CFCA boys basketball pair earn district player and coach of the year awards

First-year coach Albert Settles and transfer forward Julian DeClou helped lead the Eagles to an incredible turnaround season.

By Sam Albuquerque
| 12:00 a.m. March 8, 2025

Sports
High Schools

In their first year as members of the CFCA boys basketball program, coach Albert Settles and junior forward Julian DeClou have been named the 1A, District 11 Coach and Player of the Year.

Settles, along with DeClou, helped lead the Eagles to an incredible turnaround this season, which included a district championship, an appearance in the regional title game and a 21-9 record; the Eagles finished 2023-24 with a 6-19 record.

On the court, the transfer from Hagerty High was the team’s leader in points, rebounds and steals. DeClou finished his first season at CFCA with a statline of 15.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 52% from the field.

author

Sam Albuquerque

A native of João Pessoa, Brazil, Sam Albuquerque moved in 1997 to Central Florida as a kid. After earning a communications degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida, he started his career covering sports as a producer for a local radio station, ESPN 580 Orlando. He went on to earn a master’s degree in editorial journalism from Northwestern University, before moving to South Carolina to cover local sports for the USA Today Network’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah, newborn son, Noah, and dog named Skulí.