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Breaking Down Boys District Basketball

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2009

Boys district basketball tournaments begin Monday and here is a look at who could win and who should win.

Class 6A-District 8

Lakeland, the defending district champion, sealed the top seed with a regular-season sweep against Durant, which earned the second seed. The Cougars, led by senior guard A.J. Garden, the program's all-time leading scorer, are playing on their home court, which should give them an edge.

Plant City made a remarkable run to the district championship last year and later upset Lakeland in the region semifinals.

Class 6A-District 7

Sickles, ranked fifth in the latest 6A state poll, is the two-time defending district champion and breezed through district play during the regular season. Senior center and North Carolina signee John Henson leads the Gryphons with 17.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 6.1 blocks per game.

St. Petersburg has met Sickles in the championship the last two years, and as the second seed, should vie for the championship again, although Countryside, the third seed, could be waiting in the semifinals.

Class 5A-District 10

Anything can happen in this tournament, and it wouldn't be surprising if the top seeds didn't reach the semifinals. Still, Blake is having its best season in years, and behind sophomore guard Andre Smith's 16.8 points per game, is the top seed.

Chamberlain, the second seed, is led by 6-foot-10 senior center Matt Kendrick's 19.3 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. Plant, the defending district champ, is still powered by one of the state's top players in Sheldon Cooley, who recently surpassed the 2,000 career point milestone and is averaging 19.3 points per game.

Class 5A-District 8

Newsome shocked many teams in the district, earning the top seed despite its top returning player - Joe Raga - transferring to Bloomingdale in the spring. The Wolves are led by high-scoring junior forward Samal Shepherd with 18.8 points per game.

Forfeiting three district games cost King the top seed in the tournament. The Lions, led by 6-foot-7 forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, went undefeated on the court in district play but will settle for the second seed. Bloomingdale lost high-scoring senior Callum Townsend in January to a torn ACL but has a chance to reach the final with Raga, who recently surpassed 1,000 career points and is averaging 16.1 points and 4.6 assists per game.

Class 4A-District 9

Bartow, ranked fifth in the latest 4A state poll, earned the top seed and should meet Haines City, the second seed and sixth-ranked team in the 4A poll, in the championship. Spoto finished last in the district standings and will have to face Haines City in the first round.

Class 3A-District 11

Berkeley Prep is the two-time defending district champion and went undefeated in district play. The fourth-ranked team in the 3A state poll is led by senior guards Johnathan Gray (17.9 ppg) and Austin Suarez (13.7 ppg). Tampa Catholic upset state-ranked Tampa Prep two weeks ago and could reach the final with a win vs. second-seeded St. Petersburg Catholic in the semis.

Class 2A-District 9

Tampa Prep and Indian Rocks Christian split during the regular season and could meet in the final. The Terrapins, ranked sixth in the 2A poll, are led by junior guard Jamal Cherry (16.0 ppg) and junior forward Jay Bowie (15.2 ppg).

Class 1A-District 11

Canterbury earned the top seed and should cruise into the final to meet the winner of the Citrus Park-Academy at the Lakes semifinal, which will showcase the top two scorers in the district, Academy's Matt Grossenbach (17.1 ppg) and Citrus Park's Brandon Hagarty (15.7 ppg).

Class 1A-District 10

The top two scorers in Hillsborough County - Bayshore Christian's Fred Lewis (22.1 ppg) and Seffner Christian's Devin Paularinne (21.9 ppg) - should meet for the third time this season in the district final. Seffner earned the top seed and won both regular-season meetings against Bayshore, the defending district champion.

Nick Williams

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