We Speak High School Basketball
33-0 Is Gone. St. Pius X Has to Defend a Title Without Its King
Perfect seasons don’t get sequels. St. Pius X went 33-0 last year, beat Pace Academy 54-51 for the Class 4A state championship and won the first state title in school history. Now the Golden Lions have to defend it with a new leading man.
The old one set the bar about as high as it goes. Harris Reynolds, a 6-5 point guard and consensus four-star recruit, scored 23 points with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in the final, was named Metro Atlanta Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, and signed with Clemson. Fellow senior Westin Keppen, whose go-ahead three with 38 seconds left sealed the final, has graduated too.
The headliner who returns is Max Etienne, a 5-11 combo guard in the class of 2027 who opens the season as a Preseason Second Team All-State pick. Under Georgia’s new alignment, Sandy’s Spiel slots the Lions in Class 5A for this year’s preseason honors — a new classification, a new cast, and a target that comes with the trophy.
Head coach Will Cloyd’s group won’t sneak up on anyone this winter. Champions never do — especially ones still learning how to be champions without the king.
We Speak High School Basketball
Remember These Names: E’zariyah Clark and Amira White Headline Florida’s 2030 Class in Tampa
They haven’t played a minute of high school basketball yet. In Tampa, people are already learning their names.
E’zariyah Clark arrives at Tampa Bay Tech as a 5-11 forward and combo guard in the class of 2030, playing club ball for HER Elite. Prep Girls Hoops’ evaluation reads like a varsity scouting report: a midrange game, range out to the deep ball, and rim protection built on length and timing — a freshman who “should be a key contributor for TBT alongside a talented group of guards.”
Across town, Amira White gives Plant a 6-0 power forward from the same 2030 class, playing for MBJ Elite. Prep Girls Hoops calls her “a major addition for Plant as the program looks to reestablish itself among the top teams in Tampa and across the state,” pointing to a back-to-the-basket game with an outside shot to match.
Florida’s 2030 class, as Prep Girls Hoops frames it, is a group whose size and length make them names to watch from day one. Two of the biggest are starting their careers in Tampa gyms this winter. Remember where you heard them first.
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