By Gary Curreri

After opening the season with wins over Sheridan Hills and Boca Raton Christian, the Highlands Christian Academy boys’ basketball team found the going rough in its own holiday tournament.

The Knights began the regular season as it topped Sheridan Hills, 83-67, and then downed District 7-3A rival Boca Raton Christian, 53-40, in the opener of the 40th annual event that was started by former AD and basketball coach Reg Cook.

Sophomore guard Alex Villas led the team in scoring with 16 points, including going 6 for 6 from the field with 2, three-pointers in the win over the Blazers.

The Knights (2-2) dropped its final two games in the tournament, falling to the eventual tournament champion, Pine Crest, 57-44, and to King’s Academy, 57-56, in the third place game. Highlands trailed Pine Crest by 14 points and were able to draw within four before the Panthers pulled away for the win.

“Playing these three games really sets the tone for our season and gives me a good indication of what our strengths and weaknesses are,” said Knights coach and Athletic Director Jim Good. “Although we ended up losing two out of the three games, I was very encouraged and pleased with our effort. Unfortunately, we found ourselves too deep in a hole versus Pine Crest and King’s trying to overcome double digits.”

Highlands and King’s are quite familiar with each other as they faced off the previous two tournaments. Highlands defeated King’s for third place last year and in double overtime the previous year for the championship game. The Knights were down 12 in the third quarter before senior point guard Sawyer Lawhon hit 3, threes to draw them close. Lawhon was named to the All-Tournament team.

“We, unfortunately, did not shoot the ball well from the free throw line that night,” Good said. “I guess King’s was finally due to pick up a win against us. It’s always a great week as we host the Classic right after Thanksgiving.”

Pine Crest, the defending champion, won the title with a 72-55 victory over North Broward Prep as Brian Anderson was named tournament MVP. The Knights had won its own tournament nine times – 1978, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2009, 2010 and in 2015.

Santos Sweep helps Piranhas finish 15th in Winter Champs

Pompano Beach’s Mattheus Santos, 16, and his 15-year-old brother Raphael went 1-2 in the 15-16 boys high point standings to help the Pompano Beach Piranhas swim team to a 15th place overall finish at the 27th annual Speedo Winter Championships at Plantation Aquatic Complex recently.

Mattheus had 64 points, while Raphael added 60.50 as the pair combined to score 124.50 of the swim club’s points for the four-day meet and led the boys’ team to an 11th place finish with 219.50 points. The girls’ team finished 28th with 26 points as the program ended up with 245.50 total points.

The meet featured nearly 1,100 swimmers and more than 50 teams from the Florida Gold Coast (South Florida teams) organization, in addition to teams from out of state and international squads. Swimmers ages 9-16 were involved in the competition.

Hosted by the Plantation Swim Team, the Winter Championships is the state’s largest age group meet and one of the nation’s largest LSC (Local Swimming Committees) meets.

Other top finishes for Pompano included Emilio Barrantes, 14, who was sixth with 46 points; Summer Schulte, 14, who finished 18th in the Girls 13-14 high points with 17 points; Alex Marquez, 15, (7 points) and Shane Schulte, 16, (5 points) placed 30th and 35th, respectively, in the meet.

Highlands holds successful hoops camps

By Gary Curreri

For more than two decades, Highlands Christian Academy (HCA) has hosted an annual summer basketball camp at the school.

Jim Good, who serves as the school athletic director and boys’ varsity basketball coach, has been there for most of those camps as he just completed his 20th year. Good’s predecessor, Reg Cook, the former AD and boys varsity basketball coach, started the camp in 1986 with 19 campers in attendance.

“I am always grateful and excited that we are able to offer basketball camp here at HCA,” said Good, who has worked the camps since 1998. “It is by far our most successful athletic camp we do in the summer. I am extremely thankful for our coaches who do a tremendous job leading, working stations, sharing devotions and officiating games.”

