four teams, nine players are ranked on ESPN’s lists for the classes of 2023 and 2024.

Here is a quick rundown of the teams ahead of the game action.

Find the GEICO Nationals schedule here. Read the boys GEICO Nationals basketball tournament preview here.

GIECO Nationals: Preview the 8 boys basketball teams competing for the championship

With the GIECO Nationals boys basketball tournament approaching, get a preview of the eight teams competing for the championship.

The GEICO Nationals boys basketball tournament is set for another star-studded showdown between some of the best teams in the nation. Between the eight teams competing, there are 71 players listed on 247Sports’ recruiting rankings, which averages out to the entire starting lineup, plus at least a few guys coming off the bench.

The eight teams who will compete are Paul VI (Va.), Link Academy (Mo.), IMG Academy (Fla.), Prolific Prep (Calif.), AZ Compass Prep (Ariz.), Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.), Sunrise Christian (Kan.) and Montverde (Fla.).

To get you up to speed before the prestigious tournament, here is a quick rundown of each team. The quarterfinals tip off on Thursday at noon.

Find the GIECO Nationals schedule here.