MaxPreps 2015-16 High School Basketball Early Contenders, presented by Dick's Sporting Goods and Under Armour: Oldsmar Christian

By Jason Hickman Nov 13, 2015, 11:00am

Senior trio of Troy Baxter, Eric Hester and Dontay Bassett look to take Eagles to next level.

Video: Early Contenders - Oldsmar Christian

MaxPreps 2015-16 High School Basketball Early Contenders, Presented by Dick's Sporting Goods and Under Armour


Head coach: Jordan Fair (84-22 career record)

2014-15 record: 32-4

State association: Sunshine Independent Athletic Association



Enrollment: 175

Oldsmar Christian has several players to watch this season.
Oldsmar Christian has several players to watch this season.
Photo by Andrew Bershaw


Players to Watch

Dontay Bassett (6-8, Sr., F) … Committed to Florida

Troy Baxter (6-8, Sr., F) … Committed to South Florida

L.J. Figueroa (6-5, Jr., G) … Boston College, Louisville, Miami among offers

Eric Hester (6-3, Sr., G) … Committed to Florida



Jerome Merritt (6-5, Sr., G/F) … Division I schools showing interest

James Pursley (6-8, Fr., F) … Highly-regarded Class of 2019 prospect

Elijah Weaver (6-4, So., G) … Florida and Louisville have already extended offers

Herman Williams (6-2, Sr., G) … Committed to Louisiana-Lafayette

Guard Troy Baxter
Guard Troy Baxter
Photo by Andrew Bershaw


Key Dates

Nov. 28 – vs. Norland (Miami) at Breast Cancer Awareness Classic



Dec. 19-21 – Chick-fil-A Classic

Dec. 27-31 – Under Armour Holiday Classic

Jan. 23 – vs. Huntington St. Joseph Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) at ARS.com Tampa Hoopfest

Guard Eric Hester
Guard Eric Hester
Photo by Andrew Bershaw


Eagle Storylines

* Fair's career is off to a promising start. Not many coaches have 80 career wins under their belt before the age of 25 — that's right, he's just 25 years old. A former player at North Florida, Fair is a graduate of Oldsmar Christian and has returned to his old school to build a power. Fair was the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2014-15.

* Baxter, Hester and Williams played together over the summer for Team Breakdown, which went 8-4 on the Under Armour circuit and reached the second round of the postseason tournament.



* With all of Oldsmar's senior star power, Figueroa gets overlooked a bit. But the Dominican Republic native had a big summer, drawing offers from Boston College, Louisville and Miami among others. Figueroa is the No. 56 overall prospect in the 2017 class by the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

View gallery of preseason Early Contenders photo shoot with Oldsmar Christian
Forward Dontay Basset
Forward Dontay Basset
Photo by Andrew Bershaw