Gulliver Prep player preview

<p>Two things stuck out to me when I visited Gulliver Preparatory in Pinecrest.</p> <ol> <li>The campus is state of the art, making it an attractive school for any athlete of any sport. Gulliver has a full on campus work-out room and Olympic size swimming pool. </li> <li>For the purpose of this article, the basketball team appears to be loaded. When the dust settles, we could be looking at the Raiders as one of the best teams in the state of Florida. </li> </ol> <p>Let's break it down it what could be a very special year. </p> <p><strong>Head Coach: </strong>Gary DeCesare (1st Season) </p> <p>DeCesare joins Gulliver with an extensive coaching background. DeCesare comes to Florida after coaching for ten years at St. Rita in Chicago. He also served as coach of St. Raymond in New York as well as stops in the college ranks at DePaul and Richmond. </p> <p><strong>Key Players</strong>:</p> <p><strong>Tony Sanders </strong><em>6'7,190 - Sr./SF</em><strong><em>:</em>  </strong>Sanders is currently ranked #24th in our Florida 2020 rankings, but don't be surprised to see that spike up in a matter of time. He is an athletic wing who looks to be in incredible shape in early practices. As a junior, Sanders averaged 20 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He has already scored more than 1000 points in his Gulliver career, making him the fourth player in school history to do so. A sky to the limit talent, Sanders was working on his mid-range shot with coaches after a two-hour long practice. Those reps have seen him pick up offers from a plethora of schools, including Illinois, Xavier, Georgia, Florida and Florida State. </p> <p>"I'm a person who works hard and creates for my teammates," said Sanders. "I can score at will whenever I can when my team needs a bucket." </p> <p>Coach DeCesare on Sanders: Tony is being very under-recruited. He has great skills and a lot of people I think are missing the boat on him. To be honest, I think he can play at anywhere in the country. He is probably as good as any player I have coached and I have coached a lot of great ones. </p> <p><strong>Donnel Harris</strong> <em>6'6,215</em> - <em>Sr./PF</em>: Harris is a stellar two-sport athlete, currently playing defensive end on the school's football team. He is set to commit to LSU or Texas A&amp;M for football in a matter of days. Harris transferred over from Booker T. Washington, where he averaged about 15 points and 9 rebounds per game. He could <em>easily </em>play basketball at the next level, with many ranking systems listing him as a top player in the state and nationally. </p> <p><strong>Gabe Taylor </strong><em>5'11,175</em> - <em>Sr./PG/SG</em>: Taylor is another two-sport athlete, playing three years of basketball before joining the football team at corner this year. Taylor averaged 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists according to MaxPreps as a junior. A quick, shifty player who will be a problem for any team to deal with. He is the younger brother of the late Sean Taylor who played at Miami and in the NFL for the Washington Redskins. </p> <p><strong>Eddie Jackson</strong> <em>6'1,190 - Sr./G:</em> If you notice a trend, yes, Jackson is a football player committed to Northern Illinois to play safety. DeCesare describes him as a stud-defender over at Booker T. Washington before coming to Gulliver. </p> <p><strong>Diego Lamonica </strong><em>6'5,225 - Sr./F: </em>Another football player, Lamonica is a Tight End on the football team committed to Vanderbilt. On the court, he averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds a game according to MaxPreps as a junior. See why I said this could be the best team in the state yet?</p> <p><strong>Niki Aixala</strong> <em>6'6,180 - Sr./F</em>:  Unselfish player who looks to make the extra pass. A spot-up shooter who will provide leadership as a senior.</p> <p><strong>Connor Sazant</strong> 5'10, 165 - Sr/G: A facilitator who will get other players involved with easy shots. Sazant should have no problem doing that on this team. </p> <p> "The football team is having a great year, so we should get all these kids back in early December," said DeCesare. "We will go to San Diego for Christmas and play in a national tournament. These kids are athletes so I do not think it will be an issue going from football back to basketball. I will give them a couple days off If they need it, but if not they can come when they are ready."<br /> <br /> </p> <p>The Raiders will play in the first ever Prep Hoops Sun Bash in Miami Dec. 13-14. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>