 This year’s staff included several of the HCA Basketball coaches: Luke Still (Boys JV), Josh Good (Boys JH), Jeff Sullivan (Boys 6th grade), John Wilson (Girls Varsity) and Caris Everette (Girls Elementary).

“Also, Max Spinner, head coach at Boca High and former Bobcats player, came every morning in our older group to lead our “Defensive Session,” Jim Good added. “Coach Spinner created and provided quality instruction and drills on defense. 

“I have always been impressed with his teaching and coaching style and have watched his teams really buy into defense,” Good continued. “It was great to have an outside voice who provided energy and enthusiasm in implementing some new defensive drills.”

“Also, Max Spinner, head coach at Boca High and former Bobcats player, came every morning in our older group to lead our “Defensive Session,” Jim Good added. “Coach Spinner created and provided quality instruction and drills on defense. 

Good said the camp theme was from Philippians 2:13 which reads, “In humility, consider others better than yourselves.”

“Our typical morning included a devotion from one of our coaches as they shared a spiritual truth for the day,” he said. “We then focused the entire group on warm-up runs, dribbling, ball-handling and stretching.”

Every morning, the campers performed several speed and agility drills led by the coaches in a station format. The group was then divided up to work on individual skill and development with lay-ups, cone drills and shooting. The first week consisted of 35 elementary school students, while the second week consisted of 50 children in the junior high and high school age groups. 

Each day a specific skill was broken down for the campers to focus on. Every day, the campers competed in a different trophy competition, which included one on one, two on two, free throws and hot shots. Lunch was off campus at Chick-fil-A and CiCi’s Pizza, while the afternoon consisted of full court five on five games.

The school also held camps for softball, track and field, and indoor soccer. The remaining camps offered at the school next week (July 31-Aug. 4) include golf and girls volleyball. Please visit the website at www.highlandsknights.org for more information.

Simply Soccer camps offered

The Simply Soccer camp is winding up its 29th year of summer camps in nearby Coral Springs. 

The camp is for boys and girls, ages 5-15, and of all skill levels, which are taught a variety of soccer skills from dribbling to shooting.

There are three sessions each day ranging from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; extended hours camp from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a Tiny Tot program for kids ages 5 and 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. 

Full day campers must bring a soccer ball, swimsuit, shin guards, water bottle and lunch. You do not have to be a city resident to attend.

The camp has just three sessions left this summer including July 31 to Aug. 4; Aug. 7 to 11, and Aug. 14 to 18.

You can register daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Coral Springs Gymnasium, 2501 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs. For information on the Coral Springs camp, call 954-345-2200.

By Gary Curreri

There will be no state championship three-peat for the Blanche Ely boys’ basketball team this season.

Palm Beach Lakes’ Daiquan Wyatt saw to it as he banked in a layup with just six seconds remaining to give the Rams (23-3) a 64-62 victory over the host Tigers in the Region 4-8A semifinal on Tuesday night.

Blanche Ely guard Mike Forrest missed a desperation three-point heave from just inside half-court at the buzzer setting off a wild celebration for the Rams and ended the Tigers bid for a sixth state championship under coach Melvin Randall.

It marked the second consecutive time that the Tigers (25-7) were stymied in the regional semifinals in a quest for a third straight state championship. After winning back-to-back state titles in 2012 and 2013, the Tigers fell to Boyd Anderson, 61-54. They also lost 70-57 in the regional semifinals to Dwyer in 2010.

Blanche Ely defeated Dwyer in the regional semifinal 75-56 in 2015 and again in last year’s regional quarterfinal, 57-52, en route to winning back-to-back Class 7A state titles.

Wyatt and Tyrese Mapp each scored 19 points for the Rams in the victory, while Lavorris Givins added 18.

“We’re just glad to stay alive,” said Palm Beach Lakes coach Lorenzo Hands following the contest. “[Blanche Ely] is a great team, well-coached. They’ve set the bar the past couple of years and that means we’re heading in the right direction, but we still have a way to go.”

