Exchange showcases hoops in a football state
COMMENTARY 5 senior prospects in Florida, in that order, by ESPN.
Also on stage will be younger prospects, like 6-9
,anational top 10 sophomore who excelled for Florida Prep of Melbourne last season and is now on the roster for DME Sports Academy of Daytona Beach — a well-funded program nobody knew anything about until a year or two ago.
“I’m looking to see younger kids, a freshman who might be making waves, or a sophomore who’s made a big jump,” said who evaluates teams and players for SourceHoops.com. “It’s well-known that Scott runs an event that is above-board and always runs well.”
Play tips off Friday night at 6:30 on three courts at the Cooper Palms Sportsplex (CPS), at 110 Athletes Row, Apopka.
Not far down the road, there will surely be a much bigger crowd packed into the home stands for Apopka High’s football game vs. Jacksonville Mandarin. But based on past experiences, the Hoop Exchange event will draw a throng of basketball junkies for its all-day Saturday (10 a.m. through about 10:30 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m. through 6:45 p.m. or so) sessions. Admission is $10.
High-school teams pay registration fees to get court time against opponents they rarely see in the winter regular season. And a number of individual players will register, all hoping to gain exposure to somebody who matters.
That could be Staudt. Or maybe of Rivals, or PrepHoops Florida scout
They’ll be checking out some traditional Florida High School Athletic Association blue-bloods, including defending state champs Oak Ridge (Class 9A), Pompano Beach Blanche Ely (8A), and Leesburg (6A). But Golden’s events share the stage with the independent programs that play outside the FHSAA and are popping up all over and pulling in a ton of talent.
Orlando’s West Oaks, this year featuring electrifying senior guard and Tallahassee transplant
has been churning out Division 1 scholarship candidates for more than a decade. But now recruiters need to know what the deal is at schools like Central Pointe Christian of Kissimmee, which boasts several members of a Puerto Rican U17 team that placed third at the 2018 World Cup in July; and Potter’s House, a tiny Jacksonville school that is big in basketball with a current crop that includes
a talented junior who started high school at Dr. Phillips before finding his way to DME and then to Potter’s House.
Sparks fly when the independent programs that play outside FHSAA jurisdiction take a player away from a traditional high school or land a boatload of prospects from overseas. Many question the academic legitimacy of some of those independents, rightfully so in some cases.
But Golden sees players. He sees potential. He somehow manages to tiptoe past the dividing line and keep everybody happy at events that almost always sell out.
“We have more Division I signees than any other state in the country,” he said. “Over 100 every year. Now, a big part of that is because we have Montverde, IMG (Academy) and all these SIAA schools. It’s the collection of everything that’s going on that gives us an astronomical amount of D1 guys.”
Golden has played a big role in the upswing wile making basketball his business. But it’s not all business, not when he sees a deserving player stuck without scholarship offers.
“I’ll help kids, no charge, that just need a push.” Golden said. “Because I know they’re good enough. If a kid’s not getting the recruiting he should get, I fill in the blanks.”