FLORIDA’S GROWTH IN BASKETBALL FOLLOWING STATE’S GROWTH
by Rick Staudt, Florida Editor of the HOOP SCOOP 

                    The Sunshine State has been growing in population at a rapid pace over the last quarter century.  While it is still and always will be a football state, basketball continues to grown in participation and popularity with Florida’s high-caliber athletes.  Where once coaches and scouts paid little to no attention to the state, now it is virtually mandatory to make contacts and recruit players from Pensacola to Key West.  The hottest areas are South Florida, which stretches from Palm Beach County down to Miami-Dade, followed closely by the Orlando-Central Florida area and Jacksonville.  
                    This season saw a great deal of movement by some top-level players.  Some moved within the state and created cries of recruiting and tampering.  6'0 Jr Edwin Rios created the most news when he left Miami (Senior) FL after having his car broken into and harassed with threatening notes.  He wound up at Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, a private school in Broward County and immediately the team became a hot commodity.  Other transfers of impact were 6'6 Ken Moore leaving Tallahassee (Lincoln) FL for Tallahassee (Leon) FL and 6'7 Soph Kevin Foster moving from Auburndale (H.S.) FL to Lakeland (Kathleen) FL.  In both cases the transfer came well after the start of the school year and had significant impact.
                    Others moved from outside of the state to Florida.  Two big names that came were 6'8 Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN and 6'3 Chris Singletary from Chicago (Farragut) IL.  Both came to Florida Prep, just outside of Port Charlotte in the southwest part of the state.  With these two players, Fort Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL became an instant power on the small school level.  6'7 Jr Javi Gonzalez, a former 2nd-team All-State selection in the Garden State, transferred from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to Miami (Dr. Krop) FL and he was the catalyst at the two guard to get Dr. Krop to the final eight.
                    Still others moved AWAY from Florida.  6'10 Marreese Speights, who transferred from St. Petersburg (Gibbs) FL to St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL a year ago, is now at this third school in three years at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  6'8 Jr LaRon Dendy, who would have been a top five ranked junior in the state, if he'd stayed, transferred from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL to Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC.  6'0 Jr Jon Roberson moved to Plano (H.S.) TX after a parent’s promotion and quickly established himself as one of the better guards in the Lone Star state.  6'5 Jonathan Hall needed some academic upgrading and moved from Miami (Senior) FL to Laurinburg (Institute) NC.
                    Florida has also become an inviting area to set up what some might consider “basketball factories.”  There are currently three well-known ones in the state, but there are more that are lesser known.  The three are Montverde (Academy) FL just west of Orlando, FL; Bradenton (IMG Academy/School) FL; and Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL.
                    Montverde Academy gained instant credibility when they hired Kevin Sutton away from Stu Vetter’s staff at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.  The school has been an international boarding school for over 80 years, so it isn’t like it sprang from the ground overnight.  The school to its credit does not participate in the state playoffs as it has a different goal in basketball.  With players from Europe, Africa, and Australia, Montverde is a melting pot for basketball and still maintains an excellent academic reputation.
                    IMG Academy/Pendleton School is the education arm of the IMG Academies that devote themselves to sport specific training.  In basketball, the school runs three high school teams and two prep school teams.  Players change teams like they change clothes and you never know which IMG team will show at a particular event.  Critics charge that the team doesn’t play well together and isn’t interested in winning games, only applying what they have been taught in individual skill sessions in game situations.  It too does not compete in the state playoffs.
                    Florida Prep burst onto the scene in 2004 as a new school and attracted much attention.  The school made the Class 1A finals (smallest division) in 2005 on the strength of transfers from Puerto Rico and New York.  This season, armed with some prominent imports from various African countries, as well as top-100 caliber players in 6'8 Pierre Niles and 6'3 Chris Singletary, Florida Prep was expected to be THE team in Florida.  However, an administrative snafu caused the school to be excluded from the state playoffs and could not play any Florida high school teams.  Also, one month before the season started, eight of its African imports left in the middle of the night for another school when their coach, who was still in Africa because he could not get a visa, was told he did not have a job.  The school played almost all of its games out of state and struggled financially.  Rumor has it that the school is about to be closed, but that did not stop them participating a week ago in the National Elite Athletic Association Championship in Jackson, MS, where they finished in the final four of the tournament. 
