By: Ross Van De Griek
The high school basketball season is officially here, the games count & so do the rankings. The first official rankings will be released here, see where your team is ranked below. We will be revealing our Top 10 rankings in the Tampa Bay area each & every Monday.
1. East Lake (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The East Lake Eagles are the favorite in District 6A-9 this season, that contains Sunlake, Wiregrass Ranch, Mitchell, Freedom & Gaither. The Eagles are led by senior guard & future Murray State Racer Dionte Blanch. The Eagles were a win shy last season of reaching the state semifinals, as they lost to Lakewood Ranch, 57-47 in the Class 8A Regional Finals a year ago.
Season Opener: 12/3 vs Seminole
2. Hillsborough (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The Hillsborough Terriers will be led this season, by senior guard Tyriq James, junior guard Corey Reynolds & junior forward Kevin John. The Terriers will be looking to someone who can replace Christian De Leon in scoring this season, after he led Hillsborough to the Class 7A state semifinals last year.
Season Opener: 12/3 @ Bloomingdale
3. Lakewood (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The Lakewood Spartans will be led this season, by senior forward & future UCF Knight Jamille Reynolds, as well as two-way player TJ Tampa (Iowa State football commit), junior guard Oteman Delancy & senior forward Ivan Ramoli. Lakewood was the Class 6A state runner-up & could get back to Lakeland again this season, although they'll be playing in Class 4A the next two seasons.
Season Opener: 12/3 vs Northeast
4. Tampa Catholic (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will be eyeing their fifth consecutive trip to the state semifinals, but in the previous four trips they have been in the state championship game once (2017 vs Calvary Christian (Fort Lauderdale). The Crusaders will be playing one of the most challenging schedules in not just the Tampa Bay area, but in the state of Florida. The Crusaders will be playing IMG Academy, Montverde Academy, Ardrey Kell (NC) & also will be playing in the ARS Hoopfest in Tampa in February.
Season Opener: 12/3 vs Booker
5. Berkeley Prep (0-0)
This Week: vs Bell Creek Academy (Tues.), vs King (Wed.), vs Gibbs (Fri.)
The Berkeley Prep Buccaneers will be led by junior guard RJ Garcia, senior guard Kegan Karnes, junior forward Gavin Rupp & senior guard Varun Ajjarapu. Berkeley Prep starts the season playing three games in four days, with all of them being at home. Berkeley Prep is coached by Renaldo Garcia, who is in his third season at the school.
Season Opener: 11/26 vs Bell Creek Academy
6. Anclote (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The Anclote Sharks will be led by senior duo Jakob Hester & Jalen Cooper, who are both heading to Palm Beach Atlantic University for the collegiate careers. The Sharks are coming off a 20-6 season last year & are led by fourth year head coach Michael Cooper. They will be returning 12 of their 15 players from last season, and they will be graduating 12 seniors this season.
Season Opener: 12/3 vs Hudson
7. Tampa Bay Tech (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The Tampa Bay Tech Titans will be led by head coach Adrian Johnson, who will be led by senior Amarion Payne, junior Adrian Jones & junior Ronnie Johnson. Tampa Bay Tech is coming off an 18-8 season last year, losing to St. Petersburg 65-63 in the Class 8A Regional Quarterfinals
Season Opener: 12/3 vs Brandon
8. Seffner Christian (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The Seffner Christian Crusaders are coming off a 25-7 season, following just short of winning their first state title in school history losing 77-73 to Westminster Academy. Seffner Christian returns junior forward Michael Trigg, junior guard Dawson Leipold, junior forward Cobey Quarterman & junior guard Blake Bartram. The Crusaders will be one of the favorites coming out of Class 3A to get to Lakeland
Season Opener: 12/3 @ Lakewood Ranch
9. Land O'Lakes (0-0)
This Week: No games scheduled
The Land O'Lakes Gators return two of their primary scorers in senior guard Chase Farmer & senior guard Mekhi Perry. Land O'Lakes is coming off a 24-3 season last year & are the reigning District 7A-8 champions & are expected to also be a favorite this year, as they are now competing in District 5A-6, which contains Fivay, Gulf, River Ridge, Pasco, Springstead & Zephyrhills.
Season Opener: 12/3 @ Gulf
10. Admiral Farragut (0-0)
The Admiral Farragut Blue Jackets will be led by fourth year head coach Julian Allen, as well as senior forward Jalen Parker, junior guard Daniel Krueger, senior forward Darius Webb & senior guard Lorenzo Donadio. Despite, the Blue Jackets coming off an 11-12 season last year, Admiral Farragut is a team that will not be overlooked this season.
Season Opener: 12/7 vs King
On The Bubble: Carrollwood Day, Jesuit, Gibbs, Mitchell, Nature Coast Tech, Plant, Santa Fe Catholic, Springstead, Sunlake, St. Petersburg, Wharton
Comentarios