The hoops season will enter its second week after the Thanksgiving break.
Osceola, Celebration, and Poinciana will compete in 7A, District 9; while Tohopekaliga, St. Cloud and Harmony will play in 7A, District 6. Gateway is 5A, District 7; while Liberty is 4A, District 7. The OBC Tournament is slated for Jan. 15-20.
Here’s a look at the county’s public school teams:
CELEBRATION (3-21 in 2023-24): Coach Michael Van Hooser believes the Storm will be much better thanks to young players that have gained tournament experience over the summer, like junior guards Ricardo Baro and Braden Plaisted and Triston McNeal, a senior transfer from Freedom. Sophomore forward Michael Motta (6-4, 185) averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds in the pre-season.
“In terms of intensity and work, our off-season was the best it has been in all my years of coaching. Ricardo and Braden are ready to take over leadership of this team but I am really excited about the potential of Michael Motto. For such a young player he has a terrific basketball IQ and just seems to make the right decisions,” Van Hooser said.
GATEWAY (11-12 last year): One of the county’s more consistent programs over the years, veteran coach Travis James returns four starters: Yangel Malpica (8.3 ppg), Gabe Haynes (8.1 ppg), Ashaun Julian and Isaiah McGill. James has high hopes for twin brothers Jeremiah and Jonas Guadalupe, who move up from the junior varsity.
“We don’t have much size, but we are athletic and play extremely fast. I think that when our opponents see us for the first time, they are going to underestimate us. Most of our starting lineup returns and with another year of experience under their belts, I like the makeup of this group,” James said.
HARMONY (21-6): Coach Duke Leonardo loss three key players to graduation but does have a trio of solid players back, including Jeremy Penner (9.5 ppg), Sylus Cory (12.3 ppg) and three-sport standout Ivan Ramos. The losses from graduation will be somewhat offset by the addition of transfers Mason Fontaine (Osceola) and Manny Zamora (Lake Nona). Taking over a struggling program four seasons ago, Leonardo built the Longhorns into a solid program that has posted back-to-back 20win seasons.
“We will and always will be a defense-first team. About the only difference this year is that we aren’t quite as deep as we have been in the past, so our top seven guys will probably see more minutes,” Leonardo said. “Our style will not change; we want to control the tempo, play solid defense and keep the game low-scoring.”
LIBERTY (6-17): Second-year coach Steve Ross will try to post the Chargers’ first winning season since 2014-15. He has an interesting combination of players. Lamar Lee, who led the county in steals last year, and Tasir Best, who led the county in rebounding, return, while Ixion Toro (6.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg) is one of four transfers that Ross believes will make an impact.
“It was tough last year coming in a two weeks before the start of the season, where they kids had no off-season program. Between our returning players and the new guys coming in, I strongly believe I have four kids capable of playing at the next level,” Ross said. “We have some size and athleticism to work with. We set some lofty goals this season but we have the talent to achieve them.”
OSCEOLA (14-13): Coach Steve Mason returns a veteran team that includes reigning Player of the Year Luke McCrimmon (18 ppg), Jordan Mundle (13.6 ppg), Jordan Mason (9.9 ppg, 3.3 apg), and Helio Quinan (4.2 ppg). Osceola also received some good news when Jordan Isaac (19.1 ppg) decided to transfer in from Poinciana for his senior year. Playing a rugged schedule, the Kowboys started off slow last year but were playing a high level of basketball at the end of the season — almost upsetting eventual 7A State Runner-up Oak Ridge in regional play.
Coach Mason: “When this team was mostly freshman and sophomores, I felt this would be the season we could make some noise,” Coach Mason said. “We have some talent and dynamic leadership on this team and they have been through the wars against great competition the last couple of seasons. Because of that experience, this team will not be intimidated by anyone. I am really excited about what we have coming back, I think there are a lot of coaches in the county that are saying the same thing. “I’ve been involved in Osceola basketball for close to 35 years, and I can honestly say this is the most balanced I have ever seen this county.”
POINCIANA (15-7): The Eagles elevated assistant Remesses Khalfani to coach. The Eagles are a tall, athletic team with eight players listed at 6-3 or taller: seniors Xavier McCray, Elijah Burton, and Antuan Gallaway are expected to lead the way this year; while Savion Viser, Javonte Simpson-Lee and football standout Ernest Nunn will be key contributors.
“We want our players to expect winning basketball regardless of who graduated or transferred and that attitude has started to take hold. We lost some good players but we believe we have some good ones to replace them,” Khalfani said. “We have some good size and we’re pretty athletic but with any new group, we need to teach them patience as they learn to work together.”
ST. CLOUD (19-7): A Bulldog himself, first-year coach Tommy Billiteri did an incredible turnaround job, winning 19 games, won the Orange Belt Conference Championship and gave eventual state finalist Edgewater all it wanted (72-67) in a 6A regional semifinal game. The Bulldogs move up to 7A this season, but should have the firepower to compete. Much of the scoring punch returns: Alex Springs (17.4 ppg), Josiah Cotto (8.0 ppg), Maliki Baker (6.0 ppg), Diomar Ortiz (6.5 ppg) and Ryan Rodfriguez (5.3 ppg). Lenuel Narvaez is a 6-8 sophomore up from junior varsity, while 6-4 sophomore Julian Fox should also play significant minutes.
“Although historically we have not had a ton of success, we did last year so there is always the worry guys becoming complacent. I’ve told them that our opponents are going to look at us differently this year and we are the ones with the target on our backs,” Billiteri said. “We have some pretty good senior leadership, we’ve had a great off-season and look to build on what we accomplished last year.”
TOHOPEKALIGA (7-15): Under seventh-year coach Jesus Merced, the Tigers will rely on senior point guard Jesiah Merced and shooting guard Roberto Rivera. Derrick Lewis played considerable minutes as a freshman last year and is the team’s best pure shooter, while Dominay Cain is another young player to watch.
“When we play bigger teams our lack of size may be an issue. But these guys have shown a ‘team-first’ attitude and have worked extremely hard in the off and pre-season. Our goal is to be competitive in every game we play,” Merced said.
