Local chess kids competing at Nationals this weekend in Orlando

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Coach Mark Ritter goes over a game with Williams Middle School student Jonathon Cotey at last year’s scholastic nationals event.

More than a dozen of New Tampa’s best chess players will be competing this weekend in Orlando, as the United States Chess Federation holds its annual scholastic championships.

The 2015 National Scholastic K-12 Championships will be hosted by Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort beginning with the opening ceremony on Friday, December 4, 12:30 p.m, and concluding with the awards ceremony on Sunday, December 6, 5 p.m.

Most of the competitors attending are trained by longtime local coaches Mark Ritter and Tania Kranich-Ritter, who will be well represented in Orlando.

A dozen or so players from New Tampa and Wesley Chapel will be among the hundreds at Disney this weekend. They include:

Aarush Prasad (seventh-grader at Williams IB Middle School)
Ojas Kalia (7th, Williams)
Truman Hoang (freshman, Middleton High)
Shrey Gupta (8th, Williams IB)
Kelvin Ng (8th, John Long Middle School)
Parth Upadhyaya (5th, Lawton Chiles Elementary)
Melvin Uppgard (3rd, Chiles)
Lixin Zheng (8th, Louis Benito Middle School)
Teja Katipalli (4th, Harold H. Clark Elementary)
Jonathon Cotey (7th, Williams IB)
Khoi Cotey (5th, Richard F. Pride Elementary)
David Jin (4th, Pride)
Kevin Jin (5th, Pride)

The highest rated player in the group and the player considered to have the best chance at capturing a title is Hoang, one of the top players in the state.

Hoang, 15, is on the brink of earning Master status, boasting a 2176 rating (Masters are 2200). He is the second-highest-ranked among the 633 players from Florida competing. He is ranked in the top 100 in the country in the Under-16 age group.

“He puts in the most time and most effort at the board, it’s as simple as that,’’ said Ritter. “He loves the game and puts a lot of effort into it.”

While Hoang has a legitimate shot at a title, most of the players attend for the fun and the experience. The tournament has 569 teams registered from 39 states, and more than 1,570 players will compete in more than 60 classes, ranging from players rated anywhere from beginner to more than 2000.

“The experience is just tremendous,’’ said Ritter, who will stop by Saturday and go over the first and second round games with some of his students. “For one weekend, a gigantic hotel is taken over by chess players. Unfortunately, there is a prevalent attitude that being smart and good on an intellectual level is not cool. Suddenly, these kids are in an environment where everyone is doing the same thing they love to do.”

“It is inspirational,’’ said Kranich-Ritter, who has coached a handful of teams to nationals championships, including the 2006 Tampa Palms Elementary fifth-grade team. “You see so many children there — and you’re talking about more than 1,000 — and it’s the best in the country coming in to compete. You see that your sport, chess, that you love, is actually embraced by so many states and so many players. It’s inspirational to see so many of them under one roof. It’s the ultimate.”

Ritter and Kranich-Ritter have been running tournaments and clubs in the New Tampa area for 11 years, with club teams from around the area driving in to compete. Kranich-Ritter, who was the 1983 women’s state champion in New York, is the more serious one of the coaching combo, running local tournaments like a fine-tuned machine.

Ritter can sometimes be found comparing the talents of the 1971 New York Knicks or NBA Hall of Famers Bob Cousy and Bob Petit with, say, today’s Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James with one of the player’s dads.

An internationally-rated chess master, Ritter is one of only five Level 5-rated coaches in the country, the highest level one can reach in chess. He has tutored five individual national champions, and runs open tournaments monthly, most at the Kumon Math & Reading Center of New Tampa. He also coaches after-school clubs at Pride and Chiles elementary schools, as well as an invitation-only Champions Club that has 28 members, including most of the students listed above.

Kranich-Ritter says she is looking forward to watching the players perform following this weekend. Often, she says, the big tournaments are an impetus for a player’s speedy progress.

“I believe that chess is the matrix of everything,’’ Kranich-Ritter says. “It’s abstract, more than mathematics, more than geometry and art and painting, but it is all of the above. The lessons you learn can be retrofitted to their professions one day. It is the blueprint for everything.”

10 Things you need to know about Wharton-Freedom Rivalry Night

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The Wharton girls basketball team celebrates its first victory of the season.

1. The Wharton girls basketball team beat Freedom 70-49.  I’m just going to let that one sit here for awhile. While you’re picking up your jaw, we’ll continue on, but we’ll come back to it, I promise.