                    This season saw several players emerge out of the shadows and shoot up in the rankings.  6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL exploded in front of national scouts at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, FL, dropping 50 points in a near-upset of Compton (Dominguez) CA.  Not well-known outside of the state, Calathes’s scoring, passing, and high hoops IQ shot him to the top of the state’s Class of 2007 rankings.  6'0 Soph Zack Bailey of Hollywood (Chaminade) FL likewise improved his profile.  The 6'0 point guard is a jet with the ball, is aggressive on the defensive end, and shoots well from anywhere on the court.  He is expected to play up with the 17s this summer and should do well judging by his previous performances.  6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL was not in our rankings last season, but he should have been.  This 6'7 combo forward also performed well in the City of Palms Classic and other venues, routinely putting up double digits in points and rebounds.  Active and wiry, he shoots it well from deep, is active on the glass, and can take it to the rim and finish.  He will be an impact player at Central Florida right away.
                    The strength and depth of each class in the state varies from one to the other.  It is too early to speculate on the Class of 2009.  Right now it is safe to say that 6'2 Frosh Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL is an elite level talent and that 6'5 Frosh Torlyn Fitzpatrick from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL and 6'4 Frosh Emari Bailey from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL will be sought after by high-majors.  There are not many big guys to take notice of, but that is not unusual this early in their high school careers.
                    The Class of 2008 appears to have excellent depth, particularly in the backcourt, as 6'4 Soph Ray Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 6'0 Soph Miguel Paul from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'5 Soph Jay Wade from Panama City (Bay) FL, 6'2 Soph Gaby Belardo from Montverde (Academy) FL, and 6'0 Soph Zack Bailey from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL will certainly be sought after by high-majors.  The development of the bigs in this class, particularly 6'7 Soph Bo Reliford from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, 6'8 Soph Adam Pegg from Palm Harbor (University) FL, 6'9 Soph Eloy Vargas from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, 6'7 Soph Kevin Foster from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, and 7'2 Soph James Tyler from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, will either make this class a great one or one that failed to fulfill its promise.
                    The Class of 2007 may have the most talent and depth of any of the classes, led by two potential McDonald’s All-Americans in 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL and 6'0 Jr Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL.  Every one of the top 20 could end up in high-major conferences and 6'3 Jr Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL, 6'6 Jr Orane Chin from Miami (Dr. Krop) FL, 6'8 Jr AJ Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'2 Jr Ray Waters from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL, 7'1 Jr Solomon Alibi from Jacksonville (Arlington Country day) FL, and 6'6 Jr Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL will have a bevy of coaches at their spring and summer travel team games.  The only issue is a lack of quality big players over 6'8.
                    The Class of 2006  has no elite players at the top as in the past (Keith Brumbaugh, Darius Washington, and Jason Rich).  However, the top 15 players all fall into the top 40 to top 200 range nationally and six of those players are 6'8 or taller.  Three of the top six will stay in-state to play college ball, as 6'0 Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL and 7'0 Jonathan Kreft from Coral Springs (Stoneman Douglas) FL will play at Florida State and 6'8 Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL will play at Miami-FL.  The big question is where will 7'2 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL play college ball?  Our guess is that Bennett will end up wherever  former Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins surfaces this spring.

Editor's Notes:  6'8 Pierre Niles from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL and 6'3 Chris Singletary from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL are not included with our ranking of the top seniors, because Niles transferred to Lenoir (The Patterson School) NC over a month ago and Singletary was missing in action when we saw his team play a week ago in the National Elite Athletic Association Championship in Jackson, MS...For the sake of clarity among the players at the IMG Academies, anybody with high school eligibility remaining is listed at Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL and anybody who is a 5th Year Player is listed at Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL...We have to agreed to disagree on 7'2 Soph James Tyler from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, as he checks in at #18 on our list of the Top Sophomores Nationally and #12 on our list of the Top Sophomores in Florida...The sleeper that a program at the high major level in the senior class may be able to steal this spring is 6'5 Eneil Polynice from Sarasota (Booker) FL.  Staudt tells us that Polynice, who is big time athlete with a multi-dimensional game, picked up where he left off when we saw him in the City of Palms Classic in the state tournament when he was named the MVP in Class 4A...Two great ones to keep an eye out for in the future are 6'2 8th Grader Brandon Knight from Coral Springs, FL and 6'1 7th Grader Austin Rivers from Winter Park, FL.  They both are ranked among the top players nationally in their respective classes.