- April 22, 2024
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Seniors Jonathan Laurent and David Stephen, basketball teammates throughout their careers at Dr. Phillips, have something in common.
After the Panthers saw their season end in the regional semifinals, the focus of the two leaders for coach Anthony Long’s program shifted from the varsity season to what’s next. Both Laurent and Stephen are unsigned seniors who still have to determine where they will play their college ball.
That, though, is where the context diverts significantly between the two seniors who played a pivotal role in Dr. Phillips extending its streak of 20-win campaigns to 22 consecutive seasons.
Laurent has significant interest from several Division I programs, including UCF, Alabama and Georgia Tech. Wanting to focus on his senior season and give his teammates his best effort, though, the dynamic forward opted to wait until the season’s end to make his decision on where to play.
A noble idea, if not a risky one.
“People always ask me, ‘Well, isn’t he worried that those schools might sign somebody else?’” Long said. “He’s not as worried about that because when one door closes, usually another one opens.”
Long is right — Laurent, with his size (at 6-foot-6) and athleticism, is the kind of player he doesn’t have to make a ton of phone calls to sell.
Someone such as Stephen, though, is the kind of player for which so many coaches around the country really go to battle. Talented, hard-working players who, often by a matter of not having Division I measurements or athleticism, are on the opposite end of the spectrum — meaning they are reaching out to coaches and trying to get Division II and Division III coaches to take a look at their game tape.
“They’re not getting the attention through the ranking services, and so all high-school coaches do this, to some extent, just trying to contact coaches at whatever level and just making sure they’re aware of him,” Long said. “Making sure if they want to see film on them that we get them film. And that happens with a lot of seniors, a kind of behind-the-scenes thing that a lot of people on the outside don’t realize.”
And that marketing of local players isn’t limited to a player’s immediate coaches, either.
Basketball coaches in Metro Orlando are like a fraternity of sorts, talking and texting with one another about seniors and where they might fit. Each coach, after all, has developed his own network of college contacts, and it’s not uncommon for, say, someone such as Ocoee coach Rob Gordon or Apopka coach Mark Griseck to make a call to a program about someone such as Stephen or vice-versa.
Then of course, there’s another decision so many seniors make — across the spectrum of varsity sports — that doesn’t get nearly as much attention: whether to continue their careers at a smaller school, often far from home, or move on from the game and just attend college at a larger state university as a student only.
It’s where Stephen, who has a 3.8 weighted GPA and has already been accepted into USF as a student, finds himself as he entertains interest from DII and DIII programs in Florida and the Northeast.
And although he said he has many factors to consider — from the best financial-aid package to proximity to home — he knows that actually leaving the game would be a tough pill to swallow.
“I’m just looking ahead at what’s the best fit for me,” Stephen said. “It’s kind of hard for me to just walk away from the game of basketball. That’s just like the big thing for me.”
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Each week, Sports Editor Steven Ryzewski will choose a “can’t miss” Game of the Week, as well as note some honorable mentions.
West Orange at Apopka (Softball): 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26
The Warriors, ranked No. 7 in Class 8A, lost to the Blue Darters each time they played a season ago — each time by just one run. I can’t imagine anyone on West Orange’s roster has forgotten about all those close calls.
Honorable mentions: CFCA at Foundation Academy (baseball), 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26; Winter Park at Olympia (girls lacrosse), 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26
