Basketball
“Saying goodbye to such a special group of Seniors in the manner that was required was devastating,” DePasquale said, shouting out Kenny Greenling, Trevor Gillis, Max Kocha, Talan Caudell, Drew Williams, Nikash Mehrotra, and Nikki Rodriguez.
“Thank you for all you gave us the last 4 years,” he wrote. “You will be remembered!”
Disaster after crushing district championship loss
Jupiter's loss to Fort Pierce Central in the district final cost the Warriors an automatic bid to the state playoffs. Much to their surprise, it also proved to be the group's final time on the court together.
Moving on instead was Palm Beach Lakes, which earned the No. 6 seed after exiting the district tournament in the second round with a 75-59 defeat against Central.
The Warriors took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning to lay out “the facts” after local coaches cited “strength of schedule” as the reason that Jupiter wasn't selected for the 7A playoff tournament.
“We played 12 games against teams that made the playoffs,” the team account wrote.
Jupiter went 10-2 in those games. Seven of those teams were ranked inside the top 125 of the state (20, 47, 61, 70, 77, 124 and 125).
Jupiter defeated Lakes, 39-32, on Jan. 10 and also defeated 2023 6A state champion Dwyer, Palmetto Ridge (Naples), Treasure Coast, Archbishop McCarthy, Coral Glades, and St. Brendan. With the exception of a 14-13 record for Coral Glades, the remaining teams combine for a record of 99-29.
The Warriors' Twitter account also cited a “complete unbalance in regional strength,” noting they “would have received an at large bid in 27 of ” the state's 28 regions.
“We had the chance to secure a bid by winning Saturday and we were unable to do so,” the X post acknowledged, wishing all Palm Beach County teams moving forward the “best of luck.”
“We knew we were in the toughest region in the state and did all we could to give ourselves a chance to be selected.”
Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.