- January 30, 2025
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Coaching a high school sports team, at least in Florida, is akin to managing a company that is in a constant state of flux. Not only are the employees adolescents, smack dab in the middle of the biggest growth period of their young lives, but they are also incredibly transient.
The transfer culture of the NCAA has seeped down through the cracks to the Sunshine state, where every year, student-athletes transfer from school to school, chasing coaches, opportunities and playing time. Such is the case for the boys basketball programs of rival high schools Braden River and Lakewood Ranch.
Each program has seen the transfer of impact players prior to the start of the season. Their matchup on Jan. 21, which Braden River won 65-45, depicted two programs still in a state of transition.
Braden River, 8-12 after the victory, seemed to be coalescing into the team Head Coach Dwight Gilmer envisions. Lakewood Ranch, which fell to 3-16, appears to just be hanging on.
How both programs navigate the tumultuous waters of high school basketball leading up and into the start of their respective district tournaments Feb. 3 could be a telling sign of their futures.
The season had started off perfectly for Braden River. The Pirates were 4-0 through their first four games, with impressive wins over Cardinal Mooney (19-1) on Nov. 22 and Parrish Community High (14-6) on Dec. 3. Despite the graduation of the team’s three top scorers in 2024, Marcus Schade, Isaac Heaven and Jacobi Murray, and the departure of key pieces such as point guard Tatum Spikes and combo guard Dudache Belony, Braden River looked like the team that had captured the 5A District 10 title in 2024, its first since 2012.
The train fell off the tracks. Starting with Dec. 6’s 57-46 loss to Palmetto High, Braden River failed to record a win for over a month, losing 11 consecutive games.
“We had just about everything that could go wrong with a basketball team go wrong, from injuries to personality conflicts to health scares,” Gilmer said. “But that’s why we coach the game. That adversity makes us stronger as a team and as a family.”
Figuring out team chemistry, Gilmer noted, has taken time.
“When you lose the number of guys that we lost last year and bring in the number of new players that we have, chemistry becomes a huge factor,” said Gilmer. “It’s been tough this year, figuring out who we are as a team and as a program. You never know with young people how fast they’re going to latch onto something and how quickly something will resonate with them.”
Gilmer is confident, however, that the Pirates are beginning to right the ship. The team’s 65-45 victory over Lakewood Ranch, was Braden River’s third in a row. The Pirates have been carried offensively by a pair of sophomore guards, 5-foot-9 Anquan Polynice and 6-foot-2 Jerrod Long.
Polynice, a transfer from Southeast High, has led the Pirates in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game and racking up 13 in the win over Lakewood Ranch. Gilmer noted that not only is Polynice the team’s lead guard, responsible for getting the offense into its sets, but that the sophomore also sets the tone with his toughness and tenacity.
Long, who scored 17 in the win, has been a natural compliment to Polynice with his length and shooting range. Gilmer also noted the contributions of senior guard Jaron Fields, a transfer from Lakewood Ranch who he said has been a “beautiful surprise.”
“As the season comes to a close, we’ve talked a lot about controlling what you can control,” Gilmer said. “Control your attitude, control your effort, control your confidence, things of that nature. If we can do that, we can be right there in any game we have left and we can win.”
Lakewood Ranch Head Coach George Holub knew that this season, his first as head coach, might be a tough one. The team's two leading scorers from last season, 6-foot-3 guard Isaiah Allen and 6-foot-6 power forward David Young, had transferred out of the program.
Holub, a basketball lifer who led Long Island’s Elmont Memorial High to a New York state title in 2016, is Lakewood Ranch’s third head coach in four years.
Last season, the Mustangs, which went to the state championship final in 2019 under longtime Head Coach Jeremy Schiller, posted an 8-16 record.
While they won’t reach that win total this season, with just four games remaining as of Jan. 23, it hasn’t been for a lack of effort.
Against Braden River, which Lakewood Ranch defeated earlier in this season 78-67 on Dec. 10, the Mustangs played a gritty style of basketball, never giving up on possessions until the whistle blew.
Lakewood Ranch, down 34-14 at the half, scored 20 points in the third quarter, showing signs of life.
“We’re trying to find our footing again,” said Holub. “We’re transitioning and we have some players left over from previous regimes. They’re trying, but we’re not the most talented team out here. We give effort every single night, but we’re outgunned most of the time.”
While the Mustangs’ chances in the 6A District 11 tournament starting Feb. 3 might not look great, there are indications of a brighter future in the years to come. Holub was quick to point out the development of the team’s younger players throughout the course of the season.
Sophomore Bogdan Godlevskyi, a 6-foot-3 forward, scored a season high 11 points against Braden River.
Freshman Greg Dauer, a 6-foot-1 guard who is averaging 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game, has shown flashes, racking up 14 points in Lakewood Ranch’s 59-54 season opening victory over Bayshore High on Nov. 19 and scoring 11 in the team’s 57-43 loss to Parrish Community High on Dec. 5.
“I’m proud of the development of the younger guys,” said Holub. “A lot of them are in their first year on varsity and they’ve gotten better as the season has gone on.”
