Tipping off: An early preview of the Big Bend basketball season, players to watch
Pack the gyms and polish the hardwood as the Big Bend basketball season tips-off this week.
With area programs easing into the season with a lighter schedule due to Thanksgiving, there are some early clashes between top basketball programs.
Florida High girls basketball opens the year with two big matchups, opening the season against Chipley and then hosting San Jose Prep for two big time early season matchups. Godby looks to set the tone for the future with its young roster, playing its season opener against Leon and then Madison County.
On the boys side, Munroe has two top matchups to begin the season, opening the year on the road against Cypress Creek in Orlando, and heading to Jacksonville to face Episcopal school of Jacksonville for a tough early season back-to-back.
A slate of Black Friday games for both girls and boys highlights the opening week. With that said, lets take a look at the season ahead of us.
Season outlook
Its a long road to the state championships in late February, but the path will slowly start to show for area programs early in the season. With eight Big Bend boys programs making the FHSAA state playoffs last year, this season could provide similar results.
Florida High, Munroe and Maclay are programs looking to make deep runs into the postseason, with teams like Rickards and Lincoln having the potential to do something similar. With a long season ahead, the key to compete for the programs is going to be consistency and utilizing squad depth to find different ways to win.
With the five programs dealing with roster turnover, injuries and the challenges that come with a new year, the outlook for the the season for five of the Big Bends top team remains in the balance as play begins to tip off. If the teams can put it all together, it could be a special season for some of the areas top programs.
New faces in the coaching roles for Godby and Crossroad Academy, with Alex Williams swapping the gridiron for the hardwood to take over the Cougars and Colin Anderson leading the Scorpions. Both coaches have lofty expectations for the programs, and the first taste of official action with their squads is rapidly approaching.
Last season, five girls programs made the playoffs, with Aucilla Christian, Florida High, Madison County, Rickards and Munroe making postseason runs. The expectations remain the same for those programs as the hope is there will be a state champion returning to the Big Bend come March.
Rickards, Munroe and Florida High have set high bars for the season expectations, with the state final four appearance being one of the primary goals for the teams. Godby has a young roster and high expectations and could set itself up for the future well with a big season.
One of the highlights of the girls season is a first time varsity team for Crossroad Academy, with the Scorpions making the jump from having only a girls junior varsity program to competing at both levels. It remains to be seen how the season pans out for the program, but establishing the building blocks for the team moving forward will be crucial for long term success.
Players to watch
Boys
Romie Cosby, Jr., Rickards. 2022-23 stats: 12.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.7 apg
Ray Daly, Sr., Florida High. 2022-23 stats: 17.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.4 spg
Karlton Knight, Sr. JPII. 2022-23 stats: 10.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.5 spg
Isaiah Bundrage, Jr., Chiles. 2022-23 stats: 9.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.7 spg, 0.6 bpg
Mekhi Butler, Jr., Godby. 2022-23 stats: 9.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.8 spg
Girls:
Genesis Henry, Jr., Rickards. 2022-23 stats: 18.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 3.6 spg
Kenijah Clayton, So., Godby. 2022-23 stats: 9.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 4.0 spg, 0.7 bpg
Jamia Brown, Sr., Lincoln. 2022-23 stats: 11.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.3 spg
Mya McCullar, Sr., Munroe. 2022-23 stats: 9.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.7 bpg
Micah Evora, Sr., Florida High. 2022-23 stats: 8.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.7 spg
This weeks basketball schedule
Monday:
Boys: Munroe vs. Cypress Creek 1:30 p.m., FAMU DRS vs. Community Leadership Academy 6:30 p.m.; Brookwood vs. North Florida Christian 7 p.m.
Girls: Aucilla Christian vs. Madison County 6 p.m.; North Florida Christian vs. Blountstown 6 p.m.; Gadsden County vs. North Bay Haven 7 p.m.; Godby vs. Leon 7 p.m.: Chipley vs. Florida High 7:30 p.m.;
Tuesday:
Boys: Munroe vs. Episcopal School of Jacksonville 2 p.m.; Cairo vs. Gadsden County 6 p.m.; FAMU DRS vs. Chiles 7:30 p.m.
Girls: Madison County vs. Godby 6 p.m.; Chiles vs. Suwannee 6:30 p.m.; FAMU DRS vs. Leon 7 p.m.
Wednesday:
Girls: San Jose Prep vs. Florida High 4:45 p.m.
Friday:
Boys: Nease vs. Rickards 1:30 p.m.; Potter's House Christian Blue vs. Godby 2 p.m.; Gadsden County vs. Suwannee 3 p.m.; Suwannee vs. Lincoln 5 p.m.; Gadsden County vs. JPII 6:30 p.m.; Tri-Cities vs. Florida High 7 p.m.
Girls: Rickards vs. St. Francis 7 p.m.; P.K. Younge vs. Godby
Saturday:
Boys: Rickards vs. Raines 12 p.m.; Florida High vs. Creekside Christian Academy 2 p.m.; Gadsden County vs. Suwannee 2 p.m.; Potter's House Christian Blue vs. Lincoln 3:30 p.m.; Rutherford vs. JPII 5:30 p.m.; Santa Fe vs. Godby 6:30 p.m.; Crossroad Academy vs. FAMU DRS 8 p.m.
Girls: Thomasville vs. Lincoln 11 a.m.; Providence School vs. Madison County 2 p.m.; Rickards vs. Rockdale County 4 p.m.
Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Big Bend basketball preview ahead of the season tipoff
