By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
It’s difficult to imagine how Osceola High guard Brenton Williams, for the second year in a row the Osceola News-Gazette Player of the Year, could have had a better basketball season.
The 6-1 guard averaged 25.6 points per game, the best at OHS since J.D. Bracy poured in 27 points per game a decade ago, Kowboys Coach Steve Mason said.
Williams’  slashing style created scoring opportunities in the paint, and when an opponent tried to close those lanes, Williams simply pulled up and drained 3-pointer after 3-pointer.
“Brenton made so much progress this past year,” Mason said. “He really worked at it. When he got here, he was strictly a set shooter, but not now.”
Williams said his ability to create shots while moving to the basket is the main improvement in his game.
“Yeah, that’s the big difference,” he said. “I didn’t used to do that, but I worked on it and now I like it. I like to get in there and react.”
Williams put on a virtuoso performance at the 2009 Great Florida ShootOut, where he averaged 27.5 points in helping Osceola place third, its best effort in a decade. The Kowboys knocked off nationally ranked Oakland Park Northeast High, and lost by just one point to eventual Class 4A state runner-up Oak Ridge at the ShootOut.
Williams was so good at the tournament that he was named the Most Valuable Player, something no Osceola High player had achieved since the days of the legendary OHS guard-forward tandem of Jimmy McCrimon and Frank Ford 27 years earlier.
“Really, when you think about it, it’s amazing that he was the ShootOut MVP, especially when you think about how many good players have played here,” Mason said. “Brenton just went to another level.”
His breakout effort at the ShootOut put Williams in the spotlight, and college coaches have responded.
“He went from having very little interest to the point where I couldn’t get out of the ShootOut after the games because the coaches were asking me about him,” Mason said.
UCF and Marshall seemed the most interested, and with Marshall Coach Donnie Jones replacing Kirk Speraw at UCF last month, the door should remain open for Williams.
The Kowboys didn’t lose after the ShootOut until the regional quarterfinals, where they fell to Kathleen, the ShootOut consolation bracket winner, 57-54.
“That hurt,” Williams said. “It was a good game, but we thought we would win.”
Williams, guard Jedarian Jackson and center B.J. Butler formed a lethal triad through the season, which ended with a 22-3 record, the best on a percentage basis since the perfect 37-0 state championship team of 1982-83.
“We knew we were going to have a good season because we only lost twice (in summer league) and we were ready,” Williams said.
Bartow, the eventual Class 5A state champion, edged Kathleen in the regional semifinal round.
“I knew before the season started that Bartow, Kathleen or Osceola was going to the state tournament. There was no question about that,” Mason said. “We had a great season. You can make a case that this was the second-best season we’ve had here, when you consider only three losses and third-place at the Great Florida ShootOut, plus the first district championship since 1998.”
While Williams will graduate along with B.J. Butler and several role players, Mason is encouraged to have Jackson, a junior, and sophomore point guard Michael Sanchez back next season.
“I told Jedarian that he is where Brenton was last year. He will have the same opportunity to step up and have the kind of season Brenton had,” Mason said.
Meanwhile, Williams can savor an outstanding high school career.
“I guess the ShootOut was the highlight. I played well there,” he said. “We had a good season.”

Player of the Year: Brenton Williams (Sr., OHS)
All-county team: Osceola: Jedarian Jackson (Jr.), B.J. Butler (Sr.). Michael Sanchez (Soph.). Harmony: Erick Sjostrom (Jr.), Daniel East (Jr.). Gateway: David Jerome (Soph.), Erick Marino (Jr.), Chris Connolly (Sr.), Antonio Rucker (Sr.). Poinciana: Wayne Ricks (Sr.), Lex Curry (Jr.), Miguel Rivera (Jr.), Sherwood Vinson (Jr.). St. Cloud: James Boone (Sr.), David Ortiz (Sr.), Jens Soto (Sr.). Liberty: Hudson Cadet (Sr.), Luis Alvarado (Sr.). Celebration: Rob Machecek (Jr.), Marcus George (Sr.). New Dimensions: Emmanuel Francois (Sr.), Orlando Vargas (Jr.), Jose Vasquez (Sr.). Heritage Christian: Maynard Rowe (Jr.), Josh Newman (Soph.), Emilio Giler (Soph.).
Honorable mention: Osceola: Chanel Chillers (Soph.). Harmony: Sam Van Tassel (Sr.). Gateway: Helen Collazo (Sr.), Jovana Smith (Jr.). Liberty: Kelila Naules (Soph.). Heritage Chr.: Arissa Agnant (Sr.). �