North Suncoast basketball super 7
Records through Wednesday
Boys
1. Wiregrass Ranch (4-0): Rico Kerney and the Bulls have won convincingly (a rout of River Ridge) and won close games (a 65-63 victory over Nature Coast). Wiregrass’ high-powered offense will be hard to stop all season.
2. Nature Coast (5-1): Behind Rohan Blackwood and Carlos Clemente, life goes on without superstar Tyler Bergantino. The Sharks’ only blemish is a close loss to Wiregrass.
3. Wesley Chapel (5-2): Senior standout Erik Thomas continues to rewrite the Wildcats’ record books, averaging almost 29 points and 16 rebounds per game.
4. Mitchell (4-1): Four players averaging double figures (Bernie Conley, Lawrence Watt, TJ Cortright and Jordan Dong) have helped the Mustangs pick up quality wins over Central and River Ridge.
5. Ridgewood (4-2): First-year coach Derek Delgardo has a senior-heavy team led by Tristan Ficarro that looks like a playoff contender.
6. Anclote (3-3): The Sharks don’t seem to have any scoring machines, but they have a balanced nucleus led by Drew Driscoll and Chris Palamidis that could make noise this winter.
7. Central (2-2): Joey Stokes and the Bears hung with Mitchell and have already knocked off Land O’Lakes. Central looks like the No. 2 team in Hernando County.
Girls
1. Academy at the Lakes (6-1): Fresh off of last year’s run to the Class 2A state semifinals, the Wildcats look like the North Suncoast’s top team again. They forced 41 turnovers in a rout of Hernando Christian this week.
2. Pasco (5-0): All of the Pirates’ victories have been by at least 10 points — including a 42-32 win over a Gulf team that handed Pasco its only four losses last winter.
3. Wiregrass Ranch (5-1): The Bulls’ only loss was this week’s 39-35 heartbreaker against Steinbrenner. The rest of their games have ended in blowout victories, with more to come.
4. River Ridge (4-3): Sophomore Leah Ford is in for a bright future. She began the season averaging 20 points per game and hasn’t cooled off much for a solid Royal Knights team.
5. Mitchell (4-3): The Mustangs have rebounded from a slow start. Mitchell rallied with a great comeback over Tampa Catholic and edged rival River Ridge this week.
6. Gulf (4-2): No, the Buccaneers aren’t as dominant as in the past. But first-year coach Clare Ennis and her team beat Mitchell in the opener and aren’t going away.
7. Land O’Lakes (3-1): The Gators play in a tough district but have enough talent to earn key wins in the county. Three wins while never allowing more than 42 points in a game is a good start.