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Yellow Jackets expect big things this season

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By NICK WILLIAMS

nwilliams@tampatrib.com

Published: November 11, 2009

TAMPA - Last season, Blake High's boys varsity basketball team had one of its better seasons since reopening in 1997, posting a 20-8 record and reaching the playoffs.

Even though the Yellow Jackets lost in the opening round to eventual state runner-up Clearwater High, they have every reason to look forward to the 2009-10 season. With the return of its top two players, things are looking good for Blake.

Junior point guard Andre Smith - ranked by ESPN as one of the state's top players for the Class of 2011 - led Blake last season with 17.4 points and 3.9 assists per game. Smith was named to The Tampa Tribune All-Hillsborough County Boys Basketball second team.

Michael McFarland, a 6-foot-7 senior post player, was the team's second-leading scorer with 13.1 points per game and led the team in blocked shots (73). A standout player for Blake's football team, McFarland is verbally committed to play for the defending national champion Florida Gators football team.

Because programs across the state were reclassified, Blake moved down and will play in Class 4A-District 9 this season, which includes Jefferson, Jesuit, Lennard, Strawberry Crest, Steinbrenner, Middleton, Robinson and Spoto high schools.

Other area teams

•Hillsborough: Stephanie Crawford was hired in the summer to coach the boys basketball team, becoming the first woman in Hillsborough County to coach a premier boys program. Crawford inherits a program that is coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory, capturing the Class 5A District 10 title, its first district title since 1996, and making its first playoff appearance since 2002. The Terriers lost to state runner-up Clearwater in the region semifinals and ended the season with a 21-9 record.

• Jefferson: Darryl Wilborn is in his third season as head coach and must rebuild a team that graduated nine seniors. Jefferson returns brothers Martel and Michael Kinsey, who combined for more than 17 points a game last season, and junior forward Hasker Hudgens, who led the team in scoring in 2008-09 with 14.1 points a game.

•Middleton: The Tigers are two years removed from winning a district title and one year removed from reaching the postseason. Middleton graduated five seniors from last year's team, most notably Geric Leath, who led the team with 18.3 points a game. Morris Scott is the new boys varsity basketball coach. Scott, who was an assistant coach at Division I Southeastern Louisiana University last year, replaces Cornell Young, who guided the Tigers to a 4-18 record last season.

•Plant: The Panthers graduated one of the greatest prep players in program history in Sheldon Cooley, who ended his career as the seventh all-time scorer in Hillsborough County with 2,076 points. Sophomore guard Michael Frazier, ranked by ESPN as one of the best sophomores in Florida, returns to lead Plant, which is coming off a 15-11 season.

•Robinson: The Knights finished 8-15 overall last season, with seven of those losses coming by a score of 10 points or less. Robinson graduated its top two scorers in Chris Reyes and Reggie Sweatman, but returns players who saw considerable court time in 2008-09.

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 259-7851.

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