By Andy Warrener
Riding the wave of back-to-back District championships, the Freedom High Patriots boys basketball team finds themselves facing an uphill battle starting tonight in what is arguably the toughest district in Tampa if they hope to win another crown.
“When I got here (to Freedom) five years ago, Sickles, Chamberlain and Wiregrass Ranch were all pretty good,” Pats head coach Cedric Smith says. “But then, Wharton went up to (Class) 8A.”
This season, the Wildcats (20-4, 12-2) moved back down to Class 7A, and they have locked up the second seed in the Class 7A, District 8 tournament, where they will host the semifinals and finals.
Freedom is (19-5, 11-3) is seeded third, and will host Gaither tonight at 7 p.m.
Because the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) won’t be altering districts again until 2019, the Patriots need to get used to the stiffer opposition and tougher-to-win league titles.
“We’re excited for the competition,” Smith says. “We want to play the best teams, we want to beat the best teams.”
Freedom split the two-game regular season series with the ‘Cats and it’s almost an inevitability that the two New Tampa schools will face off in the District 7A-8 semifinals at Wharton, making for a potentially incredible evening. The previous two meetings between the schools have not disappointed, as both were close contests settled in the final quarter and with large crowds in the stands.
The No. 1-seed is Sickles, 23-2 and winners of eight straight games.
“Sickles has a good crowd and they’re playing so well right now,” Smith says. “This is the year they think they are going to get through Regionals to Lakeland.”
Smith is well aware of the task in front of him and his team.
“It’s nerve-wracking but I’m a competitive guy,” Smith says. “I want to have to play two of the best teams in the county (to advance in the District playoffs).”
Smith, being the newest of the three coaches, says he has gleaned a great deal from both coach Renaldo Garcia of Sickles and Wharton’s Tommy Tonelli.
“We try to model our success on what those guys have done,” Smith says. “I have the greatest respect for those guys as coaches and I try to model my program after them.”
Smith might be the new kid on the block compared to his district rivals but the Patriots have been red-hot, winning 11 straight until a 57-56 loss to Riverview in last week’s season finale. A Dec. 18 win against Wharton kicked off the big run.
The Pats trailed 22-9 at the half before rallying to a 54-49 victory in their own gym. Since that near loss, the Patriots added 10 more wins, all by double-digits and with an average victory margin of 21 points, including a 60-41 victory over State championship contender St. Petersburg Gibbs (20-2 at the time).
A big part of both that comeback against Wharton and the current streak has been the play of senior point guard Nasir Core.
“He (Core) has always been a big factor,” Smith says, “but this year, he’s got higher numbers and we’re asking him to do more. He brings leadership to the point guard position, and is like another coach on the floor; he’s been a big impact for us.”
Core, one of Freedom’s three co-captains, had a team-high 16 points in the game against Wharton, and he averages just under 10 points a game this season. Core also is pulling down 3.2 rebounds per game and leads the team in assists-per-game with 2.7.
“We’ve gotten to the point where Nasir is a big part of what we do,” Smith said.
Core certainly doesn’t do it alone. Forward and co-captain Sheldon Odunna is the team’s leading scorer (15.7 per game). Guards Chase Creasy and Alexander Oguinn make key contributions for the Patriots, too.
“We usually know what we’re going to get from Nasir and Sheldon,” Smith said. “When those others come on and the light bulb goes on, we’re a tough team to beat.”
The Pats will need all hands on deck as they wrap up the regular season this week and get set for a minefield of a District tournament beginning tonight.
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