There may be few surprises left in the Tampa Bay area prep basketball regular season but the playoffs may be a whole other story.
With a little more than a week left before the area's district tournaments tip off, here are a few teams — boys and girls — to keep an eye on in the postseason.
GIRLSClearwater – Coach Tom Shaneyfelt's Tornadoes recently earned him his 600th career coaching victory. Led by senior guard
Emma Loucks, Clearwater is 22-2 and rolling towards the Class 5A-11 district playoffs.
Gulf (New Port Richey) – Sharpshooting senior guard
Nicole Adams leads the Bay area in scoring with a 29 points per game average. She's helped the Buccaneers to eight straight wins since back-to-back losses during a Christmas tournament.
Sickles (Tampa) – Standout 6-foot-4 forward
Amber Henson is back at full strength after an off-season knee injury slowed the start of her senior season. Henson, along with guard
Bre Crum (both are averaging 20 points per game), make the Gryphons potent heading into the Class 5A-9 tournament.
Jefferson (Tampa) – The Dragons have dropped one game (22-1) all season and that was to an out-of-state opponent. After a deep run in the Class 4A state playoffs, Jefferson is primed for another one, led by
Laurie Beaty and her 25 points per game.
Boca Ciega (Gulfport) – The Pirates, led by
Tamara Taylor's 25 points per game, figure to be involved somewhere down the line in the Class 5A playoffs. Perhaps even against Clearwater.
Also keep an eye on…
Tampa Catholic, the defending Class 3A champions and
Riverview, a surprise group in Class 5A-8 with a 18-2 record.
BOYS
Plant (Tampa) – UF commit
Michael Frazier is scoring 29 points a game and has the Panthers peaking heading into the Class 6A-8 playoffs.
Blake (Tampa) – The standout boys team in the area this season, the 18-1 YellowJackets, led by the duo of
Curtis Fountain and
Andre Smith, have not lost to a Florida team this season.
Tampa Prep – Guard
Devontae Morgan and crew are eager for the playoffs after reaching (and losing) the Class 2A state title game last season.
Keswick Christian (St. Petersburg) – Keswick isn't the top seed (or the second seed, for that matter) in its district tournament. But standout 6-foot-5 guard
Tanner Wozniak and his dazzling 32-points per game always make their games interesting.
Chamberlain (Tampa) – The Chiefs are 16-2 and the surprise of Class 5A-9, slipping past
Sickles (Tampa) for the top spot in the upcoming district tournament.
Also keep an eye on…
Jesuit (Tampa), an 18-win team playing shut-down defense this season and
Sickles (Tampa), led by dominant guard
Rashawn Rembert (25 ppg).
