We Speak High School Basketball
Pace Fell Three Points Short of a Title. Fountain and McCullough Want the Rematch
Three points. That was the whole distance between Pace Academy and a state championship last March — a 54-51 loss to St. Pius X in the Class 4A final that ended a 24-8 season one possession short.
The Knights said goodbye to the two seniors who led that run: Jaydon Avery, a Penn football signee who led Pace with 19 points in the final, and 6-9 forward Hayden Clay, a Georgia Southern signee who added 11 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Replacing them is a season’s worth of work. But the rematch case starts with who stayed.
Gavin Fountain, a 6-6 power forward in the class of 2027, scored 10 points with 7 rebounds in the final — including the corner three that tied it at 49 late — and opens this season as a Preseason Third Team All-State pick in the Private division. Beside him, junior guard Jaden McCullough opens as a Preseason First Team All-State pick in the Private division, giving Pace a frontcourt-backcourt pair that has already played on the season’s last day.
Championship losses can break a program or focus it. Everything about Pace’s returning core says focus.
We Speak High School Basketball
Remember These Names: E’zariyah Clark and Amira White Headline Florida’s 2030 Class in Tampa
They haven’t played a minute of high school basketball yet. In Tampa, people are already learning their names.
E’zariyah Clark arrives at Tampa Bay Tech as a 5-11 forward and combo guard in the class of 2030, playing club ball for HER Elite. Prep Girls Hoops’ evaluation reads like a varsity scouting report: a midrange game, range out to the deep ball, and rim protection built on length and timing — a freshman who “should be a key contributor for TBT alongside a talented group of guards.”
Across town, Amira White gives Plant a 6-0 power forward from the same 2030 class, playing for MBJ Elite. Prep Girls Hoops calls her “a major addition for Plant as the program looks to reestablish itself among the top teams in Tampa and across the state,” pointing to a back-to-the-basket game with an outside shot to match.
Florida’s 2030 class, as Prep Girls Hoops frames it, is a group whose size and length make them names to watch from day one. Two of the biggest are starting their careers in Tampa gyms this winter. Remember where you heard them first.
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