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Class Of '09 One For The Record Books

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By NICK WILLIAMS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 25, 2008

There have been some great college Division I-level senior classes to come out of Hillsborough County for boys basketball.

In 2000, Brandon High brothers Joey and Stephen Graham signed with Central Florida, only to transfer to Oklahoma State. The Graham's are now in the NBA. In 1994, Tampa Prep's Anddrikk Frazier and Carl Thomas signed with USF and Western Kentucky, respectively, while King's Leo Murray went on to play for East Tennessee State.

Although a lot remains to be seen from this year's senior class, which includes Boston College commit Evan Ravenel and Division I prospects Adam Sollazzo (Armwood), David Waller (Tampa Prep), Dylan Fugate (Newsome) and Brandon guards Blake Allen and Tarron Stewart, the Class of 2009 has the potential to graduate as many as nine college-level players.

Highlighting this junior class is King's 6-foot-7 forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, who began receiving college letters as an eighth-grader at Cambridge. As a sophomore, he was rated by Rivals.com as one of the top underclassmen in Florida. Penn State and Tulane have shown interest.

Plant 6-foot-3 guard Sheldon Cooley, Berkeley Prep 6-5 guard Austin Suarez and Bloomingdale 6-6 forward Callum Townsend are rated

as two-star recruits by

Floridahoops.com. Cooley, who leads the state-ranked Panthers with 21.8 points per game, was a Tampa Tribune All-County first-team selection last year and has received interest from Marshall and UCF.

Townsend, who leads Hillsborough County with 26.7 points per game, has received interest from Marist, Belmont and Fairfield. Jacksonville, N.C. State, Buffalo, Holy Cross and James Madison have inquired about Suarez, who is averaging 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

"If you look over the last few years, you'll be lucky to get four kids that got college looks," said Bloomingdale coach Josh Chapin, the 1993 Tribune Hillsborough County Player of the Year who played at the University of Tampa. "All of these kids have the potential to play Division II if not Division I.

Other standout juniors in the county include Tampa Prep guard Jake Haslam (interest from Marist and Belmont), Berkeley Prep guard Johnathan Gray (Holy Cross), Durant guard Aaron Garden (FIU, Florida Gulf Coast) Newsome forward Joe Raga (Belmont, Tennessee Tech) and Chamberlain's 6-9 center Matt Kendrick, who has received letters from numerous colleges, including Miami.

"I think it's good for the area," said Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia, a 1987 Tampa Catholic grad who went on to play for Florida. "Historically, this county hasn't gotten the attention we deserve. That's going to change with this class."

FUGATE, WALKER REACH 1,000: Tampa Bay Tech senior guard Dezmond Walker and Fugate reached the 1,000-point milestone this week. Walker currently has 1,014 career points while Fugate became the second player in program history to achieve the milestone. He also became the program's all-time leading scorer.

ALUMNI WANT TO NAME GYM AFTER COACH: Hillsborough High athletic director Bertha Baker said the Hillsborough High alumni association has petitioned to have the gym named after former basketball coach Don Williams. Baker said the petition eventually should be heard by the School Board at one of the later board meetings.

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