Boone boys basketball is this week's Florida Team of the Week, presented by the Florida National Guard.
Photo by David Evertsen
The boys basketball team at
Boone (Orlando) evidently has things all worked out.
After starting the season 6-6, the Braves have rattled off five straight victories thanks largely to the state's leading scorer,
B.J. Taylor, who averages a whopping 34.2 points per game.
For their recent flurry, Boone has been selected as the MaxPreps Florida Team of the Week, presented by the Florida National Guard.
Boone has a rich basketball history with state championships in 1978 and 1984, along with six district titles and five regional crowns.
But last year's 23-7 season under coach Greg Shirley was the Braves' first 20-win season since 2004.
"Our goal is to improve daily," said Shirley. "Last year we were ranked pretty high and we have a couple returning veteran players, but also some new guys. Our main goal and focus this year is to play together. We want to be able to root for each other and be happy for each others' success."
B.J. Taylor, Boone
Photo by David Evertsen
Taylor, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard who has signed with UCF, averaged a team-best 18.7 points per game on that team. However the Braves graduated two double-digit scoring seniors in Robby Irwin and Schuyler Rimmer.
Filling that void was been a challenge for Boone early as it dropped its first two games, 65-60 to University and 73-44 to Evans.
But following a 63-62 win over Apopka, the Braves (11-5) really got it going with a 100-69 win over Lake Brantley as Taylor exploded for a career-high 59 points.
He connected on 22 of 29 field goals, including 10-for-14 on 3-pointers.
"I have never seen a young man in my 29 years of coaching who has such a strong work ethic on and off the court," Shirley said of Taylor. "He is all about his team first. He conditions and works on and off the floor. Right now he is leading our team in every category, except rebounds. We are playing very tough teams and against a very good Lake Brantley team, B.J. was double-teamed the whole game, still scoring 59. He is a leader for our team and a very special young man."
Shirley added that Taylor now holds the all-time scoring record in a single game in the Orlando Metro.
Following a 65-57 loss to Winter Park on Dec. 18 Boone dropped to 6-6, but has since rattled off five straight wins, all but one by double-digits. The lone close game was a 70-67 triumph over Mainland in the semifinals of the Vero Beach Hoopla Tournament, the 1,000th win in school history.
Taylor had 38 in that one and
Q Bargnare added 13 points.
The following night, the Braves won the title of the tournament with a 64-49 win over Jupiter. Taylor had 39 points on 16-for-28 shooting, while
Jeremy Bouton and Bargnare combined for 17 points.
On the season, Bargnare, a 5-10 sophomore guard, is second on the team at 9.0 per game and Bouton, a 6-5 junior guard, is averaging 6.5 points per game.
Taylor also scored 52 in an 82-72 win over Oak Ridge and has scored at least 20 in all but one game this season.
He's made 51 percent of his shots (195 of 384), including 32 of 115 on 3-pointers. He's made 160 of 216 from the line.
Boone continues its season this week with home games against
Timber Creek (Orlando) and
Cypress Creek (Orlando) before a Showdown in Otown game with
Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) on Saturday.
"We have been concentrating our focus on defense," said Shirley. "We are learning to play for each other and work as a team. We are working on improving everyday and wanting to use everybody's strengths."
MaxPreps editorial assistant Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.
