Earlier this month, first-year Boca Ciega High School girls basketball coach Michael Hall was happy but slightly frustrated with his squad. Sure, Hall knew he had a talented team, but Hall expects much more. Now that the Pirates have what Hall calls "a signature win," he hopes that will become more of a pattern. "We're doing OK," Hall said before the win over Southeast. "We're struggling to find out where we are and who we are; we're struggling with consistency." Consistency, Hall suggested, was on offense, not defense. It was on the defensive side of the ball that Hall said the Pirates were …
Boca Ciega High School girls basketball coach Michael Hall knows that to win, it takes work. So Hall wants his players to stop working. Basketball is pretty much a 12-month a year job. There really is no offseason. But Hall is of the mind that players really need time off and that time off will actually benefit the Pirates. "I really do believe in time off," Hall said. "These girls have been in AAU and summer leagues, they've been going just about since the [2010-11] season ended." The Pirates summer league at Keswick High School -- which Boca Ciega finished undefeated -- ended late last …
If this summer is a window into this year's basketball season, then Boca Ciega will have a strong girls basketball team. But that's like suggesting Floridians will have to wear jackets in the winter. The Pirates have had one of the best girls basketball programs in Florida for years. Just in the past four years, Boca Ciega has advanced to the state tournament semifinals three times. But this year, there is a major change. Former Pirates coach Will White resigned earlier this year. Boca Ciega hired Michael Hall from the east coast of Florida to guide the Pirates, preferable to another strong …
When Boca Ciega High School decided to hire a replacement for girls basketball coach Will White after he resigned this spring, the school's administration didn't hire someone within the program or in the area. The school went all the way across the state to fill the opening. Michael Hall, from Satellite High School by way of his native Wisconsin, replaces White. Hall will have some big shoes to fill as White's teams won 20 games in seven straight years and had three trips to the state tournament in the past four seasons. It won't be like Hall has an empty cupboard. The Pirates return four …
In his eight years as coach of the Boca Ciega High School girls basketball squad, Will White returned the Pirates to their glory days and in the process became one of the state's top girls basketball coaches. So it was a bit of a shock among local basketball circles when White stepped down in the spring after leading the Pirates to three consecutive state tournaments and compiling a 193-45 record. At the time, White maintained he resigned to spend more time with his family. It turns out he just couldn't stay away from a basketball gym. On Monday morning, White signed a contract to coach girls…
In a surprising move, Boca Ciega High School girls basketball coach Will White resigned earlier this week as the Pirates coach. White, a decorated social studies teacher at the school, flatly denied his resignation had any connection to his team's upset loss to Clearwater earlier this week which dashed the Pirates' hopes of making the state tournament for a record fourth consecutive season.Rather, White said, this was a calculated decision between he and his wife for personal reasons.In short, White wanted to spend more time with his young family."I have a six-year old and a four-year old and…
When the Pirates took a 43-39 lead with 1:58 left on a bucket from Jakera Allen after a nice inside pass from Olivia Hester, it appeared the Boca Ciega High School girls basketball squad was one win away from its goal of a fourth straight state tournament berth.But it wasn't to be. Clearwater poured on a furious rally in the final minutes to score seven unanswered points in the last 1:40 of the game to upset the Pirates 46-43 to win a Class 5A region semifinal, ending Boca Ciega's season."We got out to such a great start that they had to work so hard to climb out of that hill I think that …
When the Boca Ciega High School girls basketball team faces Clearwater High School Tuesday night in a Class 5A region semifinal, Clearwater won't overlook Pirates point guard Qytiesha Middlebrooks.Many teams will. That's because it's easy to do.Middlebrooks is all of four-feet, 10-inches tall, a mere shrimp amid the trees of basketball players.Therein lies the trap. For a team to overlook Middlebrooks is to set themselves up for a loss. While the NBA may be a game played above the rim, Middlebrooks often plays above the shoulders of her opponents."She probably has the best vertical jump on …
It was almost cruel the way Boca Ciega High School's girls basketball squad toyed with East Lake Thursday night in the Pirates 63-40 Class 5A region quarterfinal win at Gulfport.Pirates coach Will White decided to tinker with some defensive sets early that his team doesn't usually run and the rust showed with Boca Ciega leading only by five at halftime. That quickly changed.Boca Ciega used a stifling defense, forcing turnovers and converting those turnovers into baskets, holding East Lake to a mere four points in the third quarter to take a 45-27.Ballgame.The win puts the Pirates just one …
Over the years Boca Ciega High School has produced some very good girls basketball players. The next one very well may be Destiny Brown. A sophomore, Brown is already the Pirates second-leading three-point shooter despite learning a brand new position for the first time since she began playing organized basketball. Initially a forward, she was moved to guard and has done nothing but light up the scoreboard and frustrate opponets. "She will be special," Boca Ciega coach Will White said. "She can shoot, she can defend and she may be our best [man-to-man] defender." Part of the reason Brown is …
When the high school basketball season ends in March, it could be a memorable year for the Boca Ciega High School Pirates. That's saying quite a lot. The school has a rich basketball history, replete with state titles for both the boys and the girls. If the stars align properly, it could be the best year. Will White and his girls basketball squad are looking at a fourth consecutive trip to the state semifinals, which would be a record for a Pinellas County public school. Of course, a championship is the ultimate goal. Speaking with some local coaches, they point to the Pirates boys …
