Shed Haynes leads country's top defensive team

Shed Haynes was known for his offensive talents when he played basketball at Palmetto High, State College of Florida and Lackawanna College.

But the guard is making a name for himself on the defensive end at Tarlleton State College (Texas), which leads the nation (Division II) in fewest points allowed and field goal percentage defense.

The Texans are holding opponents to 34.9 shooting and giving up 51.6 points per game. Haynes has been a ball-hawk and the leads the team in steals (20). The point guard is also tops in assists (51) and is averaging 9.8 points per game.

Haynes was one of the best 3-point shooters in the country in the one year that he played for Lackawanna after transferring from SCF. Last season he was at USF, didn’t get the playing time he wanted and transferred.

Though he has made defense a priority this year, Haynes is still a point guard who can hurt teams with his long range shooting. The six-foot senior is second on the team with 17 treys.

Southeast girls ranked 8th, but injuries mounting up

Southeast is the only Manatee County school to be ranked in the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (FACA) girls basketball state poll that was released on Tuesday.

Coming off a week where they defeated two defending state champions in St. Petersburg Lakewood and Tampa Catholic, the Seminoles (16-3) are eighth in the Class 5A Poll.

The voters still have Lakewood (11-5) ranked ahead of Southeast in the fifth spot. Gulfport Boca Ciega (13-7), which defeated Southeast earlier in the season, is ranked seventh.

It wasn’t all that good for Southeast last week. The already thin Lady Seminoles lost sophomore guard and sixth man Daisha Kelly to an ACL injury she suffered during the team’s victory over Palmetto. She is out for the season.

Deangela Mathis continues to look like an emerging star for Southeast. The sophomore is averaging 19.5 points per game to leads the team in scoring and is shooting 60 percent from the field. Bevin Mays had a career high 25 points in win over Tampa Catholic.

Jared Williams recovering from surgery after bowl game injury

SMU freshman Jared Williams was resting comfortably on Sunday recovering from surgery for a broken femur on Saturday night, according to his father Walt Williams.

The former Southeast/Bradenton Prep running back was injured in the fourth quarter of the BBVA Compass Bowl Saturday between SMU and Pittsburgh in Birmingham, Alabama.

(photo: Williams waves to crowd as he is carted off the field).

Williams tried to cut to his right when he was hit on his left leg by the helmet of Pittsburgh safety Andrew Taglianetti. He spent several minutes on the ground writing in pain until attended to be medical personnel and eventually carted off the field.

Williams had surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham. He hopes to be released on Monday and plans to come home to Bradenton with his parents, who were at the game.

“Jared actually broke his femur in two places, but he will be fine and the doctor said he should be ready to play in July,” Walt Williams said. “He is feeling a little distraught, but is in good spirits overall. It’s like anything in football. You get hurt, work to recover and move on from there.”

Walt Williams was sitting in the stands when the injury occurred and rushed down to the field to be with his son along with Jared’s mother.

“When I first saw the hit I immediately thought it was his knee, but he got hit high around the thigh” Walt Williams said. “They had to put a rod in his leg and he will be crutches for about two weeks. Right now he is eager to get into his rehab and be ready for practice in the summer. The rod shouldn’t affect him at all, not with his speed or anything else he does.”

It appeared Williams took a direct hit from Taglianetti’s helmet, but Walt Williams said he felt the play was clean.

“Its football and you have to expect anything when you are out there on the field,” Walt Williams said. “It was a freak accident and the process is now what do you do from here. Jared will be fine. He has been through a lot. Nothing has come easy to him.”

SMU won the game 28-6 and Williams was the leading rusher for the Mustangs with 40 yards on 11 carries.

Poole breaks numerous records in All-American game including two set by former Southeast teammate

Brian Poole wrote his name into the record books at the fifth annual Under Armour All-American game Thursday night with one of the events most memorable performances.

The Southeast High cornerback broke four records, including one set last year by his former teammate Jon Dowling.

Poole returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown that broke two records.

The longest previous touchdown was a 92-yard reception from Andre Debose set in 2009. Dowling set the record for the longest interception returned for a touchdown last year when he took a pick 56 yards to the endzone.

Will Hill had the longest interception return (62 yards) set in '08 until Poole shattered that record with his electrifying return.

Poole also topped Dowling's record for most interception return yards (63), which Dowling got on two picks.

Poole declared immediately after the game that he is a Gator ending speculation that the long time Florida commit might change his mind. Ironically, he will join Debose when he arrives in Gainesville.

"Harpoon" event returns to Manatee County with cherished memories

BRADENTON- The Youth Foundation Basketball Showcase has had several names and now has a new venue, but the memories it created will live forever.

It was the event where host Southeast in 2004 ended Jacksonville Ribault’s 120 game win streak against Florida schools before what is believed to be the biggest crowd ever to watch a high school basketball game in Manatee County for either boys or girls.

