It was definitely a strange year for boys’ basketball in Osceola County.
Some teams were struggling to get games played because of Covid, several teams were adjusting to new coaches and a traditional power made a relatively uncharacteristic quick exit from the post-season.
Still there were a lot of positives and outstanding individual performances. Including St. Cloud senior Tyrell Frederick, who headlines the Osceola News Gazette’s 10-member 2020-21 All-County Team as Player of the Year.
Frederick averaged 15.7 points per game with 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in edging out Gateway guard Jeremy Valez for the honor. In 29 games played, he scored 20 or more points 10 times – including a 30-point effort against Viera in an FHSAA District Championship game and 23 in a District Semifinal upset of Melbourne.
Other top performances included 27 in a postseason win against Sebastain River and a 25-point game against Oviedo.
“There were many outstanding basketball players in Osceola County this year but I certainly believe Tyrell is deserving of this recognition,” St. Cloud Head Coach Brad Weber said. “We played an extremely competitive schedule and he played big all season for us. He’s the main reason we advanced past the district round for the first time in nine seasons. He averaged 23 points a game in district and regional playoff action.”
Valez is one of those outstanding players referred to by Weber. The Gateway junior averaged 17.4 points, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Limited to just 10 regular season games because of pandemic issues, Valez led Gateway to a 8-2 regular season record and post-season wins over Eau Gallie and Merritt Island.
He is joined on the ONG’s All-County Team by Panther Aseal Caballero, who averaged 10.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
Osceola, 13-9, finished as district runner-up before losing a regional quarterfinal game to eventual Final Four participant Oak Ridge. The Kowboys managed to place two players on the ONG All-County Team, including junior Chris Combs and sophomore Sean Combs.
A 6-3 sophomore, Sean Combs started coming into his own this season averaging 11.3 points, 3.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game; while Chris Combs averaged 15.1 points, 2.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds.
Although the Kowboys made an earlier-than-usual exit from playoffs, second-year head coach Steve Perez will welcome back seven of his top nine players next season.
Poinciana, 12-7, placed three players on the ONG All-County team including RJ Morgan, Anthony Colon and Manuel Centano. Only a junior, Morgan also excels in track for the Eagles. Senior Chris Acosta earned a spot on the team from Harmony High School. The 6-1 senior guard averaged 9.9 points and 2.6 rebounds this season.
Rounding out the ONG All-County team was three-sport star Tyler Wesley from Tohopekaliga. The junior averaged 8.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, including a career-high 27 against Southland Christian in a Feb. 1 game.