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Diamond was a Wildcats best friend Tuesday night.

2. Star of the night: Wharton 6-foot senior Diamond Wells, who came in with 25 points scored the entire season,  lit up the Patriots for 27 and a bunch of rebounds and made 15-of-19 free throws. Oh, and she was a perfect 10-for-10 in the fourth quarter from the line. Wells’ previous high this season was 14 in the Wildcats’ last game, a loss to Venice, and her career-high was 15 in games against Plant her sophomore season and Tampa Bay Tech her freshman season. Asked if she knew her team was the only one from Wharton that was supposed to lose Tuesday night, she said “yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.” Oh, and by the way, “School is going to be great” today, she added.

IMG_79633. If a tree falls in the woods behind a field where one school beats its arch-rivals in four athletics events in one night, does that tree make a sound, and does it still count as a rivalry? It was dubbed Rivalry Night at Wharton, but the Wildcats swept Freedom in all four games — boys and girls soccer and boys and girls basketball — Tuesday evening. Maybe the pajamas the Wharton student section wore suggested to Freedom it was nighty-night time. Or maybe, Wharton just has the better teams for the moment. On this night, it certainly looked like that was the case.

IMG_80544. For a Rivalry Night, the crowds were pretty, well, sparse. Oh, sure, they came out for the boys basketball game, but when that game ended with the Wildcats ekeing out a 47-44 victory, the gym emptied out. The girls game deserved better, as it turned out, but let’s be honest, everyone thought that game would be a Freedom rout. I counted barely 30 at the soccer games. Lopsided affairs can kill a rivalry, and Wharton has definitely had the upper hand in most of the sports in recent years, but you would still expect a little more sizzle in the bleachers.

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Lauren Wall had a big game for Wharton.

5. So back to this Wharton girls basketball thing. The Wildcats just whipped Freedom from start to finish. They were much bigger than the Patriots, killed them inside and never let up, outscoring Freedom 23-9 in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation mark on the win, which I think you could argue at least was the biggest of coach Chad Reed’s career since beating Plant to win the district title in 2009.

It was pretty stunning, considering the Wildcats were 0-6 this season and had lost half of those games by at least 25 points and hadn’t beaten Freedom since 2009 and had lost the last five by 30 points or more and, well, we could go on and on. Because we’re not done. We’ll be back to the girls hoopsters in a bit.

6. Wharton boys basketball coach Tommy Tonelli said in the preseason he thought Evan Trice would be one of the best point guards in Tampa Bay. He was pretty darned good Tuesday night. The senior scored a game-high 17 points, including 11 in the first half as the Wildcats built a lead they would carry into the final period.

IMG_80147. Wharton’s Josiah Crawford, who scored six points, said there was some talk at practice this week about making sure the Wildcats remained the top hoops program in New Tampa. Wharton has won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the teams going back to 2005, and both Freedom victories were by a combined three points (39-38 in 2014 and 74-72 in 2008). “We talked about how we’re big brother and they are little brother,” he said. “But really it’s about who is the big dog. Tonight we were the bigger dog.”

Alisha Deshenes
Alisha Deshenes

8. Tuesday’s 4-0 victory over Freedom was the Wharton girls soccer team’s fourth straight game without a loss and third straight win. The Wildcats had a number of breakaways against Freedom, which played with its defenders up in a futile effort to catch Wharton offsides, and could have scored more.

However, two goals from sophomore Alisha Deschenes (her fourth and fifth of the season) and goals from Alabama-signee Taylor Hubbard (her team-leading sixth) and sophomore Delaney Rowan, her scored her first of the season, were plenty.

9. The boys soccer team sandwiched a Freedom goal with scores from juniors Clifford Adjei (to make it 1-0) and Donovan Quigley, with Quigley’s providing the winning margin in a 2-1 victory. Adjei leads the Wildcats with six goals, and Quigley is second with three, and don’t look now but Wharton has won two straight after a three-match losing streak.

IMG_809210. Back to the night’s heroes. Senior Lauren Wall scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half for the girls basketballers, and junior Sabrena Eye scored 10 of her 12 in the first half, but it was the last basket of the game that drew the biggest ovation. With her teammates on the edge of their seats living and dying with each of her shots, freshman Brianna Boney finally made the first basket of her high school career when she grabbed a rebound off her own miss in the paint and put it in off the glass for two. Bravo, Brianna.

