We have reached the finale of the boys basketball season with district tournaments beginning this week Feb 6-10 at various sites around the area.
The top two teams from each district move on to the playoffs so its all about survive and advance now.
Can Providence, Creekside, Ribault, Parker or anybody else make it to Lakeland and bring home an elusive state title?
The Road to Lakeland starts this week with winning the district tournament and clinching home court.
Here is a run down of area district tournaments and a preview of each district.
District 4-7A
Seeding
1 Gainesville (7-1)
2 Vanguard (7-1)
3. Columbia (4-4)
4. Ocala Forest (2-6)
5. Lake Weir (0-8)
District Tournament at Gainesville
Tuesday: No. 5 Lake Weir at No. 4 Ocala Forest, 4
Wednesday: No. 2 Vanguard vs No. 3 Columbia, 6
Thursday: No. 1 Gainesville vs Ocala Forest/Lake Weir winner, 7:30
Friday: Championship game, 7
Top Players
Columbia: Jordan Smith (11.4 p.p.g.), Marquez Bell (11.3 p.p.g., 5.7 r.p.g.), Ja’Karis Hawkins (5.7 p.p.g., 6.9 r.p.g.), Teon Dollard (5.6 p.p.g., 5.6 r.p.g.)
Vanguard: Charquez Clayton (14.9 p.p.g.), Devonte Bynes (11.3 p.p.g.), Philip Ortiz (10.5 p.p.g.), Leonard Manuel (9.8 p.p.g.)
Lake Weir: Edgardo Llanos-Romero (10.8 p.p.g.), Denver Watson (10.4 p.p.g.), Seymore Williams (5.5 p.p.g.)
Outlook
For the majority of the season Vanguard (19-6) was on top of the district and well on its way to a No. 1 seed; however a late loss to Gainesville, cost them the top seed after losing a coin flip. Since a opening round loss to Spruce Creek Dec 27 in the Gulfshore Holiday tournament in Naples, Gainesville (23-2) has rolled off 15 straight wins including wins over Vanguard and Creekside and look unbeatable. Columbia (13-10) or Ocala Forest (11-9) are both capable of pulling of an upset in the semi-finals but not likely to happen, while Lake Weir (1-22) has no chance.
Prediction
Champion: Gainesville
Runner-up: Vanguard
