Nationally ranked Winter Park and Dwyer are among the top teams to watch this week in Florida, which will stage its finals Thursday and Saturday at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland.
Florida High School Basketball Championships Begin Wednesday
Winter Park (26-5) is the defending Class 6A champion, and each of its five losses are to out-of-state teams. The team is led by Duke-signee Austin Rivers, a 6-3 senior that Scout.com ranks as the No. 1 shooting guard prospect in the nation. Another guard, Brett Comer, is headed to Florida Atlantic.
Dwyer (30-1) of Palm Beach Gardens also has multiple national rankings and should be the favored team in 4A. Jacoby Brissett - a 6-4 guard who has signed with Florida as a football player -- had a monster game of 17 points, nine rebounds, nine steals and seven assists in the Class A regional final against Palm Bay last week, a 91-55 victory. Dwyer's only loss was to Winter Park.
Orlando Christian Prep and Rickards of Tallahassee also are defending champions.
Games begin Wednesday with semifinal matchups in divisions 1A, 2A and 3A, followed by championships throughout the day Thursday. Friday, the large school divisions take center stage with class 4A, 5A and 6A semifinals scheduled. Games conclude on Saturday with three more state championship games.
Florida at a Glance:
Wednesday, March 2
1A semifinals
10 a.m. - FAMU (Tallahassee) vs. Grandview Prep (Boca Raton)
11:30 a.m. - Orlando Christian Prep vs. Summit Christian (West Palm Beach)
2A semifinals
2:30 p.m. - Port St. Joe vs. Sagemont (Weston)
4 p.m. - First Academy (Orlando) vs. Tampa Prep
3A semifinals
7 p.m. - Rickards (Tallahassee) vs. Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale)
8:30 p.m. - Jones (Orlando) vs. Tampa Catholic
Thursday, March 3
12:05 p.m. - 1A Championship
3:35 p.m. - 2A Championship
7:05 p.m. - 3A Championship
Friday, March 4
4A semifinals
10 a.m. - Palatka vs. Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale)
11:30 a.m. - Fort Walton Beach vs. Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens)
5A semifinals
2:30 p.m. - Leesburg vs. Blake (Tampa)
4 p.m. - Dr. Phillips (Orlando) vs. Miramar
6A semifinals
7 p.m. - Winter Park vs. Columbus (Miami)
8:30 p.m. - Lake Wales vs. Gibbs (St. Petersburg)
Saturday, March 5
12:05 p.m. - Class 4A Championship
3:35 p.m. - Class 5A Championship
7:05 p.m. - Class 6A Championship
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