Hoops out of the loop

Blame the warm weather or football fanaticism, but in a state that boasts pro and college champions, high school basketball struggles to ignite much interest.

By DAVID MURPHY
Published April 3, 2007

One would think these would be good times for basketball in this state. From the Florida Gators' second straight Final Four run to the Miami Heat's NBA championship to the ACC's decision to host this year's tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum, it's almost enough to make one wonder if Dr. Naismith's original peach baskets were actually intended to hold oranges.

But as the Sunshine State basks in the glow of the most successful stretch of hoops in its history, and as the bay area prepares to host both the NCAA women's Final Four and men's first and second rounds in 2008, and the SEC men's tournament in 2009, those at the high school level remain confounded by an overwhelming lack of interest in the sport, from its media coverage to its grass roots.

"I'm very much frustrated," said Johnnie Green, who coached West Nassau High from 1988-2005 and now serves on the FHSAA's basketball advisory panel. "We're depriving a lot of kids an opportunity to be exposed to the sport."

Spend a little time around high school sports in the state and you'll understand Green's disappointment.

When he attended all-black Pine Forest High in Callahan in the 1960s, basketball was the only sport the school offered. He fell in love with the sport at an early age, and when he joined the Air Force, he played on its traveling team. While stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Mich., he was pleased to find a community that shared his passion: the townspeople talked about it, the military personnel played it, the local newspaper covered it.

But when Green returned to Florida and started coaching, he realized how dispassionate his home state's populace was.

Last year, the combined attendance at the FHSAA state semifinals and finals for all six classifications was a paltry 20,831, nearly 9,000 fewer than in 2000 when figures began declining. By comparison, the combined attendance at Illinois' state semifinals and finals was close to 80,000, according to the Illinois High School Association.

"(Basketball) is a sport that has grown stagnant in attendance," said Jack Watford, FHSAA director of communication, "and, actually, prior to this year, had declined in attendance at the state finals."

Participation numbers are also down. Despite having the nation's fourth most populous state, Florida ranked just 13th in boys basketball participation and 15th in girls, according to the National Federation of State High School Association's latest participation survey. Conversely, the state was sixth nationally in football participation.

Everyone has a theory to explain the disconnect.

Jason Montgomery, the girls coach at Nature Coast High in Brooksville, said Florida's warm weather gives kids too many choices. During the winter in places like Indiana or Illinois or Kentucky, where Montgomery grew up, athletic options are limited to indoor sports like basketball or wrestling. But in Florida, athletes can play any sport year-round.

Green, meanwhile, thinks the media has a large role in perpetuating Florida as a "football-only state." While newspapers routinely canvas Friday night football games, he said little mind is paid to basketball.

Whatever the case, the basketball advisory panel on which Green and Montgomery sit has spent the past year dreaming up ways to increase interest in the sport.

This year, the FHSAA instituted its first 3-point shooting contest, modeled in large part after a similar contest run in Illinois. Shooters from each school squared off before their district tournament games. Once a district champion was crowned, the contest moved to the state level (the first girls title was won by a local athlete, Gulf junior Jordan Schulman).

Next, the FHSAA hopes to institute a "tournament of champions" that would pit the state title winners from all six of its classifications against each other to determine the top overall team in the state. Though Watford said the process is in its initial stages, the tournament could happen as soon as next year.

"It would be great for the sport of basketball in the state of Florida," said Tampa Catholic coach Don Dziagwa, whose team won a state title in 1995. "Anything we can do to promote the sport is a good thing."

There's little doubt Florida has the talent to be a basketball hotbed, and there's little doubt the state's recent basketball success has had some positive impact on the sport. For example, this year, five of Rivals.com's top six recruits from the state have committed to Florida colleges. Conversely, Daytona Beach native and NBA star Vince Carter played at the University of North Carolina, while Auburndale's Tracy McGrady left the state after his junior year of high school to play for a private school in North Carolina.

"What (UF coach) Billy Donovan is doing for the state of Florida should send a message," Green said. "We have some great high school basketball programs in this state."

But even as Green was speaking about Donovan's impact, rumors were swirling that the Gators coach might leave after the season to become the next head coach at basketball-mad Kentucky. It is speculation a coach like Montgomery understands. Having grown up outside Lexington and coached at a junior college in the state, he knows how seriously Kentucky treats its basketball.

"From where I'm at, (basketball) is a religion," Montgomery told the Times when Nature Coast hired him in 2003. "The only way to describe the mind-set, is basketball in Kentucky is like football is in Florida or Texas."

Now evening that balance is the goal.

Staff Writer Brant James contributed to this report. David Murphy can be reached at (352) 848-1407 or dmurphy@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 2, 2007, 22:17:24]