GAINESVILLE (March 7) — The eight individual class finalists for the 2016 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Basketball and Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year have been announced following balloting by a statewide panel of high school boys’ basketball coaches and media members. Every finalist was the leading vote-getter in their classification, making each one the Player of the Year or Coach of the Year in their class. The two overall winners will be announced following a final round of balloting by coaches and media.
Following are the eight finalists for the 2016 Mr. Basketball Award (area winners in bold):
Myron Dewar, Senior, Guard/Forward, Coral Springs, Class 8A Player of the Year
Dewar led his school to its first state championship by averaging 29.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, including a 40-point effort in his team’s regional final win over 2015 state champion Wellington.
Tony Bradley, Senior, Center, Bartow, Class 7A Player of the Year
The McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American and University of North Carolina signee averaged 22.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game in leading his squad to a spot in the regional finals.
Dewan Huell, Senior, Forward, Miami Norland, Class 6A Player of the Year
Last year’s Class 6A Player-of-the-Year is a McDonald’s All-American and University of Miami signee who averaged 16.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in leading his squad to the regional finals.
Christian Carlyle, Senior, Guard, Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), Class 5A Player of the Year
The Florida Gulf Coast signee averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in leading his team to a 27-5 record and a spot in the Class 5A state championship game.
Kevin Knox, Junior, Forward, Tampa Catholic, Class 4A Player of the Year
Knox averaged 29.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.9 blocks per game in leading his team to a 26-5 record and a spot in the Class 4A Final Four.
Kyle McWilliams, Senior, Guard/Forward, Maclay, Class 3A Player of the Year
The Florida Southern signee averaged 26.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in leading Maclay to the district championship.
Mark Gordon, Senior, Guard/Forward, Mt. Dora Christian, Class 2A Player of the Year
Gordon averaged 33.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.7 steals per game, including a season-high scoring game of 60 points in leading his squad to a district runnerup finish.
Trent Forrest, Senior, Guard, Chipley, Class 1A Player of the Year
The Florida State signee repeated as Class 1A Player of the Year and led his squad to its second straight state title, averaging 29.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He scored 62 points and added 21 rebounds in the two state Final Four games.
Following are the eight finalists for the 2016 Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year:
Devin Barta, Coral Springs, Class 8A Coach of the Year
In his third year at Coral Springs, Barta led the school to a 22-7 record and its first state championship. His record at Coral Springs is 52-26 and 74-54 overall in five years of coaching.
Melvin Randall, Blanche Ely, Class 7A Coach of the Year
Despite a 15-13 regular-season mark, Randall led his squad to its second straight title, and fourth in the past five years. In 15 years at Ely, Randall has posted a 324-101 record with six state titles. His 23-year record is 524-154, with another pair of state titles at Deerfield Beach (1997 and 1999).
Darryl Burrows, Dillard, Class 6A Coach of the Year
Burrows led his squad to a 28-5 record and the state title, the school’s sixth state championship during his 23-year tenure. His overall record is 536-141 and includes three other Final Four appearances (1995-97-98) to go with the six state titles (2000-01-02-03-08-16).
Shane Whitsett, Poinciana, Class 5A Coach of the Year
Whitsett led his team to a 27-5 record and Poinciana’s first state title of any kind in the school’s 25-year history. In three years as the boys’ coach he has a 67-18 record and is 88-23 overall (one year as girls’ coach).
Anthony Candelino, The Bolles School (Jacksonville), Class 4A Coach of the Year
Candelino led his squad to a 30-3 record and the Class 4A state title. In his six years at Bolles, he has compiled a 133-29 record.
Ben Wilson, Windermere Prep, Class 3A Coach of the Year
Wilson led his squad to a 27-5 record and the school’s first state title. In seven years, he has posted a 116-75 overall record.
Joe Dawson, Grandview Prep, Class 2A Coach of the Year
Dawson led his team to the state’s only unbeaten record (34-0) on its way to the state championship.In 20 years at Grandview Prep, he has a 327-41 record with two state titles (2013, 2016) and seven other Final Four appearances. His 20-year record is 523-94, including another state title at Miami Pace (1996).
Mike Gates, Chipley, Class 1A Coach of the Year
In his first year as head coach, after serving as an assistant at Chipley for 31 years, Gates led his team to a 28-3 record and its second straight state championship.
