The Unauthorized Web Site of |
2001-02 Varsity Team |
2001-02 Benjamin Buccaneers Look
Back
On 19-11 Season With Pride.
Bradenton Tournament Championship,
Upsets of District Rivals AH-Boca and Kings and
Development of New Blood Highlight Year
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Seniors Mike Marod,
Kyle Taylor, and Dan Tighe, along with the underclassmen who stuck with
this year's team, did a tremendous job of filling the void left by the loss
of all five starters from last years Class 2A State Championship team. No
one expected these guys to win much of anything, but they, with the help
of Coach Ron Johnson and Assistant Coaches WIllie Shelton and Terry Primm,
had one heck of a year. After a shaky start, including a road loss
at St. Edward's' School, the team went off to Bradenton for a Christmas Tournament,
where they made short work of all comers en route to a Tournament Championship.
Mike and Kyle were named to the All-Tournament Team, with Mike walking
away with Tournament MVP honors. Then, into the new year, after a tough
49-44 road loss to American Heritage (Boca) and heartbreaking 48-44 loss
at King's Academy, the team finally came together on January 29, 2002, to
beat American Heritage (Boca), 64-59, who were then ranked the number three
team in the State in the Florida Sports Writers Association poll. Although
King's Academy was able to squeak out a 46-45 victory over the Bucs two
nights later, that just set the stage for the Bucs' highly emotional 55-46
win in the District Tournament, ending King's season, and assuring Benjamin
of at least one game in the Regionals.
Okay, so that one game in the regionals didn't turn out the way we wanted it to turn out. But for the first two quarters the guys gave the mighty Westminster Academy Lions, who had been number one in the FSWA poll for most of the year, everything they could handle and more. Indeed, the fact that Benjamin lead that game 20-19 at half-time probably did more to put the fear of God back in the Westminster players than a year's worth of Sunday School. Well, the season is over now, and Mike, Kyle and Dan are off to college. Best of luck to this year's underclassmen who will need to fill some pretty big shoes in 2002-03. |
2002 Region 4 Tournament Bracket (Adobe Acrobat File)
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WE WON THE DANGED THING! 2001 2A BOYS' CHAMPS! Congratulations Bucs! 2000-01 Florida 2A Boys' Champs, Region 3 Champs, District 14-2A Regular Season and District Tournament Champs! Ranked #2 in the State in the Ranked #8 in the State in the 1999-2000 Final Florida Sports Writers' Association Poll |
1999-2000 Buccaneers Click here for complete 1999-2000 championship bracket! 1999-2000 Schedule and Results
Click here for information about the 2000-01 State Champion Buccaneers |
2000-01 FLORIDA 2A COACH OF THE YEAR HONORED MARCH 9, 2001 AT HALF-TIME OF 5A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME |
Links
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Check out the Benjamin Parents Association page or Check out The Benjamin School site or its sports pages |
fhsaa.org is also where to find official rules, district designations, tournament sites, etc. For recruiting scuttlebutt, try HoopNuts.com |
We would particularly appreciate submissions of JPEG or GIF photos of the Bucs in action. |