Pines Charter’s Roca, Sagemont’s Roe are Broward Boys Basketball Coaches of the Year
Broward County’s two boys basketball state champions this season each showed plenty of toughness and a knack for coming through in clutch moments.
Pembroke Pines Charter demonstrated this multiple times during nail-biting victories in this year’s Class 6A state playoffs.
And Weston Sagemont did the same on its way to winning its latest tilt with one of the state’s best in Orlando Christian Prep.
The coaches at the head of those programs, Pembroke Pines Charter’s Dave Roca and Sagemont’s David Roe each got the chance to hoist the state championship hardware for the second time in their tenures with their respective schools.
As such, Roca and Roe are this year’s Miami Herald Broward County Boys Basketball Coaches of the Year.
Roca, who earned the honor for Classes 7A-5A, has been coaching the Jaguars for 17 seasons. Roca guided Pines Charter to its second state title in the past four seasons.
Roe, the winner for Classes 4A-2A, led Sagemont to back-to-back titles for the first time in school history and to its fourth overall.
Pines Charter did so with a squad led by the senior frontcourt of 7A-5A Player of the Year Jeremy Elyzee and first team All-Broward selection Joshua Harris.
The two came through when it counted most throughout the playoffs leading the Jaguars to tightly-contested wins over Boyd Anderson, South Plantation and St. Thomas Aquinas in regionals. The run culminated with a thrilling 59-55 win over Orlando Edgewater, the top seed in Class 6A, in the state final.
“I’m trying to keep it together because this is amazing,” Roca said following that victory.
Roe watched his team defy the odds for the second consecutive season.
The Lions were considered one of the best in the state coming off last year’s state championship, but an underdog once again in the state final as they squared off with Orlando Christian Prep for the third consecutive season with the title on the line.
A collective effort from Sagemont’s top stars, Patrick Liburd, Kevin Thomas and Jordyn Kee, beat OCP 50-47 in what was the second consecutive win in that matchup by three points or fewer.
“We talked about toughness in this game and the winner would protect the rim and protect the paint,” Roe said after the game. “If we kept it around 50, I knew we were going to win it. The kids bought in and made it happen.”
