The 2022-23 high school boys basketball season saw eight teams from the Prep Zone Power Poll advance to the state semifinals in Lakeland. Four teams played for state titles, with Williston taking home the 1A championship for the first time in boys basketball.
And most of those teams find themselves back at the top in the preseason rankings for the new season.
Mainland (Daytona Beach), who lost in the 5A state title game last March, starts the 2023-24 season as the No. 1 team in the Prep Zone Power Poll for boys basketball. Mainland, who finished No. 3 in last season’s final poll, receives four of the nine first-place votes and starts at the top. The Bucs are off to a 6-1 start this season with the only loss 58-57 to Dr. Phillips (Orlando).Â
Mainland edges out Providence, who is ranked No. 2. The Stallions advanced to the 3A state semifinals last spring and finished as the top-ranked team in last season’s final rankings. This year Providence is only 5-4 to start, but has wins over ranked teams in The Villages, Oakleaf (Orange Park) and Paxon (Jacksonville) with three of the four losses to three teams ranking in the top 57 in Florida in losses to No. 20 North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek), No. 27 Sagemont (Weston) and No. 57 Raines (Jacksonville). Providence earns two first-place votes in this opening poll.
Tied for third are Paxon (Jacksonville) and last year’s 1A state champion Williston. Williston defeated Chipley 58-49 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland to win their first boys basketball state championship. This year’s Red Devils team is 8-0 in the new season with wins against Gainesville, Eastside, Newberry, Tampa Catholic and Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel). That start also earns Williston two first-place votes.
Paxon is 8-2 to start with wins over ranked teams Ponte Vedra and Nease (Ponte Vedra) and the losses coming to Providence and another ranked team in Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville).
Rounding out the top five is last season’s 6A state runner-up, Ponte Vedra. The Sharks finished No. 2Â in the final poll last season, as they finished 23-7. This season, Ponte Vedra is 7-3 to start with wins over Raines, Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) and Nease, and has two losses against Paxon and one setback to North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville). Ponte Vedra also received a first-place vote.Â
Episcopal (Jacksonville) starts off the second five. The Eagles finished last season 21-7 with a loss in the opening round of the 3A playoffs, but have started this season on fire with an 8-1 record. Episcopal has wins over Impact Christian, NFEI, Fletcher (Neptune Beach) and two Georgia teams with their only loss to Providence.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) is at No. 7 as the Knights are 6-3 and have beaten Ribault, Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), and NFEI and also a loss to Providence as well as Menendez (St. Augustine) and Camden County (GA).
Ribault, who was a 4A state semifinalist last spring, is at No. 8 after starting 6-3 with wins over Andrew Jackson and Riverside and losses to Oakleaf, Paxon and Raines.
Raines (Jacksonville), who was only 7-18 a year ago, jumps into the top 10 at No. 9. The Vikings are 8-2 and have wins over Providence and Ribault and a loss to Ponte Vedra.
Rounding out the top 10 is another state semifinalist from a year ago in North Florida Educational Institute. The Eagles lost in the 2A state semifinals last March to Sagemont (Weston) and are only 4-6 to start this season but have played a brutal schedule with wins over Ponte Vedra and Sandalwood (Jacksonville), losing to state-ranked teams Oakleaf, Episcopal, No. 7 statewide St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) and 52nd-ranked Mater Lakes Academy (Miami), who won the 4A state title a year ago.Â
Among the teams in the second 10 from the Mainstreet Daily News area are 11th-ranked Hawthorne, who was a 1A state semifinalist once again last spring, Newberry is tied at No. 12 with Forest (Ocala), and Gainesville is No. 14.
Buchholz (Gainesville), who missed the playoffs last season with a 13-14 record, starts the new season ranked at No. 16 after the Bobcats started 5-1.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL BY ANYTIME FITNESS OF GAINESVILLE – 2023-24 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #1 (PRESEASON POLL)
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, final 2022-23 record, current record through 12/19, and total voting points)
Teams in bold are inside the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area.
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (4) (25-6) (6-1) – 166
2. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (2) (28-3) (5-4) – 156
3T. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (20-6) (8-2) – 146
3T. Williston (1A) (2) (25-7) (8-0) – 146
5. Ponte Vedra (6A) (1) (23-7) (7-3) – 140
6. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (21-7) (8-1) – 139
7. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (24-2) (6-3) – 132
8. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (25-5) (6-3) – 123
9. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (7-18) (8-2) – 104
10. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (22-9) (4-6) – 83
11. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (15-13) (6-3) – 76
12. Hawthorne (1A) (11-7) (1-0) – 69
13T. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (19-8) (8-1) – 49
13T. Newberry (1A) (22-7) (7-2) – 49
15. Gainesville (6A) (23-7) (5-3) – 45
16. The Villages (4A) (23-9) (4-5) – 41
17. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (13-14) (5-1) – 39
18. Leesburg (5A) (13-13) (6-1) – 24
19. New Smyrna Beach (21-5) (8-1) – 20
20. Riverside (Jacksonville) (5A) (15-12) (5-3) – 19
Also receiving votes: Fort White (1A) (15-9) (7-1) – 18; Central (Brooksville) (4A) (22-7) (8-1) – 17; Nease (Ponte Vedra) (18-9) (5-4) – 15; Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (3A) (15-11) (7-1) – 14; Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (20-10) (3-3) – 13; North Marion (Citra) (21-7) (4-2) – 13; Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (22-7) (5-2) – 11; Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (2A) (20-9) (3-5) – 8; Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (22-7) (2-7) – 5; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (21-9) (5-6) – 4; Hilliard (1A) (20-5) (6-1) – 2; St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) (2A) (21-7) (4-5) – 1.