Pinellas: News and notes

By BOB PUTNAM and BRYAN BURNS, Times Staff Writers
Published January 29, 2008

Lakewood vaults into the top spot in our boys basketball rankings, and St. Petersburg Catholic stays at No. 1 for the girls. Sound off on out picks at highschool.tampabay.com.

Carden hits milestone

Pinellas Park's Cam Carden became the school's all-time leading scorer in Monday's game against Osceola. The senior surpassed Ray Shukart's record of 1,590. Carden now has 1,612 career points.

Boyd commits to Kansas State

Last week, Northeast defensive lineman Javontae Boyd expected Kansas State defensive coordinator Mo Lattimore to stop by after school. What Boyd didn't expect was a visit from Wildcats coach Ron Prince, as well.

Prince flew in a private jet in hopes of landing the Vikings standout.

"I was impressed," Boyd said.

So much that Boyd orally committed to Kansas State on Monday without taking a visit to the school, canceling trips to Troy and N.C. State.

"I just like the way they stayed with me through the whole process," Boyd said.

Largo's Johnson creating buzz

Largo's Leonard Johnson has visited Iowa State, Troy, USF and Ole Miss. This past weekend, he decided to take the SAT instead of another trip.

That means Johnson has a tough choice this week on which school to visit: West Virginia or Michigan.

"I need some time to think about this one," Johnson said. "I'll probably decide by Wednesday."

The Wolverines entered the race mostly due to recruiter Greg Frey, a former Clearwater standout who left West Virginia to join Rich Rodriguez's staff.

"I couldn't go wrong either way," Johnson said.

Check it out

Lakewood travels to Clearwater for a boys basketball game tonight at 7:45 that many predicted would be a preview of the PCAC championship game. Instead, it will be tuneup before districts.

[Last modified January 29, 2008, 00:50:30]