Atlantic boys basketball's turnaround season over, but better off with Tony Watson in Delray Beach

PALM BEACH GARDENS − The first phase of Atlantic High boys basketball coach Tony Watson's rebuild has officially come to a close.

Eliminated from district tournaments in a 77-73 semifinal loss to Blanche Ely, the Eagles saw a five-game win streak snapped and a final record of 16-11. But players like junior Jabari Henry are leaving this season with their head held high, determined to keep the new and exciting energy surrounding Atlantic going.

"This season was a lot different," Henry said.

At the end of December, the squad was 7-6. Still shaking off the habits had last winter, when the Eagles went 8-20 in their third consecutive losing season.

Atlantic basketball back after three straight losing seasons

His sophomore year, Henry didn't see the team he does now.

"At the beginning of the season, a lot of the team was caught up with the statistics and not the wins," Henry said.

It wasn't until a one-point loss to Santaluces on Jan. 19 that the team "meant a lot more than a couple of nice highlights."

One of the team's leaders, Henry took charge and led by example, shooting less to open up more shots for his teammates, and opportunities for wins on the scoreboard. The 6-foot-4 forward finished the regular season second on the roster in scoring, averaging 16.0 points and per game behind 16.5 for senior Kevin Ulysse.

"The team grew the most in our mindset that we had to put the team first," he said.

"The new coaching staff brought in a new playing style to Atlantic boys basketball that really took our game to the next level ... the team played with a lot of heart and gave it all they had in every game."

This year, Atlantic was a crew that fought to the final second.

Eagles created bond by giving back to community

"The way the brotherhood was built, to have a loving relationship with each other ... " Henry said.

As the Eagles battled, he saw where all the off-court bonding experiences − helping pack meals for the community on Thanksgiving Day or visiting young patients in Delray Medical Center on Christmas eve − paid off.

A ticket to the trophy matchup wasn't decided by a lack of passion from the underdogs who clearly wanted to play another day, but ill-timed fouls and rebounds that Blanche Ely could finish fairly seamlessly where Atlantic fought to.

Ely will be back at Dwyer High on Saturday to face Palm Beach's top-ranked Panthers for the district championship. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.

"The chemistry we built translated to this loss in many ways," Henry said on Thursday.

"We still played team basketball and played with a my brother's keeper mentality. After, we still displayed the love that was built throughout the season, especially towards our seniors who have to unfortunately end their phenomenal high school careers on a tough loss like this one."

Compared to seasons past at Atlantic, seniors like Ulysse, Sandley Bertrand, Jonathan Castor, Alix Dieudonne, Avner Etienne, Emil Marcelin, and Frank Zamer still got to go out on a high note. And although the program is losing seven seniors, Henry says the Eagles will come back stronger.

"The future is bright for Atlantic because we have myself and a lot of others that unfortunately didn't play this season returning to have a great senior year campaign," Henry said.

'Future is bright' with Tony Watson in Delray Beach

In the offseason, returning teammates James Tillman, Andrew Pandol, Kenny James, and Sergio Douze are going to be hard at work to make Atlantic the "top 5 team" that Henry knows it can be next winter.

Having "elite coaching from one of Palm Beach's greatest coaches," Watson, is another reason the area should keep its eyes on Atlantic.

"With this being the first year under coach Watson, we didn't understand his system and didn't want to follow it. Now, we realize how great it is and how it helped up win games and we're excited to implement his style into our games for the 2024-25 season," Henry said.

Should the boys follow the Watson method that brought Forest Hill its first district championship in nearly 40 years ahead of a historic state championship appearance in 2020, Henry thinks Palm Beach County can expect a 20-plus win season and a "deep playoff run" for the Eagles.

"Overall, we're just expecting to have one of the best seasons Atlantic has had in five to 10 years," Henry said.

"With me as one of the leaders of the team and coach Watson the head coach, you have my word that Atlantic will be one of Palm Beach County's powerhouses next season."

Thursday winners on to district championships

Local teams are indicated in bold.

District 8-1A

No. 1 Pahokee (3-17) def. No. 3 Glades Day (2-17), 56-45 − Blue Devils win back-to-back district championships over Gators.

District 14-2A

No. 1 Grandview Prep (19-3) def. No. 5 Trinity Christian (14-11), 48-40

No. 2 Atlantic Christian (17-4) def. No. 6 Jupiter Christian (11-11), 68-34 − Atlantic Christian advances to Saturday championship vs. GVP.

District 15-2A

No. 1 Sagemont (19-6) def. No. 4 Donna Klein Jewish Academy (10-11), 75-41 − Sagemont advances to Saturday championship vs. No. 2 Dade Christian (12-10).

District 8-3A

No. 1 Cardinal Newman (21-5) def. No. 5 John Carroll Catholic (11-16), 71-59

No. 2 King's Academy (21-6) def. No. 3 Benjamin (9-14), 70-64 − Lions advance to Saturday district championship vs. Newman.

District 13-3A

No. 1 Saint Andrew's (19-6) def. No. 4 Katz Yeshiva (7-7), 69-51

No. 2 Saint John Paul II (14-10) def. No. 3 Somerset Academy Key (11-17), 83-44 − Eagles advance to Saturday district championship vs. St. Andrew's.

District 13-4A

No. 1 Calvary Christian (16-8) def. No. 5 Pompano Beach (11-15), 81-37

No. 2 North Broward Prep (21-6) def. No. 3 American Heritage-Delray (15-7), 57-46 − NBP to host Saturday district championship vs. CCA, 7 p.m.

District 14-5A

No. 2 Northeast (17-9) def. No. 3 Suncoast (13-12), 65-61 − Northeast advances to Saturday district championship vs. No. 1 Stranahan (17-3), 6:30 p.m.

District 13-6A

No. 1 Dwyer (20-3) def. No. 4 West Boca Raton (12-13), 66-36 − Panthers to host Blanche Ely for Saturday district championship, 7 p.m.

District 7-7A

No. 5 Fort Pierce Central (17-10) def. No. 1 Palm Beach Lakes (14-6), 75-59

No. 2 Jupiter def. No. 3 Treasure Coast, 65-52 − Warriors advance to Saturday district championship vs. FPC.

District 8-7A

No. 1 Lake Worth (16-9) def. No. 4 Royal Palm Beach (18-8), 64-45

No. 2 Wellington (22-4) def. No. 3 Palm Beach Central (20-7), 76-44 − Wellington advances to Saturday district championship vs. LW, 7 p.m at Royal Palm Beach High.

District 13-7A

No. 5 Boca Raton (14-8) def. No. 1 Olympic Heights (13-12), 45-42

No. 2 Park Vista (9-14) def. No. 6 Deerfield Beach (5-19), 54-51 − Cobras advance to Saturday district championship vs. Boca , 7 p.m.

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 'Future is bright' for Atlantic boys basketball after turnaround season ends