With the Hillsborough County Fall Basketball League beginning to get rolling; coaches start to build their teams for the upcoming regular season. There are twenty-two different public high schools in this six-week long league.
There will be five weeks of regular play for seeding then the sixth week will be for the playoffs. I am projecting that the top five teams going into the beginning of this league will be Sickles, Hillsborough High, Wharton, Plant High and Plant City High.
It will be intriguing to watch throughout Fall league to see what other teams may have now in terms of incoming freshmen and transfers, but as of now these schools are my top five.
Sickles return Bryce Workman and Denari Garrett from their State Championship team last season as first year head coach Mike Weaving looks to continue and build upon the success from last season for the Gryphons.
Coach Chris Ward and the Hillsborough Terriers have been knocking the door for an appearance to States for the past two years and are looking to get over the hump this season. Coach Ward has built has built one of the stronger programs in Hillsborough County the past few years and the Terriers have established themselves as one of the stronger programs in the county.
Coach Tommy Tonelli and the Wharton Wildcats has already established themselves as one of the premiere programs in the county always a threat to accomplish twenty plus wins. The Wildcats return Junior Darin Green Jr as one of their key players for this year’s Wildcats.
The Plant Panthers under first year coach Joe Willis have momentum going into this Fall League after winning the championship in the Hillsborough County Summer League. Sophomore Wing/Forward Reagan Weiss is one of the key players for this year’s Panthers team.
The Plant City Raiders is a team on the rise with their own big three in Justyn King, Tarik McKelphin and Matt Simpson. Plant City has the talent and upside to make some noise this upcoming year and take the next step in their district and region.