Neighborhood News assistant editor John C. Cotey can be reached at john@ntneighborhoodnews.com

 

 

 

Former Freedom High XC coach charged with sex with student

Former Freedom High track and girls cross country coach Dwight Lamont Smith was booked into the Hillsborough County jail Monday night on sexual assault charges after being accused of having sex with a student on trips to Gainesville and Titusville on consecutive weekends.DwightSmith

Smith, 48 and a resident of Wesley Chapel, faces charges of sexual assault by a custodian and sexual battery of a person aged 12-18. His bond was set at $150,000.

According to the Gainesville Police Deportment report, Smith and his cross country team were in Gainesville Sept. 18 for a meet and staying overnight. At dinner, Smith provided a 17-year-old girl, a student at Freedom and member of the track team, with vodka and orange juice and made her drink it, according to the report. He also gave her a key to his hotel room so she could receive “counseling”. When the girl showed up at his room, he gave her more alcohol until she became intoxicated, and then had sex with her around 7 p.m.

Smith left the room to meet some school alumni for dinner, and told the girl to stay in the room. She did not stay, however. Smith texted the girl later that night after dinner, telling her to return to the room. When the girl entered the room, Smith was naked. He then provided more alcohol to the girl, and they had sex again around 11 p.m.

The following weekend, the two again had sex in a hotel room in Titusville, where the team was competing in another meet.

According to a Tampa Police Department report, on Nov. 11, Smith showed up at her house in a red car, unannounced. Her parents were not home, and he told her he missed her and wanted to come in and have sex. But after seeing her two cats sitting in the window of the house, he said he could not go in because he was allergic to cats. Instead, they sat in her car and kissed as he fondled her. She said she did not want to have sex in the car, and told him she was on her period, so he left.

She then realized that their relationship was wrong, the report states, and reported it to the Freedom principal Kevin Stephenson on Nov. 12, who immediately took her to the School Resource Officer.

Smith, who was a teacher’s assistant in the school’s Exceptional Student Education program, was escorted out of school and has been fired.

 

 

 

Boys basketball tips off tonight

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Freedom guard Sheldon Odunna looks for two points during a game last season.

The boys basketball season tipped off this week.

Wesley Chapel opened up with Anclote.

Wharton, winners over Strawberry Crest in its first game, travels to Wiregrass Ranch tonight for a neighborhood showdown in the Bulls’ season opener.

Freedom heads over to Leto tonight for the Patriots first game.

Here’s the season preview capsules:

FREEDOM BOYS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Cedric Smith
Last year: 22-7
District record (7A-8): 10-0
District outlook: Freedom will be reunited with rival Wharton in district play this season, making the two meetings between the teams this season must-see basketball in New Tampa.
Key returners: G Sheldon Odunna (Sr., 6-3), G Nasir Cole (Sr., 6-0), PG Dylan Angel (Sr., 6-1), C Alex Rojas (So., 6-8).
X-Factor: F Chase Creasy (Jr., 6-4).
Season Outlook: Last year, the Patriots spread the ball around, as 17 different players scored. Well, 15 of those players were underclassmen, giving Smith the most experienced team he’s ever had. It could prove to be his best team, as well. Odunna continues to show great improvement year-to-year and is the team’s best player, averaging a team-high 16.1 points last season. Smith says he is one of the best guards in the county. He shares the backcourt with Cole and Angel, and guard play is one of the Patriots’ strengths. Freedom has a host of long wings to fuel the defensive side, like senior Jamal Byrnes and Quenden James, and Smith said Creasy is good enough to be a starter but he needs his offense off the bench. After reaching the regional final in 2013-14, Smith and his Patriots are ready for the next step.
The schedule: Freedom opens up on the road with a game at Leto (Nov. 18) before the home opener Nov. 20 vs. Sickles. Oh, and then it’s Wharton on Dec. 1.