Palm Beach Lakes carried a 32-30 lead into the locker room at the intermission and then flexed its muscle in the third period to start to pull away as it opened an eight-point, 54-46 lead and eventually carried a 6-point lead into the final quarter.

Blanche Ely, which faced a similar deficit in a regional quarterfinal win over Dwyer in overtime, were able to take a 58-56 lead with 2:27 remaining in the game when Joshua Scott converted two free throws. Forrest scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and Geremy Taylor delivered two free throws with 35.8 seconds remaining to knot the game at 62.

“We got off to a bad start,” Taylor said. “We came back from six points down in the fourth quarter. Mike (Forrest) hit a couple threes but we couldn’t pull it through. This is very disappointing.”

Jordan Strowbridge had a team-high 16 points for the Tigers, while Taylor and Forrest each finished 13 points.

By Gary Curreri

For the second consecutive year, Highlands Christian Academy’s (HCA) boys’ soccer season ended on the Lake Worth campus at Trinity Christian Academy.

Junior Rogeni Decaster tallied a golden goal with three minutes remaining in the first overtime to lift the host Warriors to a 1-0 victory over HCA (9-6-3) in the boys Region 3-1A soccer quarterfinals.

Decaster’s 17th goal of the season propelled Trinity Christian (15-2-3) into the regional semifinal where it fell in overtime to Boca Raton Christian. The Warriors won last year in regional semifinal 2-1.

HCA played the final 48 minutes of the game, including overtime, a man down after one of its players, Richard Silva, was hit with two cautions. Trinity Christian was state runner-up in 2014 when it lost 2-0 to First Academy (Orlando).

“It was a rebuilding year for us,” said Knights coach Darryl Mauro. “We are a small school where most players join our team for the first game. We average 6-10 players at pre-season training since most are participating in other sports, and all but one or two of our players touch a soccer ball during the off season. They played hard.”

Bucks have 13 move on to college

With three players already enrolled in college – Jerry Jeudy (Alabama), Deslin Alexandre (Pittsburgh) and Leroy Henley (East Carolina) – Deerfield Beach High School added an additional 10 to that haul on National Signing Day last week.

“We laid out a very strenuous regimen for those guys to follow,” said Bucks football coach Jevon Glenn. “They’ve dedicated themselves. This is just the fruit of their labor. I am extremely proud … a very proud day for me, a very proud day for our football program.”

Receiver Daewood Davis, who signed with Oregon, and defensive lineman Lamonte McDougle, who chose West Virginia, were among the 10 college signees in this year’s draft class. Also signing were defensive back Eldine Dorvil (Albany State), DL Jamari Rouse (Bowling Green), quarterback Nick Holm (Florida Tech), DB Kobe Green (Buffalo), lineman Jose Jeanty and LB Branden Bailey (N.C. Central) and linebackers Brion Byrd and Cortez Grace (Virginia Union).

Ely falls to Dillard in Big 8

When it comes to the BCAA Big 8 boys’ basketball tournament, it appears that rival Dillard has Blanche Ely’s number.

Dillard’s Raiquan Gray and Robert Johnson helped key a 21-6 run early in the third quarter to break open a tight game and led the Panthers to a 72-61 victory over Blanche Ely at Ft. Lauderdale High School. Dillard won last year’s Big 8 championship with a 68-62 victory over the Tigers. Both teams won state titles in their respective classifications.

Johnson threw down a two-handed dunk off a look-away pass from Gray to push the lead to 52-35 with 1:09 left in the third quarter. Johnson finished with 17 points, Gray had 11 points and Bryce Oliver added 12.

Jordan Wright, a prized football recruit for Kentucky, finished with 18 points for the Panthers and helped Dillard seize a 28-27 halftime lead with a buzzer-beating 3-point basket.

