While Mandarin and Raines compete for state football titles this weekend in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl, the rest of the area will be focused on basketball this weekend instead.
The fourth annual Raider Dome Tip Off Classic will take place this weekend at Orange Park, while one local school honors a local legend this Friday by retiring his number thirty years ago after leaving the gym one final time.
We also take a look at the Top 5 boys basketball and girls basketball this week as well as winter sports have finally kicked off this season and teams start making their push to Deland and/or Lakeland.
Honoring a legend
When North Florida Educational Institute head coach Stacey Poole Jr. travels to Westside High Friday night it will be more than just a regular season meeting between the two basketball programs, it will be a monumental night for the Poole family. As legendary Forrest alumni Stacey Poole Sr., father of Stacey Poole Jr., will be honored in between the junior varsity and varsity games by having his jersey retired in the gym he dominated for three years.
Poole Sr., a 6-5 shooting guard, was a Second Team Parade Magazine High School All-American in 1988 for the Rebels as well as being named one of seven finalists for the Florida Mr. Basketball Award his senior year of high school.
After a historic career at Forrest, Poole narrowed his college choices to Florida, Florida State and Georgia Tech before selecting the Gators by the end of his junior year after averaging 25 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots per game as a junior at Forrest.
Early on Poole struggled to make a name for himself at Florida nearly leaving to transfer out before his family convinced him to stay, only to tear his right Achilles’ tendon to miss his entire freshman season in 1988-1989 and then his left Achilles’ tendon to miss his second straight year after sitting out the 1989-1990 season at Florida.
After two years of rehabbing and off season workouts, Poole came out on fire making up for lost time carving up opposing SEC defenses as he averaged 13.0 p.p.g and 5.5 r.p.g in 1990-1991 as a sophomore, averaged 17.8 p.p.g. and 7.3 r.p.g. in 1991-1992 as a junior and 16.4 p.p.g and 6.4 r.p.g. in 1992-1993 as a senior.
His first year back, Poole led the Gators to the 1992 NIT Final Four in Madison Square Garden, where they finished fourth after losses to Virginia in the semifinals and Utah in the third place game.
By the time he left Florida, Poole ranked fourth all-time in career points with 1,678 points and according to a story by Bleacher Report ranks No. 24 in the Greatest Florida Gator Basketball Players of All-Time.
Tipping it off
The 4th Annual Raider Dome Classic will tip off Saturday morning at Orange Park High. The annual event has become one of the premiere basketball events in the area each year and host some of the premier teams from not only the First Coast area but around the state as well.
This years field will feature 12 teams featuring Atlantic Coast, Bartram Trail, Bishop Snyder, Bolles, Clay, Creekside, Episcopal, Jackson, Orange Park, Panama Arnold, Providence and Tallahassee Lincoln.
Action begins at 11 a.m. with games every hour and half through out the day and night with Creekside and Clay, followed by Atlantic Coast and Episcopal at 12:30, Bartram Trail vs Bolles at 2, Lincoln vs Providence at 3:30, Arnold and host Orange Park at 5 p.m. and concluded with Bishop Snyder and Jackson in the finale at 6:30 p.m.
The all day classic will feature top players including: John Abate (Orange Park), Corey Walker (Bishop Snyder) and Ahren Freeman (Providence),
Fab 5 Polls
Boys Basketball
1 Providence (2-1)
def. Bishop Snyder 56-48, def. Seffner Christian 73-47, lost to No. 1 Montverde 6-40
Next: St. Petp Catholic (Dec 7), Lincoln (Dec 8) at Raider Dome Classic
2 Palatka (2-0)
def. Dunnellon 80-60, def. University Christian 53-47
Next: at Ponte Vedra (Dec 6), at Matanzas (Dec 8)
3 Ribault (3-0)
def. Westside 73-48, def. Stanton 73-46, def. Mandain 67-56
Next: Yulee (Dec 6), at Bishop Kenny (Dec 7)
4 Raines (3-0)
def. Lee 48-45, def. Westside 60-41, def. Baldwin 64-41
Next: First Coast (Dec 8)
5 Impact (3-0)
def. Beaches Chapel 51-35, def. Trinity 64-18, def. NFEI 57-40
Next: at Temple Christian (Dec 7)
Honorable Mention: Parker (3-0), Bolles (3-0), Bishop Kenny (2-0), West Nassau (2-0), Paxon (2-1), Columbia (3-1), Atlantic Coast (2-1), Jackson (1-1), Englewood (2-1), St. Augustine (2-1), Sandalwood (2-1), Ponte Vedra (3-1), Fleming Island (3-0), Clay (3-0), Keystone Heights (4-0), St. Joseph (4-0)
Girls Basketball
1 Nease (5-0)
def. Sandalwood 58-42, Holy Spirit 77-64, White 73-20, Bartram Trail 63-21, St. Augustine 62-20
Next: at Creekside (Dec 5), Vanguard (Dec 7), Boca Raton (Dec 8)
2 Bishop Kenny (5-0)
def. Providence 58-24, Orange Park 68-47, Bolles 57-43, Middleburg 67-65, University Christian 53-47
Next: Ribault (Dec 7), Tampa Catholic (Dec 8)
3 Middleburg (6-1)
def. Lee 67-33, Sandalwood 52-43, Oakleaf 73-26, Englewood 62-8, lost to BK 67-65, def. Bartram Trail 59-44, White 92-14
Next: St. Augustine (Dec 6)
4 Fernandina Beach (6-0)
def. Jackson 56-29, North Marion 64-23, Deland 52-27, Lee 56-29, West Nassau 61-16, Bolles 66-63 in OT
Next: at Episcopal (Dec 7)
5 Bolles (5-2)
def. Ponte Vedra 46-23, Parker 56-50, Lee 60-51, Baldwin 58-23, lost to BK 57-43, def. Jackson 51-27, lost to Fernandina Beach 66-63 in OT
Next: at West Nassau (Dec 6)
Honorable Mention: Creekside (5-0), Raines (6-0), Fleming Island (2-1), Orange Park (3-1), Ribault (2-2), Sandalwood (2-2), Bartram Trail (2-2), Providence (3-3)
