Titans snap up 2 local hoops stars players

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Titans snap up 2 local hoops stars players

Sports

Thursday, 22 April 2010 08:13

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
Rivals this past winter will become teammates – and roommates – this fall.
Osceola’s Sarah DiLeonardo and Gateway’s Carla Garcia, after signing scholarships to play for former Osceola High Coach Renee Bellamy at Brevard Community College, will both wear the blue and white of the Titans – and share housing.
“We made our visits on the same day and were there at the same time,” said DiLeonardo, who averaged 19.8 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Kowgirls this season after transferring from St. Cloud. “It just worked out that way.”
Garcia was one of three seniors who powered the Panthers to a few landmarks this season: a school-record 14 wins, including their first over Osceola since 1995, and a first regional playoff berth.
Bellamy said their value to her program comes from their versatility. Garcia will play both guard positions and DiLeonardo will play at both forward spots.
“Carla can handle the ball but shooting is her strength,” Bellamy said. “Sarah can play with her back to the basket and can shoot the three. I like how their versatility will make it possible for us to do different things next season.”
The 5-6 Garcia averaged 14.3 points, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals for Coach Steve Robertson this season. She attended Osceola as a freshman, when Bellamy still coached there. Bellamy stayed in touch with Garcia through her high school career.
“I’ve known for a couple months that I was going there,” Garcia said. “I’ve seen the workout plan so I have an idea what to expect. Being on our own a little is going to be an interesting experience. Sticking with just basketball is going to be the toughest part of adjusting.”
Robertson said having Garcia running the offense made his job quite a bit easier.
“She’s very coachable, and I have to commend her because in her three years here Carla had three head coaches,” he said. “She worked harder when other players might have just given up. If she works on her ballhandling, I think she can be very successful at that level.”
DiLeonardo led St. Cloud in scoring for two years as a center before coming to Osceola.
“Apparently over there I was tall,” the 5-10 DiLeonardo said.
OHS Coach Barner Cooks moved her from the post to the perimeter, and she instantly showed another dimension to her game.
“She was the only player to score 20 on us,” Cooks said of DiLeonardo when she was at St. Cloud as a junior. “We knew she can shoot it, it only took a day to find out she could be a good perimeter player.”
He said changing to another program and another level should be relatively easy for her.
“She had to totally adjust coming to Osceola, to a new system, new teammates and a new coach,” he said. “She’ll do fine.”
DiLeonardo said she looked at programs at Flagler and Florida Tech (a four-year school right down the road from the BCC campus), but Bellamy pulled her toward the Titan program.
“I’ve seen her coach and the way she’s built the program there,” DiLeonardo said. “In two years I want to be playing somewhere else, and I feel like I’ll be able to do that after playing for her.”
Bellamy said the players will have to adjust to the added speed of the college game — literally.
“We get up and down the floor, so their biggest transition will be the conditioning,” she said. “But that shouldn’t be a problem, they both have a great work ethic and are great students.”
The Titans were 7-19 last season after a 13-win 2008-09 campaign in the Mid-Florida Conference.
The players’ scholarships covered all tuition, books and a housing allowance, which amounts to about $3,200 per semester per player.
Garcia plans to major in criminal justice, while DiLeonardo plans to study biology before entering a pre-med program.