Who are the basketball players in the Sweet 16 who competed at Florida high schools?
Florida has its fair share of representation in this year's Sweet 16. The Sunshine State (Florida Atlantic, Miami) ties Texas (Houston, Texas) with two teams making it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. Miami, however, is the only university with its men's and women's teams in the big dance.
Players with ties to the state have a larger footprint than the state's two schools. You can find 13 players who played their high school ball in Florida on rosters on the remaining teams. That's the equivalent of 5% of the scholarship players.
When that many players elevate to this level, there's a story behind it. Let's examine each team's roster and how the state's former stars impacted their old stomping grounds.
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Florida Atlantic
Brenen Lorient - Ocala - Forest/ Calvary Christian
Lorient started his high school career with Forest in 2018. He helped the Wildcats made the state semifinals in 2021. As a senior, he transferred to Calvary Christian, where he was a starter on a 4A state championship team. He'd finish his high school career as a 3-star recruit and national champion in the inaugural State Champions Invitational.
Giancarlo Rosado - West Palm Beach - Palm Beach Lakes
Rosado, one of four Owls to play in every game this season, averaged 26.7 points and nine rebounds a game as a senior at Palm Beach Lakes.
Bryan Greenlee - Gainesville - The Rock School
Greenlee played in the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association (SIAA), one of the toughest conferences Florida high school basketball has to offer. He averaged 13.7 points, 7.3 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.5 steals to win Gainesville Sun Player of the Year honors and a SIAA state title.
Isaiah Gaines - Pensacola - Pensacola HS
Gaines was the Panhandle Player of the Year as a senior. He attended Northwest Mississippi Community College before transferring to FAU.
Michael Forest - Lauderhill - Blanche Ely
Forest was named Broward County Player of the Year after averaging 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals per game as a senior. He won state championships in 2016 and 2018.
Tre Carroll - Punta Gorda - Charlotte
Carroll is one of the Owls' highest recruited prospects. His 22.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game along with 2.1 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.5 steals earned him Sarasota Herald-Tribune All-Area honors and a spot on the Sun Preps All-Decade Team.
Creighton
Ryan Nemhard - Aurora, Ontario, Canada - Montverde Academy
Nemhard was the starting guard on Montverde's 2020 GEICO high school national championship team. He won a silver medal in 2016 as a member of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Brazil.
Connecticut
Alex Karaban - New Hampton, N.H. - IMG Academy
Karaban played for a talented IMG post-grad team before graduating early and enrolling at UCONN in 2022. 247Sports listed him as a four-star recruit and top 100 player.
Texas
Marcus Carr - Toronto - Montverde Academy
The Canadian-born guard transferred to Montverde as a high school junior. He sat out most of the season with a torn ACL. Carr averaged 9.1 points, 3.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game as a senior.
Dillon Mitchell - Tampa - Sickels/ Bishop McLaughlin Catholic/ Montverde Academy
Mitchell won a GEICO National High School championship as a senior with Montverde. He left high school as a five-star recruit who performed well on the national all-star game circuit, winning MVP at the Jordan Brand Classic game.
Houston
Emanuel Sharp - Tampa - Bishop McLaughlin Catholic
Sharp left high school as a two-time Florida Player of the Year in 3A and 5A. He scored 33 points to help his team win the 3A state championship game in 2021.
Jarace Walker - Baltimore - IMG Academy
Walker was a member of the McDonald's All-American game and the USA Nike Hoop Summit Team. He's projected as a top-five pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: How many players out of Florida high schools are playing in Sweet 16?
