Where could you find the best two high school basketball players in the state of Florida?

Broward.

How about the best Class 6A team?

Broward.

Best 5A team?

Broward?

Best 3A?

Broward, Broward, Broward.

''Broward is hot right now,'' American Heritage coach Danny Herz said. ``High school basketball is cool again.''

Pardon Herz for the hot and cold metaphors, but his enthusiasm is contagious. He shares the same opinion as many that high school hoops has never been better in Broward, where two of the best players in the country -- Heritage's Kenny Boynton and Pine Crest's Brandon Knight -- headline an area that has caught the attention of the entire nation.

Boyd Anderson is not only the top-ranked Class 6A team in the state, the Cobras are also nationally ranked and undefeated after beating national powers in tournaments in Florida and Tennessee.

Dillard, Broward's bread-and-butter powerhouse, is at it again with a team that's No. 1 in 5A and looks good enough to repeat as state champs. The toughest hurdle for Dillard might be right in town in St. Thomas Aquinas, which just knocked off Norland, the defending 6A state champ.

BOYNTON-KNIGHT DUEL

Then there's Heritage and Pine Crest in 3A, two teams in the same district that deliver arguably the best marquee matchup anywhere every time Boynton -- ranked as one of the top players in the nation -- and Knight -- who some consider the best junior in the nation -- meet.

''Kenny and Brandon bring a lot of attention to Broward, and that helps everyone,'' Aquinas coach Steve Strand said. ``They are great players and great kids, but I would totally agree that basketball overall is better.''

Broward hoops probably peaked in 2001, the only time Broward won titles in the top two classes and had four teams play for titles. Dillard won the 6A title, Aquinas won the 5A title, and Hallandale (4A) and Westminster Academy (3A) finished second.

Three teams played for titles last year: Boyd Anderson lost in the final to Norland in 6A, Dillard won in 5A and Pine Crest, which beat Heritage in a classic playoff game in Broward, won the 3A title.

''I think this year is as good as it's ever been, or better than it's ever been,'' said Boyd Anderson coach Eugene Richardson, who has been coaching in Broward for more than 16 years.

''I was talking to coaches [at the tournament in Tennessee] about the talent we have down here. We have great basketball here,'' he said. ``It's better now because we have so many good players and so many good teams. The skill level is better now, because the coaches have convinced the kids that they need to put in the work and the time to reach that level. The kids are starting to understand that, and basketball is a year-round thing now.''

Strand sees a difference.

''That 2001 season we had all those teams [in the Final Four], but we didn't have the players on the national scale back then like we do now -- not top five in the country like Kenny and Brandon,'' he said. ``If you're looking from a college recruiter's point of view, there is more interest in Broward now. The past five to seven years, the interest has just leaped up in numbers of guys going to school. The basketball is better.''

TALENT NEVER BETTER

Teams are better, and almost everyone agrees the talent -- top to bottom -- is better.

''Right now there is a hell of a lot of talent in this county,'' Herz said. ``There used to be a consensus among recruiters this was a football area, and the basketball players who came out of here were more athletes than skilled.

''The high school coaches understand to get the kids to the next level, their skill level had to improve, and it has,'' Herz said.

Strand believes the stability of coaches and programs has also helped.

''You have coaches who have been at the same program, and those programs now have a reputation,'' he said.

``College coaches know the kind of kid they will get out of those programs. You know if you get a kid from Boyd Anderson he is going to play defense. You know if you get a kid from Dillard that he is a kid who knows how to play. We've caught up with the basketball skills.

''Seven or eight years ago, college coaches recruited Broward County for athletes, not basketball players,'' Strand said. ``They looked at the kids from here as athletes, and they could find the same kind of athletic kid from Philly, Baltimore or Detroit who was an athlete and had better basketball skills. Now they can find that kid here. Now they recruit basketball players from here.''

The result is simple.

''The players are better, the teams are better, and the intensity is up all over the county,'' said Herz, whose team will play the Massachusetts state champ Saturday.

If Heritage wins, the people in New England will know what they are already finding out in South Florida: Right now, the best talent in Florida is from Broward, Broward, Broward.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@