WESLEY CHAPEL BOYS
Head coach: Doug Greseth
Last year: 17-10
District record (5A-7 in 2014-15): 8-6
District outlook: Greseth said he expects the Wildcats to fight for the district’s top spot, and the teams that he thinks will be in his team’s way are Zephyrhills, Ridgewood and maybe Pasco. The Bulldogs, who lost in the title game last year, lost only three seniors.
Key returners: F Theo Williams (Sr., 6-6), G Malik Dillard (Sr., —), PG Sam Schneidmiller (Jr., 6-1), F Reggie Jennings (Jr., 6-3).
X-Factor: Schneidmiller.
Season Outlook: Greseth really likes this team. He thinks his starting five can hang with anyone, but the Wildcats will need to avoid the injury bug because the bench is not very deep. Williams, who averaged 13 points to lead the team and was second with 7.6 rebounds a contest, made a big jump from his sophomore to junior season, and if he does the same this year look out. Pairing Wiliams with Jennings (8.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) gives Wesley Chapel one of the best forward combinations around. Schneidmiller could be the key. He was felled early last season by mononucleosis and never recovered to 100 percent but should be a big weapon in 2015-16. The Wildcats will try to push the ball up the floor as usual, using spacing and ball reversals to work the ball inside or produce open shots, and the defense will play man-to-man almost exclusively with lots of pressure. At full strength, Greseth has high hopes. “Injuries decimated us last season,” Greseth said. “If we stay healthy I expect big things.”
The schedule: Wesley Chapel opens up with 10 straight district games, including a road game at Zephyrhills Nov. 24. Its schedule is currently made up of all Pasco County teams, with the exception of a game against Tarpon Springs at the Ridgewood Holiday Tournament on Dec. 21.

WIREGRASS RANCH BOYS
Head coach: Jeremy Calzone
Last year: 13-13
District record (7A-8 in 2014-15): 5-4
District outlook: The Bulls were in the middle of the pack last season and considering the roster losses would do well to remain there this season. The district is markedly tougher with the addition of Wharton and Plant, two playoff regulars the last decade. The Bulls probably face their longest playoff odds since 2009.
Key returners: G Jordan Miner (So., 6-2), F Valentin Garcia (So., 6-3), G Mekhi Jarvis (Sr., 5-10, F/C Kem Asomba (So., 6-4).
X-Factor: G Devin Wilson (Jr., 6-2)
Season Outlook: The Bulls had two players average over 20 points last year, and another averaged 10, but they are gone. Graduation gives Calzone the youngest team he’s had yet, with just one senior. To get a picture of just how young the Bulls will be, consider that the four key returners combined to score 85 points last season. But teaching a young group the frenetic shoot-quick style the Bulls play has been a treat so far. “It’s so nice, you have no idea,’’ said Calzone. “We’re having a lot of fun right now. It takes me back to when the school first started. The difference is, we have a lot better players.” Calzone will rely on Jarvis to lead the way, but there is good athleticism there with Miner and Garcia as well, and Asomba showed some good stuff last season. Wilson will be crucial as well, and the coach has high expectations for a breakout season. He is also high on freshmen Dorien Green and Elijah Howell, a pair of quick 6-foot guards. The Bulls beat Springstead 68-65 in their preseason game, and Calzone said he will be looking for steady improvement as the year goes on. “As long as we’re playing well in February, I don’t care what our record is,’’ the coach said.
The schedule: How’s this for a tip-off – the Bulls open the season with two district games, the first Wednesday night against Wharton at home, and then on the road at Leto, who boast David Jones, a guard that averaged 31 points in two preseason games. The schedule gets a little easier the rest of the way.

WHARTON BOYS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Tommy Tonelli
Last year: 24-5
District record (8A-7 in 2014-15): 9-1
District outlook: The Wildcats’ new District 7A-8 will be even tougher this year, with the addition of a Sickles team that is probably the District’s favorite. But, the Wildcats and Freedom should both be in the playoff race.
Key returners: G/F Evan Trice (Sr., 6-2), F Josiah Crawford (Sr., 6-3), G Matthew Tonelli (Sr., 5-11), F Devontres Dukes (Sr., 6-4), PG Tray Gildon (Jr., 5-10)
X-Factor: F Dae’Son Barnes (So., 6-3).
Season Outlook: Since returning for his second stint as Wharton head coach in 2009, Tonelli has averaged 23.6 wins a season. The Wildcats should approach that mark again this time around, too. Trice (12 ppg, 4 assists, 4 rebs) and Crawford (9 ppg, 6 rebs) will lead the way after a big offseason in which Wharton captured the Southeast Basketball Academy (SEBA) Summer League title. Gildon will run the point and Tonelli said the shifty guard has shown tremendous improvement this offseason. Gildon will be backed up by the coach’s scrappy son Matthew Tonelli, and Dukes can be a force inside. Barnes could be a special find for the Wildcats as he moves up from junior varsity. In fact, Barnes could be one of a few jayvee players from last year’s 15-1 squad to have on impact on varsity.
The schedule: The Wildcats open the season Nov. 17 hosting Strawberry Crest, and also play Nov. 18 (at Wiregrass Ranch), 20 (at Plant) and 21 (host Newsome).

