The Florida Prospects’ 3rd Annual MLK Dream Classic was held on Saturday, January 12, 2008 at Jones High School in Orlando. This event featured top quality teams such as IMG Academy (Bradenton), Norland (Miami), Olympia (Orlando), Atlantic (Port Orange), Evans (Orlando) and Jones (Orlando).

The Classic was a prelude to Lakeland’s FHSAA Boys State Finals held in March. Miami Norland Vikings, (ranked #10 in Class 6A) lost to Olympia Titans, (ranked #4 in Class 6A) 48-47 on December 27 in the Tampa Hoops Classic in the first meeting. The Vikings and Titans met for the second time this season, in the Florida Prospects’ MLK Dream Classic, held in Orlando. The Titans won again, 42-39, which was a hard fought game till the end. Could there be a possible 3rd meeting between these two teams in Lakeland this season? Before facing Olympia, Norland defeated an undefeated Ft. Lauderdale Dillard, 66-56, the previous night.


Game 1: IMG Academy Panthers ( ) vs. Lyman Greyhounds (8-9)

IMG Academy overcame a 5-point deficit in the fourth to defeat Lyman, 54-50. Jonas Karosas (IMG Academy) led all scorers with 21 points. The Panthers were without D-1 prospect recruits, Kenny Kadji (University of Florida) and Jared Swopshire (University of Louisville). The Greyhounds were led by Daniel Feliciano, junior forward, with 13 points and Zac Stites, junior guard, with 12 points. “ The key to us winning today’s game was the fact we communicated well on both ends of the floor,” stated Karosas. “ Playing in events like this helps us more with game experience without our key weapons,” Karosas added.

Game 2: Spruce Creek Hawks (9-10) vs. West Orange Warriors (7-12)

West Orange proved to Spruce Creek their record has no impact on how they perform on the court by defeating the Hawks 62-51. The Warriors took a 1-point lead with 3:03 left in the first half and led 25-20 at the half. The Warriors increased the lead by connecting on 8 out of 13 free-throws in the fourth quarter. Matthew Hardy, freshman guard, led the Warriors with 10 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds playing in his 3rd game of the season. “The game is faster now than playing J.V. (Junior Varsity) and I am starting to pick my spots on the floor and bring energy to the team,” said Hardy. Shavaro Bowleg, senior forward, led the Hawks with 11 points, 4 rebounds.

Game 3: Daytona Mainland Bucs (7-10) vs. Apopka Blue Darters (9-9)

Freshman forward, Cortez Davis provided an inside dominance as Mainland tops Apopka, 60-51. Davis scored a game high of 24 points and added 11 rebounds. As the youngest player on the floor, Davis displayed how he can be the most productive player. “I just wanted to play hard and be physical on the inside and let the game come to me. I was worried about do to much at the beginning of the game, then I settled down in the second half,” mentioned Davis. Apopka lost, gives the Blue Darters their four straight lost after a 9-5 start. The Blue Darters were led by junior guard, Ty Hillman, with 14 points.

Game 4: Port Orange Atlantic Sharks (12-5) vs. Orlando Evans Trojans (15-4)

Orlando Evans is making their case on why they should be considered one of the best in Class 6A with a 74-57 victory over Port Orange Atlantic (ranked #8 in Class 4A). The Trojans started the game on a 15-2 run and never trailed the entire game. Evans had two double-digit scorers, Kedric Taylor, senior guard, scored 25 points and Javaris Jacob, senior forward, had 23 points and 15 rebounds. The Trojans also defeated Gainesville The Rock (Class 1A State Finalist last year) 62-40 in Friday night’s contest.


Game 5: Miami Norland (13-4) vs. Orlando Olympia Titans (16-2)

In what was considered, The Match-up of the Night, the Vikings and Titans lived up to the billing. The Titans held off the Vikings in the fourth quarter to preserve a 42-39 victory. Five seniors for Norland and five juniors for Olympia were in the starting lineup to begin the toughest match-up of the day. The Vikings controlled the game with a 14-0 lead before the Titans went on a 6-0 run by forcing turnovers with full-court pressure in the first quarter. Olympia continued with the momentum in their favor, as they out scored the Vikings 16-3 in the 2nd quarter, to take a 22-19 lead at the half. The Vikings regained the lead, 29-28, in the 3rd with 1:26 left and led 31-30 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Both teams did not score a basket in the fourth quarter, until Olympia’s William Green, jump shot connected with 4:01 remaining in the contest. The Viking’s first basket in the fourth didn’t come until 2:57 left in the game. “With the style that they play, you know it’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out game, a game where it’s hard to score on every possession,” said Mark Griseck, (Titan’s head coach). The Titan’s were led by Jordan McCoy, junior forward, with 12 points and Dexter Fields added 9 points. Antonio Hester, senior forward, and Tony Mincy, junior guard, led Norland with 10 and 9 respectively.

Game 6: Miami South Dade Bucs (11-6) vs. Orlando Jones Tigers (12-4)

With both teams being evenly matched, the Bucs and the Tigers played an up and down tempo game with the score knotted at 51 with 1:04 remaining until Angelo Warner, freshman guard scored back to back buckets to put Jones up by 4 with 0:26 left in the game to seal a Jones 57-53 victory. Junior guard, Reggie Hollinger led the Tigers with 16 points and Rashad Dantzler, senior forward, led South Dade and the entire Classic with 27 points to cap off a remarkable night at this year’s MLK Classic.