It was natural that Josh Bodden (Dunedin) become a basketball player.
He had a Larry Bird Junior hoop at his house from the time he was 4. He grew to be 6-foot-9 , the height of his dad, Gene, a standout Clearwater High and college player.
"I was always surrounded by basketball, from the time I was very young," said Bodden, 21. "My dad was my biggest influence in basketball and life in general. He coached me from the youth leagues up to high school."
Following a stellar high school career that included setting all-time scoring and shot-blocking records for the Falcons, Bodden accepted a scholarship to Central Florida in 2000.
"I was recruited by a number of schools, but I really liked the coaches at UCF and I wanted to stay in Florida," Bodden said. "Plus, I could see Central Florida had an up-and-coming basketball program."
UCF coach Kirk Speraw credits much of the Golden Knights' success to Bodden.
"Josh has been a major force for us, and especially this year has stepped up his leadership," Speraw said.
"I recruited Josh hard out of high school because I saw how versatile a player he was. He can play inside, outside or wherever. Whatever we wanted him to do, he could."
After a three-game road trip last week, where Central Florida posted wins over Stetson, Jacksonville and Florida Atlantic, the Golden Knights are enjoying a 10-game winning streak. In those games, Bodden totalled 20 points and 16 rebounds.
Earlier in the season, Bodden shared the Atlantic Sun Conference Co-Player of the Week when the forward averaged 19.5 points and nine rebounds over two games. He shot 75 percent from the floor.
When Bodden was a freshman, the team won eight games all season, This season, it is 12-2 overall and unbeaten in the conference.
"Our goal this season is to win the conference championship to be the No. 1 seed in the A-Sun tournament," Bodden said. "We get a tournament win there and we get a bid to the NCAA big dance, which hasn't ever happened to us."
Bodden's not just about athletics, however, and has been selected to the Atlantic Sun All-Academic Team since his freshman year.
"College basketball is like a full-time job, but you just have to make the effort to make time for both," Bodden said. "In high school, you have a short season and about two weeks practice beforehand. In college, you play about 30 games, combined with practices, conditioning and weight-room workouts. You get two weeks off and start all over again."
BASKETBALL: In Florida Atlantic's 72-50 loss to Central Florida, Earnest Crumbley (Lakewood) was FAU's second-leading scorer with 12 points.
SWIMMING: Lauren Bullock (Clearwater), Louisville's top point producer as a freshman last year, finished second in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 free to open her sophomore season with the Cardinals.
East Carolina freshman Josh Curnutte (Palm Harbor University) swam his best time in the 50 free with a 22.04 in a meet with Duke and George Washington.
- Brad Snyder (Northeast) turned in a season-best and winning time for the Naval Academy in the 1,000-meter freestyle with a time of 9:35.60 against Army. In a loss to Harvard, the sophomore was second in the 1,500-meter free with a time of 16:33.64.
- Heather Jennings (Lakewood) returns for her second season on the Randolph-Macon Women's College squad. Last year, Jennings helped set two medley relay school records.
Jennings has helped the Wildcats to a 5-2 record with her performances in the 200 medley relay, along with 500 and 1,000 individual freestyles.
FOOTBALL: Miami redshirt freshman Jon Peattie (Countryside) was named All-American by The Sporting News and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award that honors the nation's top placekicker.
Peattie connected for the Hurricanes' single-season record for field goals with 22.
- D'Qwell Jackson (Seminole) collected the second-most tackles (eight) for Maryland in its 41-7 win over West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.
- Ryan Fowler (Seminole) completed his fourth season with Duke as third on the all-time chart for tackles with 495 in 46 games. Fowler was named Duke's Outstanding Linebacker all four years and was selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game.
WRESTLING: William Penn senior Joe Robinson (Pinellas Park) is wrestling at 184 pounds after placing fourth in the national championships in the 174-pound division with a 29-4 record. The All-American is 6-1.