Ely’s Geremy Taylor scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to pull the Tigers close before Wright converted a three-point play with 1:16 left to give Dillard a 68-57 lead to seal the game. Michael Forrest added 14 points for Blanche Ely.

By Gary Curreri

What started out as a promising season for the Deerfield Beach High School girls basketball team could have turned sour following an injury to a key player.

Sophomore 5-ft., 6-in. shooting guard DenAsia Mitchell came down wrong on her knee during practice last week and Bucks coach Portia Williams fears the worst.

The Bucks got out of the gate at 14-2 with losses coming to Flanagan, 38-31, and South Broward, 56-44, and owned a 65-57 victory over district rival Douglas. The team also won all three of their games in a tournament in Atlanta.

After opening its own Deerfield Blitz Holiday tournament with wins over Piper and Cooper City, disaster struck in the practice leading up to the title game against Douglas.

“At this time we don’t know,” Williams said. “It was just a freak accident at practice. She was going up for a loose ball and just came down wrong on it. She has to get some tests run. She is getting an MRI (this week).

“We have the capabilities and that shouldn’t have stopped us from what we need to do,” Williams said after the Eagles (18-1) jumped out to a 30-10 halftime lead and coasted to a 63-42 victory over the host Bucks in the championship game.

“We have to regroup and go over some things that were a problem.”

Williams said the team needed to do several things better, including rebounding, boxing out better on defense and running their offense. It hurt not having Mitchell, who was averaging nearly 20 points per game. The team also gave up a lot of baskets on fast breaks and in transition and allowed 22 offensive rebounds to Douglas.

“We knew she was out, but we didn’t execute,” Williams said. “We didn’t come out to play and that was the bottom line. We talked to the girls and told them we have to get back to the basics and regroup from there.

“We have to get ready for the second half of the season,” added Williams, who has been coaching for nearly two decades at Deerfield Beach. “We have some things to fix and we have to continue to work hard.”

Williams said the team is more of a family this year and has survived the “tough times.”

“We may get down on one another, but then we pick each other up,” she said. “I think there are some things that we can do. Even though it is a Christmas tournament, we did well on the road in Atlanta, and now we just have to regroup.”

Williams wasn’t surprised with the start to the season and also cited sophomore guard Kayla Burrows and senior guard G’Torria Swinton for their play this season.

“We saw them play really well at a camp this summer and they haven’t played their best yet this season,” Williams said. “We have to learn to stay focused. Some of them still have maturity problems, and we need to be able to take toughness and that will have to start with our seniors.”

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach coach Kenny Brown is a firm believer that his team can make it past the first round of the district tournament this season.

The Bucks finished 12-13 last year including a first round exit in the District 11-9A tournament. Deerfield Beach has gotten off to a 10-5 start this season with four losses coming in the Kreul Showcase and Kreul Classic tournaments. The Bucks also suffered a 61-57 loss to Dillard in the regular season.

Brown entered the season with a 258-121 record with more than 100 players who have gone off and played in college, including Terrence Johnson (South Alabama) and Josh Huntley (Stephen F. Austin). He returns six players from last year’s squad.

Toughness will be the team’s mantra this season and Brown cited junior point guard Corey Carpenter, along with senior guards Marcus Brave and Calvin Davis to take the team to the next level.

“(Senior) Edwin Louis is a talented point guard with D1 ability,” Brown said. “(Junior) Hansley Senatus is a wing player that will bring versatility and has the ability to stretch the floor with shooting.

“We expect to improve everyday and peak at right time,” Brown said. “We are looking to play faster and use our depth on wings. I think our depth will be key to our style, which will be to wear teams down and pressure for 32 minutes.”

The team’s most lopsided defeat came against Class 5A power St. Andrew’s School, 86-65 in the Kreul Classic. The Scots (12-0) won the tournament and are undefeated on the season.

“In that game, we got into a little foul trouble and a few loose balls that we normally get, we didn’t get,” Brown said. “Usually, we play with a lot of energy and we play with our feet a lot better.