 

Freedom and Wharton set to tip-off promising boys, girls hoops seasons

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Point guard Nari Garner (left) and forward Megan Clark will be counted on to fill a big void and keep the Patriots atop the district standings this season. (Photo/John C. Cotey)

Most coaches would be fretting over the loss of a player who averaged 35 points a game, a player who became Hillsborough County’s all-time leading girls’ scorer and was the undeniable and unstoppable thrust of the offense last season.

Not Freedom girls basketball head coach Laurie Pacholke.

Oh sure, the loss of everyone’s Player of the Year Taylor Emery, who signed with Tulane University, will hurt a little. And the transition to a more balanced offense is sure to hit a few bumps along the way.

But Pacholke doesn’t think those bumps will derail what she expects to be another solid season.

“I’m super excited,’’ she said. “You know, last year we always had Taylor with her 30-35 points, and someone else with 15 or so and it was a different player every night. Now those (other) players will be able to showcase their talents more.”

Basketball season tips off next week, with the Patriots playing at Spoto and the Wharton girls opening at Alonso, both on Nov. 12.

The Wharton boys host Strawberry Crest the following week in their season opener Nov. 17, and the Freedom boys open the next night at Leto.

You can expect much of the same from the New Tampa squads again this season. While the Wharton girls have hovered under .500 the past few seasons, the other three teams have enjoyed making it at least as far as the regional final, with the Wildcat boys and Patriot girls going to the state semifinals, and have combined to win 295 games and lose only 103 the last five seasons.

The Wharton boys haven’t won fewer than 20 games since 2008-09.

However, the Freedom girls have the biggest shoes to fill this season.

With Emery gone after a 26-3 season, Pacholke will lean on returning 5-foot-7 senior Nari Garner and a cast of teammates that the coach says is ready to breakout.

Garner, a slick ball-handler who averaged 5.7 assists last season, is one of Hillsborough County’s top point guards and a team leader.

She will be counted on to fill up the hoop a little more this season in Emery’s absence. Garner didn’t have to score a lot last season but had games of 21, 20 and 18 twice on the way to averaging 10.8 points and is capable of more.

“I think anybody will tell you in high school basketball, as long as you have good guard play, you’ll be okay,’’ Pacholke said.

Garner will have help from 5-8 junior forward Megan Clark, but will have to wait until the end of December. The all-around talent averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game last season, but Clark tore her ACL at the USF Team Camp in June.

Senior forward Makayla Gentry will be much improved, Pacholke said, and the coach is eager to see what players like juniors Ashley Bell, Taraja Leon and Olivia Gonzalez do in potentially expanded roles.

And Pacholke says the defense, usually very good but underappreciated, will be a weapon again.

The Patriots are still the team to beat in Class 7A, District 8, where Steinbrenner, Sickles and Plant are expected to be their top competition.

“We’re still going to be really good,” said Pacholke, whose team will play its first game at home Nov. 20 against Sickles. “I think because Taylor was so good, you didn’t really get to see what our younger kids can do. But they are good. I think you’ll see that this year.”

Pacholke adds, “It’s a whole new vibe, we are looking forward to it.’’

WHARTON BOYS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Tommy Tonelli
Last year: 24-5
District record (8A-7 in 2014-15): 9-1
District outlook: The Wildcats’ new District 7A-8 will be even tougher this year, with the addition of a Sickles team that is probably the District’s favorite. But, the Wildcats and Freedom should both be in the playoff race.
Key returners: G/F Evan Trice (Sr., 6-2), F Josiah Crawford (Sr., 6-3), G Matthew Tonelli (Sr., 5-11), F Devontres Dukes (Sr., 6-4), PG Tray Gildon (Jr., 5-10)
X-Factor: F Dae’Son Barnes (So., 6-3).
Season Outlook: Since returning for his second stint as Wharton head coach in 2009, Tonelli has averaged 23.6 wins a season. The Wildcats should approach that mark again this time around, too. Trice (12 ppg, 4 assists, 4 rebs) and Crawford (9 ppg, 6 rebs) will lead the way after a big offseason in which Wharton captured the Southeast Basketball Academy (SEBA) Summer League title. Gildon will run the point and Tonelli said the shifty guard has shown tremendous improvement this offseason. Gildon will be backed up by the coach’s scrappy son Matthew Tonelli, and Dukes can be a force inside. Barnes could be a special find for the Wildcats as he moves up from junior varsity. In fact, Barnes could be one of a few jayvee players from last year’s 15-1 squad to have on impact on varsity.
The schedule: The Wildcats open the season Nov. 17 hosting Strawberry Crest, and also play Nov. 18 (at Wiregrass Ranch), 20 (at Plant) and 21 (host Newsome).

