By Matt Wiley
High school basketball soon will soon return to New Tampa, as the teams from both Freedom and Paul R. Wharton High gear up for the tip-offs to their respective 2012-13 seasons.
Coming off of yet another winning (24-4) season last year, Tommy Tonelliâs Varsity Wharton Wildcats are sure to once again be a strong squad.
Tonelli, a former USF point guard, has been coaching at Wharton for more than a decade and led the Wildcats to their third consecutive Class 8A-District 7 title last season.
âOur strength this season is our experience,â says Tonelli. âWe have a lot of guys returning from last year.â
Among those, Tonelli expects impressive performances from seniors C.J. McGill and Sir Patrick Reynolds.
âMcGill has been on varsity since he was a freshman,â explains Tonelli. âWeâre going to see some great leadership out of him.â
McGill, a 5â10â point guard, averaged 13.7 ppg last season.
Reynolds, is a 6â3â guard and Tonelli says heâs âdangerous,â due to his versatility on the court. Reynolds averaged 9.5 ppg last season.
âHe can play pretty much any position,â the coach says. âHe plays wherever he needs to, but is best at shooting guard. He had some huge moments for us last year.â
Another player to watch, he says, is 6â7â Drew Vanderbrook, a Freedom transfer who averaged 7.8 ppg and 2.9 rebounds per game (rpg). Tonelli says Vanderbrookâs height and skill set make him valuable as a forward and defender.
Tonelli says that first and foremost, the Wildcats are focusing on winning their District games, especially against Plant and Bloomingdale, which is key to getting into the state playoffs.
âWeâve got a tough schedule,â Tonelli says. âWeâre playing some good non-district opponents, as well.â
Among those are the Strawberry Crest Chargers, the Chamberlain Chiefs and the Freedom Patriots (District 7A- 9). âWe beat (Freedom) last year (72-43),â Tonelli says. âBut, theyâre as improved as any team Iâve seen. Theyâve made some tremendous progress. Itâs going to be a dogfight.â
Freedom coach Cedric Smith agrees that this yearâs Wharton-Freedom matchup could be a close one.
âTheyâve been the team to beat for a long time,â he explains. âWe just want to compete and play well against them. I think weâll match up pretty well this season.â
Smith, who is entering his second season as the Patriotsâ head coach, also was a guard for the USF Bulls (1997-2001) who is looking to build on last seasonâs less-than-stellar 8-14 record.
âOur team is pretty set,â Smith explains. âWeâve got a good group of guys. They showed some serious improvement in the (Tampa Bay Basketball Coaches Assn.) summer league. It was like a light bulb went off.â
Freedom seniors Brandon Patchan and Antwan Bradley will be among the teamâs players to watch this upcoming season, Smith says.
Patchan, a 6â6â power forward, finished the previous season averaging 10.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg.
âHeâs a double-double kind of guy,â Smith says. âWeâre going to see some big things out of him, for sure.â
Bradley, a 5â10â point guard, averaged 9.3 ppg last year.
âHeâs our most seasoned player,â Smith says. âHeâs a great leader who never takes a possession off.â
Smith says some big defensive plays will come out of 6-foot senior small forward Marcus Butler. âHeâs a great wing defender,â says Smith.
In addition to Wharton, Smith says that Freedom is facing some other tough competition in its District, as both the Steinbrenner Warriors â who beat the Pats twice last season â and the Chamberlain Chiefs, who were 3-1 against Freedom last year.
Wharton starts the season at home against Wesley Chapel High on November 16, while Freedomâs tip off will be at Chamerlain on November 29. Be sure to check out both the Freedom and Wharton basketball schedules at NTNeighborhoodNews.com so you donât miss a game this season!
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