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A LOOK AT THE TEAMS

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 21, 2007

Academy At The Lakes

COACH: Rod Brame (first season)

DISTRICT: 1A-11

KEY LOSS: Sheldon Patel

PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Alex Valdez, Jr.; G Julian Dormal, So.; F Digit Grimmie, Sr.; G Matt Grosenbaugh, So.; G Jason Giglio, So.

OUTLOOK: Academy at the Lakes is in its first season in a district after participating as an independent. The team returns all but one of its best players from last season so it should fare well.

Bishop McLaughlin

COACH: Gregory O'Connell (first season)

DISTRICT: 2A-9

KEY LOSS: Coleman Hengesbach
PLAYERS TO WATCH: C Chris Overbeck, Sr.; F Devin Towson, Jr.; G Mike Holmes, Jr.; F Frank Moore, Jr.; G Nick Pastore, Jr.

OUTLOOK: With a new coach and mostly younger players, the Hurricanes anticipate this to be a year of learning. They have goals of finishing the season with a .500 record after getting bumped up to Class 2A and expect that with four starting juniors who range in height from 5-10 to 6-3, they'll be a team to beat next season.

Gulf

COACH: Steve Feldman (13th season)

DISTRICT: 4A-8

KEY LOSSES: Anthony Jackson, Josh Ward

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Kyle Scianna, Jr.

OUTLOOK: Scianna is the only experienced player the Bucs have, so Feldman thinks Gulf may be in for a rough year. He believes the Bucs have a lot of work to do and will have to manufacture some points in order to stay competitive.

Hudson

COACH: Jason Vetter (fifth season)

DISTRICT: 4A-8

KEY LOSS: Mike Russo

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Jarrod Branco, Jr.; G Austin Gibbons, Sr.; G Tyler Hooten, Sr.; C Stephen Brom, Jr.

OUTLOOK: Hudson returns most of its team from last season that went 6-19 but had some impressive wins along the way. The most notable of the returning players is Branco, who averaged 17 points per game through most of the season before being limited by an injury late in the year. Vetter thinks the Cobras will be better than people are expecting them to be.

Land O' Lakes

COACH: Dave Puhalski (19th season)

DISTRICT: 5A-7

KEY LOSS: Dontarrius Thomas

PLAYERS TO WATCH: C Mike Espinosa, Sr.; 2G Jerome Harrison, Sr., F Kevin Burnell, Jr.

OUTLOOK: Land O' Lakes returns most of its players from last year's 19-5 team so expect the Gators to have a strong showing this season. They will be without their leading scorer from last season, Thomas, but the experience that's coming back could prove to be just as valuable to a team that Puhalski says is about average sized.

Mitchell

COACH: Larry Holden (second season)

DISTRICT: 6A-7

KEY LOSS: Geoff Balkom

PLAYERS TO WATCH: P Billy Hester, Jr.; W Spencer Boyd, Sr.; G Patrick Schuster, Jr.

OUTLOOK: In last season's 6-20 campaign the Mustangs were in some close, low-scoring games, including a 49-47 loss in the first round of the district tournament against Alonso. Mitchell returns much of last year's team and Holden has had some time to implement his system so improvement should be in the cards for the Mustangs.

Pasco

COACH: Poncho Broner (seventh season)

DISTRICT: 4A-8

KEY LOSSES: None

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Demetrious Larry, Sr.; G Zach Caparaso, Jr.

OUTLOOK: Broner says Pasco had a very good summer, winning about two-thirds of its games. The Pirates are relatively small so Broner expects them to push the ball a lot. The good news is that Pasco returns its two best players from last season in Larry and Caparaso.

Ridgewood

COACH: Gary Anders (21st season)

DISTRICT: 5A-7

KEY LOSS: Jeremy Killinger

PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Lukas Poderis, Jr.; G Mike Lawrence, Sr.; F Derrick Zio, Sr.; G Alvin Satram, Jr.; F Bryan Jones, Jr.

OUTLOOK: What to say about Ridgewood that everyone didn't see coming from last season? They lost Killinger, a lethal shooter, and a couple of role players off the bench, but the heart of this team is still very much in tact. The Rams spent the entire summer playing in different leagues and tournaments in order to get even better in preparation for a deep postseason run.

River Ridge

COACH: John Sedlack (second season)

DISTRICT: 5A-7

KEY LOSSES: James Swanson, Jeremy Bilancione

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Bobby Suarez, Sr.; G Alex Hill, Jr.; F Brandon Tyson-Long, Sr.; C Nelson Satisch, Sr.; F Cody Bagamary, Jr.; F Lance Babcock, Sr.

OUTLOOK: River Ridge lost just about its whole team from last season but had a productive summer, benefiting greatly from a team camp up in Tallahassee. The new-look Royal Knights boast one of the tallest lineups in the county and have made a lot of strides on defense, in area that they expect will be their strength.

Sunlake

COACH: Bob Marinak (first season)

DISTRICT: 4A-8

KEY LOSSES: n/a

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Eli Escobar, Jr. G/F; Mike Cardwell, G/F Jr.; Tyler Hisamoto, F, So.

OUTLOOK: The Seahawks are just looking to find themselves in their first season but have some solid players in place to build around. Marinak says his players will focus on settling into their roles on the team.

Wesley Chapel

COACH: Doug Greseth (fifth season)

DISTRICT: 5A-7

KEY LOSSES: None

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Greg Jenkins, Sr.; G Ladarius Manora, Jr.; F Michael Koesling, Sr.

OUTLOOK: Greseth believes the Wildcats will be strong at the guard position and that their inside guys have improved a lot from last season. Wesley Chapel also has a lot of experienced players coming back having not lost any key players from last season.

Wiregrass Ranch

COACH: Jeremy Calzone (second season)

DISTRICT: 4A-8

KEY LOSSES: None

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Sean Cooper, Jr; G Allen Thomas, Jr.; F Eric Williams, So.

OUTLOOK: The Bulls are more optimistic about their chances against district opponents this season after being moved into Class 4A. Last season, they were in a district with three Top 10 teams and took their lumps in their first season. Wiregrass has two solid guards and a move-in, 6-foot-6 Williams from Freedom, and is looking to stay close in games this year.

Zephyrhills

COACH: Alan Reed (second season)

DISTRICT: 4A-8

KEY LOSS: Cannellios Ansley

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Scott Patria, Sr.; F Joey Lyman, Sr.; F Josh Perkins, Sr.; F Tyler Guy, So.

OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs are seeing some good things from the team after a good summer. They don't have anyone really big enough to play center so they will rely mostly on the play of their three forwards. They also have four guards that are interchangeable.

Cristina Ledra

A LOOK AT THE TEAMS

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