#5 Blanche Ely (Florida)
Clide Geffrard
A 6-foot-6 senior forward, Geffrard came on strong toward the end of the season. He pumped in 33 points and hauled down 14 rebounds in the Class 7A state championship game win over Oak Ridge (FL). He also had 22 points and nine rebounds in the semifinals as Ely stormed through the state final four bracket. For the season, Geffrard averaged 17.4 points per game and shot 63 percent from the field. He also averaged 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. The unsigned senior could be the best player at Ely since current Florida Gator standout Kenny Boynton, who led the Tigers to a state title in 2007.
Ely hopes to make a similar run in the NHSI as Dwyer (FL) did last year and comes from a similar pedigree. Guided by a veteran coach and coming off of a FHSAA state title, the Tigers have lost only to teams that are higher-ranked in the FAB 50 than they are. Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas and fellow NHSI participant Montverde Academy. While the loss to Gorman was by just one point (58-57), the loss to Montverde was more lopsided (67-53). Rolling to the Class 7A state title was impressive, but more important to the team snagging the FHSAA’s guaranteed berth into the NHSI were wins over Salesian (CA) and Gill St. Bernard’s (NJ). Salesian and Gill St. Bernard’s have been nationally ranked with Salesian in the top 20 as of March 20. Both losses and both big wins took place at the City of Palms tournament in Florida. With Dwyer’s impressive showing at last year’s tournament, Ely won’t sneak up on a hungry St. Benedict’s team that truly feels they are the second best team in the field.