“That game was a wakeup call,” Brown added. “There was some point where the guys started to believe that they were better than they really were and a good old- fashioned butt whipping is always a good teacher. We will bottle that up and remember that feeling and we won’t have that feeling too many more times.

Coming into the season, Brown was confident that his team had put in the work during the offseason.

“I work these kids really hard,” Brown said. “I know that, with the energy and how hard these kids play and how hard they worked in practice, we would have a tough team.

I thought we would have a harder time with rebounding, but so far, so good. We are right in their battling.

“I am okay with our start,” he continued. “Our experience has really helped. I have four kids who are in their third year of varsity basketball. Experience is the best teacher as you know.”

Brown believes they can make a deep run in the playoffs.

“As long as we trust each other, believe in each other, play off each other and share the ball,” Brown said, “we have a chance. We can go out and fight and hustle and give it all we got and we can always shuffle kids in and out…with this start, the confidence came and now the expectations come.”

By Gary Curreri

If Highlands Christian Academy is going to make a deep run in the postseason, it will have to find a way to get past nemesis Jupiter Christian.

Highlands Christian is 6-2 this season, with its only two blemishes coming at the hands of the Eagles by a combined nine points. The Knights dropped a 73-68 decision in the 39th annual Highlands Holiday Classic and then fell 69-65 to Jupiter Christian in a District 7-3A game on Tuesday night. On Friday, the Knights will host district leader Boca Christian (5-3, 3-0 in the District) at 7 p.m.

Senior point guard Herman Robinson has been a member of the varsity team at the school since he was in the seventh grade. He averaged 15.0 points and 6.2 assists per game last year.

“Basketball means everything to me,” said Robinson, 18, of Deerfield Beach, who hasn’t decided on a college yet. “It’s my life. It has taken me through a great journey and taught me a lot of life’s lessons. It’s shown me no matter what I can do anything in life if I put my mind to it. The hard work is making me a better person.”

“I think we have a great team this year,” Robinson added. “We didn’t have a great year last year by our standards, but we have been working hard in the gym and preparing. It’s my senior year, so it is important for me to end my (long) career here on a good note. We have room up there for another banner.”

Highlands Christian has won 12 district championships in school history, however, none since winning in 2011. The Knights made it to the state final four in 1979 and 1994.

“Herman has been the face of Highlands basketball for about six years now,” said Knights head coach and athletic director Jim Good, whose team last season finished at 10-13. They finished third in the Holiday Classic. “He gets the guys to do things that I can’t do and has an incredible work ethic. I never question his intensity or his passion for the game. He is definitely going to be missed next year.”

“Our expectations and goals for the season is to compete for a district championship,” Good added. “We should be a little deeper, so we are trying to play more up tempo and press. We have placed much more of an emphasis on defense.”

It is an experienced group with seven seniors and several returners. Junior guard Matt Veynovich (8.9 ppg, made 60 3-pointers) improved during the offseason and Good called him the team’s sleeper player. Veynovich was the lone Highland’s Christian Academy selection to the All-Tournament team in the Holiday Classic.

Another top player back from last season that Good and the Knights will count on is senior forward Kyle Lassen (11.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds).

“Matt has really worked on his game and gives us a lot of options,” Good said. “Herman is our leader and the focal point of the team, but he has a lot of help this year. The players have put in the time and we are going to be a little more balanced I think.”

Good knows this is a difficult district to get by. In addition to Jupiter Christian and Boca Christian, the Knights will also face stiff challenges from Village Academy and non-district foes like Canterbury (St. Petersburg), the opening round opponent in the Keswick Christmas Tournament.

“We play a tough schedule and tough district, so all of those games will prepare us for the postseason,” Good said. “It is a wide open district with very competitive teams. I am happy with where we are as a team and I see improvement in all of our players. I think they want to do something special this season. I am excited about the progress that we’ve made.”