And then there was 2002 when little Casey Baker stole the ball with a few seconds left and lofted a shot that enabled Southeast to knock off undefeated Clearwater the state’s top ranked team and national power.

It was the shot heard round the world for girls’ basketball in these parts and to top it off Baker went on to set a school record for steals at Marshall University.

It’s now called the Manasota High School Basketball Showcase and will be held at Bayshore on Saturday. It’s still under the direction of Howard "Harpoon" Karasick, who is putting on his 24^th edition of this event, which was held in Manatee County on two previous occasions.

Regardless of the name and site, this could be another day of big upsets, particularly in the two last games, where the Southeast girls take on two time defending Tampa Catholic and in the nightcap when Braden River faces Sarasota Riverview in a matchup of the area’s two best teams.

For Southeast (13-3) it will mean taking on defending state champions on two straight nights. The Seminoles play host to defending Class 4A State champion St. Petersburg Lakewood on Friday in a district game and then face Tampa Catholic, the two time 3A defending state champs.

Southeast lost to Tampa Catholic in the region final the last two years. The Noles are now in 5A with St. Pete Lakewood, but would like nothing better than to extract some revenge over a team that broke their hearts twice in a row.

But this event seems to bring out the best in the Southeast girls and turn their head coach John Harder into a miracle worker.

“This is the first time we are playing state champs on back to back nights and I never heard of anyone doing that in less than 24 hours,” Harder said. “I am not some genius who wants to upset the world, but they said it would be better for the community if we did it so we are going to do it. It will certainly get us ready for the post season.

“We were up by two points at the end last year and lost to Tampa Catholic and our kids haven’t forgotten that. I want our girls to feel like they are preparing for the end of the season run and this will do it.”

Braden River (10-1) is unbeaten against area teams from Manatee down through Charlotte County. Its only loss is to Miami Carol City, a team host Riverview (11-2) beat in the same Christmas Tournament.

“We thought we could get to play them in their tournament but lost. Now we get that chance and are looking forward to it,” Braden River head coach Matt Nesser said. “We want to play the best and consider them maybe the best in the area. They are athletic and have good size and don’t make a lot of mistakes.”

To get his team ready for the post season, Nesser put together a road heavy schedule and has played only three home games so far this season. In their last game, the Pirates earned a come from 42-41 victory on the road at Punta Gorda Charlotte, which is a tough place to play.

“We haven’t played our best basketball yet. In order to be a championship team you need to play hard for an entire 32 minutes and we did that maybe in one or two games,” Nesser said.

The coach says his three starters from the football team still haven’t gotten their basketball legs yet and it has affected the shooting of point guard Steven Ross.

The Pirates are led by shooting guard Tre’ Bryant, who is averaging 17 points per game. Travon Young, the 6-5 junior, continues to be the Pirates big presence inside averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds. Tommy Bernhardt, a senior guard, is averaging a shade over 10 points per outing.

Riverview is led by 6-3 versatile guard Eric Traver, who is averaging 16.6 points per game and is surrounded by a lot of talent.

What: Manasota High School Basketball Showcase:

Where: Bayshore High

When: Saturday

Admission: $3.00 gets you in for all the games. Kids under 10 are free.

Schedule:

10:30 am (girls) Bayshore vs Clearwater

12 Noon (girls) Lakewood Ranch vs North Port

1:30 pm (boys) Palmetto vs Bayshore

3 pm (girls) Riverview vs St. Petersburg

4:30 pm (boys) Southeast vs Lakewood Ranch

6 pm (girls) Southeast vs Tampa Catholic

7:30 pm (boys) Braden River vs Riverview

Poole returns interception for 93 yard TD to highllight first half of Under Armour Game

Brian Poole provided the highlight reel in the first half of the Under Armour All-American Game at Tropicana Field.

The Southeast High product did what he does best. He intercepted a pass and returned it 93 yards for a touchdown to give his team the Blur a 20-3 lead.

Poole promised yours truely that he would get an interception, but never said he would return it for a touchdown. However, that's him. He always adds something special

Scott leaves USF for NFL draft in surprise move

To what seems to be everyone's surprise, USF running back Darrell Scott has decided to forego his senior year and opt for the NFL draft.

The decision ends a tumultuous ride for the 6-1, 239 pounder who came to USF two years ago from Colorado and sat out 2010 because of transfer rules.

Scott, rated the top high school running back in the country after his senior year of high school in California, led USF last season with 814 yards rushing (5.3 per carry average) and showed flashes of brilliance.

His best game came against FAMU when he rushed for a career high 146 yards. His other 100 yard rushing game came against Rutgers (19 carries for 100 yards) and against West Virginia in the season finale he rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries.

Scott's departure means the two most heralded running backs out of high school to play for USF never finished their careers for the Bulls. Mike Ford, the former Sarasota High star and single season rushing leader for Manatee and Sarasota Counties, was dropped from the team prior to his senior year for breaking school rules.