City of Palms Classic Top Performers Day One

Day one of the City of Palms Classic down in Fort Myers, FL started off strong and will only continue to get better.

Gregg Glenn is efficient

Calvary Chrisitan’s Gregg Glenn put on a show for his home state of Florida. The Michigan signee finished with 18 points, on 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point land. Glenn finished with a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds as well. Carl Cherenfant also had a great game and finished with 16 points.

Ohio got a steal in AJ Brown

Orlando Christian Prep got a solid win on day one, largely because of the performance of Ohio signee AJ Brown. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard finished with 24 points on 47% from the field, and 57% from three. Brown is extremely versatile offensively. He can drive and finish at the rim, catch and shoot from deep, or knock down the one-dribble pull-up.

The Boozer twins will be special

The duo of Cameron and Cayden Boozer was impressive and it’s hard to believe the two are freshmen in high school. The pair are very different players, Cayden is a point guard and stands about 6-foot-4. His twin brother, Cameron, is several inches taller at 6-foot-8 and plays more of the wing/forward position. Cameron struggled to get things going offensively but he just oozes potential. He’s light on his feet and shows tremendous upside. Cayden, on the other hand, put on a show for the fans. He controlled the tempo of the game and couldn’t be stopped when he put his head down to the rim. He played both sides of the ball, tirelessly. I was impressed by his ability to lead his team on the offensive side, and then come down on the other end and then play tough, consistent on-ball defense. Cayden finished with 21 points on an impressive 10-of-13 from the field.

Kanaan Carlyle is a dog

Kaanan Carlyle, the five-star junior out of Milton (Ga.) was a competitor all night long and was incredibly impressive. The 6-foot-1 combo guard showed the ability to finish in traffic, drive, and pull-up from midrange, and can score the three-ball off the bounce. What I love the most about Caryle is his effort. He plays the right way, and never lifts his foot off the gas.

Carlyle is down to five schools – Baylor, Stanford, Auburn, Kansas, and Florida. He’s made trips to each of his finalists, besides Kansas and Florida. If I’m a Jayhawks or Gators fan, I’m not holding my breath for a visit because it appears Caryle is towards the latter part of his recruitment and I would expect a decision within the somewhat near future. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and five steals.

John Gamble is on the rise

Despite the loss to Milton, John Gamble was able to keep his team in the game and was hard to stop. He impacts the game in many ways, largely in part to his freakishly athletic ability. Gamble has nice size at 6-foot-6 and showed his skill as a passer. He is also quick off the floor to grab rebounds. He will need to improve his shot mechanics, but he is still a very capable scorer. Gamble finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. He holds offers from Ole Miss, Florida Gulf Coast, Portland, and Stetson. Florida, Florida State, USF, amongst others have started to show interest.

Dalen Davis and Marcus Pigram steal the show

With all the attention on top-ranked prospects Mackenzie Mgbako and Naasir Cunningham, the underrated Whitney Young backcourt of Dalen Davis and Marcus Pigram were the ones who truly stole the show on the final game of the evening against Gill St. Bernard’s.

Davis hit shots late to solidify Whitney Young’s lead and finished with 15 points. Pigram plays with such toughness and tenacity and was able to get to the rim, finishing with a team-high 19 points.

One guy I can’t leave out is North Illinois signee Xavier Amos. Boy, oh, boy, did they get a steal. The athletic four-man played with tremendous energy and effort and finished with 18 points, on 7-of-9 from the field.

Don’t get me wrong, Mgbako and Cunningham were impressive in their own right. Mgbako does a little bit of everything and is extremely versatile. He finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. Cunningham showed why he’s in talks of the early favorite of being the top prospect in 2024. He didn’t have a terrific game but showed oodles of potential. He’s long, about 6-foot-7 with crazy athleticism. He can handle the ball if needed but shows his age a bit when it comes to protecting the ball. Cunningham’s potential is endless.