By Gary Curreri

When it comes to boys’ basketball at Blanche Ely High School, Coach Melvin Randall doesn’t rebuild. He doesn’t reload. He just finds a way to repeat.

Despite early struggles this season, the Tigers (20-13) found a way to roll off five wins in a row at the end of the season to win its second consecutive Class 7A state championship with an 84-70 victory over St. Petersburg at the Lakeland Center.

St. Petersburg (27-7) had won 12 in a row and 18 of 19 – the only loss was a 62-61 defeat to Wellington. Blanche Ely’s victory was the sixth overall for the school and fourth in the past five years, and fifth since 2007.

“It was all a setup,” Ely coach Melvin Randall joked following the contest. “We took all the losses we could so we could come in the back door and do this again. Seriously, though, this team could have laid down, but they worked extremely hard, and, as a result, we’re state champions. This is sweeter even than 28-0.”

Randall was referring to last season’s 28-0 mark. This year’s team started off slowly, but, like most years, found a way to peak at the right time and helped Randall win a state-record seventh state championship as a coach. With the win, Randall surpassed Miami Norland coach Lawton Williams III, and Dillard’s Darryl Burrows, who each have six state titles.

Despite returning just three players from last year’s squad, Randall said it took time for the team to put things together. Injuries didn’t help either as the Tigers found itself at 12-11 at one point late in the season, including a four-game losing skid at one point – something Randall had never experienced in his illustrious 24-year career where he has amassed 555 victories.

“It has been an up and down year,” Randall said. “The youngsters started peaking at the right time. I think a lot of it had to do with the schedule that I presented to them. We definitely took some beatings, but we played against the best.

“I thought they had it in them,” Randall said. “They kept their composure when they had to. I am just pleased. There were times during the season where I had to grab myself and realize how young they are. We had to keep fighting and keep fighting. As a coach, I could have laid down and made excuses that I had all babies and was just going to burn this year, but the kids just fought and fought and, as a result, we finished the job.”

In the title game, junior forward William Maloney finished with a game-high 20 points, while junior guard Geremy Taylor posted a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Senior forward Trevor Goodrum Jr. (12 points, three steals and three rebounds); sophomore guard Michael Forrest (12 points); freshman power forward Joshua Scott (11 points) and senior guard Mark Houston (10 points) all contributed to the title.

“We always felt like we had it in us to come together,” Goodrum said. “We just had to join together as a team and work hard at practice. That was the way we were going to go back to states. We had to go all out and come together as a team and, once we did that, we knew it would happen.”

Goodrum said there were doubts.

“We knew we had to stay together as a team,” he added. “We were a family and we knew if we stayed together we could do whatever we wanted to accomplish. The only thing on my mind was getting another ring. I wanted two on my fingers.”

By Gary Curreri

Although it wasn’t the storybook ending Deerfield Beach High School girls basketball coach Portia Williams had hoped for, it was a step in the right direction.

Host Boca Raton (26-7) jumped out to an early 13-2 lead and cruised to a 71-47 win over Deerfield Beach (25-7) at home in a Class 8A regional final game. The Bobcats went on to fall to Vero Beach, 77-68, in overtime in the state championship contest.

The Bucks got an unexpected boost from 5 ft., 5 in. freshman guard DenAsia Mitchell, who averaged 10.4 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 4 steals a game. Mitchell believed she had an opportunity to have a featured role this season after finishing up her middle school career at Carver Middle School in Delray Beach.

“It was a good season and it was good for my first full year,” Mitchell said. “It is a lot of pressure because I was a freshman and a co-captain. It is a big learning curve for me if I want to get better and go to college.”

Deerfield Beach coach Portia Williams was pleased with her team’s effort this season.

“This was a group of young energetic girls that were trying to gel day by day,” said Williams, who was in her 15th season as a coach. “They worked hard and I just had to try and keep them focused. It is a talented group of girls.