WHARTON GIRLS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Chad Reed
Last year: 8-19
District record (8A-7 in 2014-15): 3-7
District outlook: The Wildcats’ district added some top teams, making the Wildcats playoff hopes a little harder to reach as Freedom, Sickles and Plant will be the co-favorites.
Key returners: F Lauren Wall (Sr., 6-0), C Sabrena Eye (Jr., 6-1), G Diamond Wells (Sr., 6-0), G Ashley Jones (Jr., 5-8).
Season Outlook: Reed inherited a program that was just 1-21 the year before he got there and turned them into a 21-5 team his first season. Since then, the Wildcats have not finished over .500 and last year tumbled to a 8-19 finish, the worst under Reed. The Wildcats lost leading scorer Nicole Wolard to graduation, but second leading scorer Wall (9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds) is back for the ‘Cats. Wells, who averaged a team-best 9.7 rebounds to go with 8.2 points a contest, also is back. Wall, Wells and Eye are all 6-feet tall or better, giving the Wildcats some value along the frontline, although Wall also led the team in three-pointers. Jones will play point guard for the Wildcats, who improved as last season went on and only lost by two points to Plant in the district tournament.
The schedule: The Wildcats play seven games in November, all against teams that won at least 16 games last season and went to the playoffs. The Wildcats open on the road at Alonso (Nov. 12) and play their first home game Nov. 13 against Plant City.

FREEDOM BOYS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Cedric Smith
Last year: 22-7
District record (7A-8): 10-0
District outlook: Freedom will be reunited with rival Wharton in district play this season, making the two meetings between the teams this season must-see basketball in New Tampa.
Key returners: G Sheldon Odunna (Sr., 6-3), G Nasir Cole (Sr., 6-0), PG Dylan Angel (Sr., 6-1), C Alex Rojas (So., 6-8).
X-Factor: F Chase Creasy (Jr., 6-4).
Season Outlook: Last year, the Patriots spread the ball around, as 17 different players scored. Well, 15 of those players were underclassmen, giving Smith the most experienced team he’s ever had. It could prove to be his best team, as well. Odunna continues to show great improvement year-to-year and is the team’s best player, averaging a team-high 16.1 points last season. Smith says he is one of the best guards in the county. He shares the backcourt with Cole and Angel, and guard play is one of the Patriots’ strengths. Freedom has a host of long wings to fuel the defensive side, like senior Jamal Byrnes and Quenden James, and Smith said Creasy is good enough to be a starter but he needs his offense off the bench. After reaching the regional final in 2013-14, Smith and his Patriots are ready for the next step.
The schedule: Freedom opens up on the road with a game at Leto (Nov. 18) before the home opener Nov. 20 vs. Sickles. Oh, and then it’s Wharton on Dec. 1.

NEW TAMPA HOOPS BY THE NUMBERS
115 — combined victories the last five seasons (23/year) by the Wharton boys basketball team.
108 — combined victories (21.6/year) by the Freedom girls basketball team the last five years.
15 — players who made at least one free throw for the Freedom last year.
13 — all-time playoff appearances by the Wharton boys, the most of any boys or girls hoops team in New Tampa.
6 — consecutive playoff appearances by the Wharton boys, including a state semifinal appearance in 2013.
3 — all-time playoff appearances by Freedom, including the last two seasons.
50.6 — percentage of the Freedom girls’ team’s points scored last year by Taylor Emery (1,020 of 2,012).
10 — all-time playoff appearances by the Wharton girls, one more than Freedom.
12 — of February, when the girls Class 7A State final four begins.
1 — of December, when the Wharton & Freedom boys & girls teams will square off at Wharton in the “Battles for Bruce B. Downs”
19 — of February, when the boys Class 7A state final four begins.