Without state titles, Miami-Dade talent in boys’ high school basketball is underrated

Unlike Broward County’s three state-championship boys’ basketball teams in 2021, there were only consolation prizes for Miami schools last season.

Among Miami-Dade County schools, Hialeah Mater Academy reached the furthest, advancing to the Class 6A state final before getting hammered by Bartow, 72-45.

The only other county school that reached the state semifinals was Miami Country Day, which got to the 3A semifinals before losing to eventual champion Calvary Christian, 69-51.

When it comes to individual talent, Broward has seven seniors who have already signed with Division I colleges and a few more who could possibly sign. In addition, Broward has four players from the Class of 2022/2023 who have already signed pro contracts.

Miami, on the other hand, has zero players signed for 2022, either pro or college.

In terms of top teams, there are only four Miami schools — Riviera Prep, Columbus, Palmetto and Miami High — ranked among South Florida’s top 15, according to Jacob Shaw’s MiamiDadebb.com website.

Miami High coach Humberto Govea, however, believes Miami Norland, Miami Southridge, Miami Country Day, Mater Lakes, Doral and Mater Academy are other possible top-15 teams.

Govea said he also believes college coaches are missing out by not recruiting Miami more heavily.

“I think the talent in Miami is the best in the state and the best we’ve had since 2005,” Govea said. “Broward ends up getting nine of the 10 best players from Palm Beach, and they have a lot of prep schools.

“The coaches in Broward also help each other to publicize their players with college coaches. That doesn’t happen in Miami, and it’s a huge problem.

“Miami-Dade County is so together in football. We should be in basketball, too, because we have similar athletes.”

That may be true, but Miami basketball players rarely go from high school straight to Division I.

Of last season’s seniors, only Columbus shooting guard Hubertas Pivorius went straight to Division I (Northern Kentucky).

Calusa’s Arturo Dean, Westminster Christian’s James Henderson, Columbus’ Reggie Lewis and Archbishop Carroll’s Micah Bell all went to prep school.

They are hoping to emulate former Miami High star Justin Neely and ex-Doral standout Devin Carter, who both went from prep school to Division I. Neely is at Albany. Carter is at South Carolina.

“Kids are still going to get a chance at D1,” Shaw said. “They’re just going to get a chance later in their careers. You have to be real special to go from high school straight to D1 and have success.”

Miami does appear to have some special players in its younger classes.

The county’s highest-rated player is Marcus Allen, a 6-7 guard at Norland who ranks No. 18 among the nation’s best sophomores.

“He’s versatile,” Norland coach Lawton Williams said of Allen. “He’s a big guard who can score inside or out.”

Among the junior classes, Doral’s 6-7 Justin Johnson, who has an offer from Georgetown; Rivera’s 6-6 Osmar Garcia-Araujo and Champagnat’s 6-9 Cheikh Sadibou all have a chance to go D1.

Champagnat coach Adam Braswell said Sadibou has offers from Chicago State and Akron and heavy interest from Yale, among others.

“Cheikh is a great defender,” Braswell said. “He has a 32-inch vertical, which is impressive for a guy 6-9.”

Malik Abdullahi, a 6-7 sophomore at Columbus, has already received his first offer, from Florida Gulf Coast; and Miami High 6-5 freshman Romari Robinson has been impressive.

Columbus also has an uncommonly good freshman class that includes the twin sons of former NBA standout Carlos Boozer.

The top-ranked freshman in Miami is 6-8 forward Cameron Boozer.

“Cameron can play in the post, but he can also push the ball in transition,” Columbus coach Andrew Moran said. “His playmaking ability is elite.”

Cayden Boozer, a 6-3 guard, is athletic and has Miami and FIU offers, just like his brother.

Benny Fragela, a 6-foot freshman, is one of the top three-point shooters in the county.

“We’ve had a lot of college coaches in our gym,” Moran said.

Palmetto has players such as 6-7 senior wing Jimel Lane and 6-1 senior shooting guard Warner Davis.

“Jimel is ultra-athletic, probably the best senior in the county and maybe the state,” Palmetto coach Alex Ordoqui said of Lane, who averaged 20.5 points and 8.0 rebounds last season. “[Davis] is an elite shooter and had a 47-point game against Southwest.”

Other players to watch include 6-4 Miami High senior Kuran Bryant, who averaged 20 points and 17 rebounds last season; 5-9 Riviera senior Esteban Lluberes; who is undersized but skilled; Southridge junior Mister Dean, who had a 39-point game last week; and 6-4 Florida Christian senior Charlie Bell, who has Division II offers.

This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 4:04 PM.