We Speak High School Basketball
Sickles Reloads: Madden Geiger Gives the Gryphons a New Centerpiece
Reaching the state semifinals once can be a breakthrough. Getting back is what turns a team into a program — and Sickles just added the piece built for exactly that job.
The Gryphons went 26-5 last season and reached the FHSAA Class 6A state semifinals, where they faced eventual champion St. Thomas Aquinas at UNF Arena. Now they reload around a new centerpiece: Madden Geiger, a 6-9 power forward in the class of 2027 who transferred in from Calvary Christian in Clearwater.
Geiger averaged 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a junior while shooting 44 percent, and his game fits the modern blueprint for a big man — a stretch forward who can shoot from mid-range and the perimeter and put the ball on the floor. Southeast Hoops Report’s read is direct: in a bigger role, Geiger could lead the Gryphons to a second straight semifinal trip.
Tampa’s Class 6A picture is crowded — Sickles’ own girls went 21-9 last season in the same classification — but a 26-win team that adds a 6-9 senior rarely takes a step back. The Gryphons are aiming at Jacksonville again.
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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