Riverside- High School 9:12 put on their annual High School Basketball Media Day Tuesday, hosted by the YMCA Riverside in connection with CSI Companies. Several boys and girls teams assmebled together to preview their seasons and top players and current seniors.
One of the basketball season’s premier tournaments was announced by Alan Verlander of High School 9:12 . Verlander played basketball here locally, and has dedicated time and resources to putting together the tournament for the last five years.
In addition to the tournament, the season will feature some of the best basketball players the area has seen in decades. Two area basketball players are ranked as the top of their class in Florida. Eris Lester (2024, Oragne Park), and Taliah Scott (2023, St. John’s Country Day.
Eris Lester, an ESPN 4-Star is currently ranked #36 in the nation and tied for #1 in Florida for class of 2024. She’s averaged 20.8 ppg for Orange Park in two seasons, and scored her 1,000th point as a sophomore last year. With several D1 offers, Lester is the highest recruited basketball player in the class of 2024 in Northeast Florida.
Scott is an ESPN 5-Star athlete, ranked #11 on the ESPN100, the top 100 players in the nation. Scott was the leading scorer in Florida this past year at St. John’s Country Day. She averaged 32.3 ppg at one point, which was 8th in the nation. She is the highest recruited 2023 athlete in Northeast Florida. Both of these top athlete’s teams are loaded and ready for another push at the playoffs in 2022-2023.
Yolanda Bronston coaches St. Johns Country Day. She is a recent inductee to her High School Basketball Hall Of Fame (Blacksburg High School, VA). Led by 2023 guard Taliah Scott, and 2024 guard Mary Kate Kent, who scored her 1,000th point as a sophomore last year, the Lady Spartans are looking to supercede their 21-6 record and 2A regional semifinal appearance last year.
Orange Park also went deep into the playoffs exiting with a 24-6 record in the 5A regional final. 2024 guard Eris Lester is accompanied by junior guard Autumn Nesmith. Coach Michael Nesmith has done a masterful job not only building a winning program, but training his talented players to excel.
Check back with Duval Sports for some of the other Media Day teams and previews.
