Season Preview: Class 5A State Title Favorites

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Florida High School Basketball practices officially got underway last week. Two months ago, Prep Hoops Florida took a deep dive into the way-too-early preseason rankings. Now we can provide more accurate in-depth analysis for teams to watch for this upcoming season. Here are some of the state title favorites in Class 5A for this season:</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>The reigning Class 5A Champions are the Belen Jesuit Wolverines who captured their first state title in school history, defeating Mainland 49-30 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Suncoast</strong>: The Suncoast Chargers are coming off a 22-6 record last season and reached the regional semifinals before losing to Miami Norland. Expect the Chargers to contend again this season as they are led by 6'9 senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1055707' first='Ian' last='Smikle'] (Tulsa commit) along with 6'2 senior guard Joseph Renna who averaged 8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season. A huge departure in their offense comes in as 6'0 senior point guard transferred to Calvary Christian Academy over the summer, but expect 6'3 senior combo guard Marshall Cuffee to play a comfortable role this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Miami Norland</strong>: The Miami Norland Vikings are the heavy favorites to take home the crown in Class 5A this season, as they are led by 6'6 senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1163363' first='Triston' last='Wilson'] (Presbyterian commit) and 6'7 senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1055745' first='Marcus' last='Allen'] (Missouri commit). Also keep an eye on 6'4 senior combo guard [player_tooltip player_id='1055701' first='Jamal' last='Ware'] who plays with a ton of energy on the defensive end of the floor where he is very active in the passing lanes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mainland</strong>: The Mainland Buccaneers are hungry for a state title and came up just short last season, losing 49-30 to Belen Jesuit in the title game. The Buccaneers are led by 6-1 sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1660041' first='Nathan' last='Kirk'] who can spread the floor and score across all three levels. Also keep an eye on 6-6 senior wing Narayan Thomas who plays with great length on both ends of the floor whether it's challenging shots at the rim or scoring comfortable off of dribble-drives.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Barron Collier</strong>: The Barron Collier Cougars came up just short of reaching the state semifinals last season and they re-loaded with talent during the offseason. Keep an eye on 6-1 junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2276460' first='Spencer' last='Clayton'] and 6-2 junior point guard Nick Degnan on the offensive side of the floor this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rockledge</strong>: The Rockledge Raiders are coming off a 24-5 record last season before it ended in the regional semifinals to eventual state champ Belen Jesuit. The Raiders have a loaded offense where they are led by 6-8 senior wing Colin "CJ" Kearns and 6-6 senior combo guard [player_tooltip player_id='1306134' first='Ryan' last='Blount']. Another name to keep an eye on this season will be 6-0 junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2217935' first='Terrence' last='Shannon'] who plays with a ton of energy and confidence at both ends of the floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Other Notable Contenders: Blake (Tampa), Belen Jesuit, Columbia (Lake City), Jesuit (Tampa), Jones (Orlando)</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->