“As a 9th grader and seeing a point guard with (Mitchell’s) skill set and knowing the game like her, I just haven’t seen that in a long time,” Williams added, “I was surprised. We told them all season to stay focused and take it game by game. We just have to continue to work on little fundamental things with them.”

Wilburn hired by Tigers

Blanche Ely has hired Carl Wilburn as its new football coach succeeding Nakia Jenkins, who resigned in January after two years with the program.

Wilburn, 51, who has coached 27 years in Broward County, has been a head coach at Northeast and Coconut Creek, in addition to serving as a defensive assistant at Miramar, Dillard and Blanche Ely.

Wilburn takes over a Tigers’ program that finished 2-9 under Jenkins and fell in the Class 7A regional quarterfinals. Blanche Ely has reached the postseason 16 of the last 18 seasons, highlighted by a Class 5A state championship in 2002.

“There’s a lot of pride in that community,” Wilburn said. “I think that was the biggest thing to draw me. We have to work harder than anyone else.”

By Gary Curreri

Since the 2012 season, Blanche Ely’s boys’ basketball team has won three state titles (2012, 2013 and 2015) in addition to forging a 106-11 record during that span.

The team lost five times in 2014 when it dropped four games to Boyd Anderson and one to Cardinal Gibbons, the last time it lost more than three times in a year. In fact, not since 2008, the year after Blanche Ely won the Class 6A state title, have the Tigers lost more than six games in a single year. They finished 18-8 that season.

Blanche Ely coach Melvin Randall is in his 23rd year, including the past 15 with the Tigers, and has an overall record of 514-153 including, by his standards, a pedestrian 9-7 mark this season following the team’s 69-47 loss to Dacula (GA) in the Kingdom of the Sun Tournament in Ocala on New Year’s Eve. The team has suffered five losses in the past seven games.

“It’s a whole new group,” Randall said. “It is a young, young, young, young, young team. The seniors that we have are not stepping up. They are still hiding behind the eight ball waiting for those players that graduated to pop on the court, and that is frustrating.”

“We just don’t have any leadership,” added Randall, who won state titles in 1997 with Deerfield (Class 5A) and his win with the Bucks in 1999 (Class 6A) came at the expense of his current school Ely, 77-69. After moving over to Ely, Randall won state titles in 2007 (Class 6A), 2012 (Class 7A), 2013 (Class 7A) and 2015 (7A). “I just have to raise these young boys and go from there.”

Randall, whose team moved over to District 14-7A with the likes of St. Thomas Aquinas and Fort Lauderdale, said the team is still searching for its identity.

“We just have to play ball,” Randall said. “We just have not really bought into Tiger basketball.

“It goes back to missing the summer, of [not] playing during the summer,” Randall said. “They decided to go and do other things. We’ve got injuries, but my thing is I am very, very competitive and I don’t like to pose excuses. If we have five players to get out on the court, we need those five players to play.”

Randall is counting on senior Mark Houston (SG, PG) and injured senior Trevor Goodrum (SF, PF) in addition to junior Geremy Taylor (SF, SG).

“They are the main ones because they have been there,” Randall said. “Not only on the local level, but on the state and national level as well. These are the ones who should really be catering to these young guys and raising them, and we’re not doing a good job of that. Because, if we are not doing our jobs, how can we teach it to those young kids? That’s where the problem is right there.”

Randall said it is a different feeling to be taking so many losses this early in the season. The Tigers suffered two losses by one point – Pebblebrook (GA), 64-63, and Sagemont, 58-57. The team also has a 74-73 win over Northeast and a 73-71 win over Fort Lauderdale.

“Yeah, you get a little spoiled,” Randall said. “It’s not a great feeling to be on that other end after not being there for a while. We were blessed. It is something that we learn from. The one-point losses that we lost, and the buzzer beaters that we won – we will learn from all of those. These babies have to grow up quick.”