Midday sports report

Times staff writer Tom Jones discusses the news of the day and tells you what stories we're working on this afternoon at tampabay.com in our latest "Midday sports report.''

All-state boys basketball teams

Here are the all-state boys basketball teams for the 2008-09 season, as selected by Florida sportswriters and members of the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches. Bay area players in bold.

CLASS 6A
First team
Charles Hankerson, Coral Reef (Miami), 6-5, Jr.
John Henson, Sickles (Tampa), 6-10, Sr.
Martavious Irving, Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes), 6-2, Sr.
Khyle Marshall, Flanagan (Pembroke Pines), 6-6, Jr.
Austin Rivers, Winter Park, 6-3, So.

Second team
Martell Buie, Olympia (Orlando), 5-11, Sr.
Andy Diaz, Hialeah Miami Lakes, 6-8, Sr.
Dexter Fields, Olympia (Orlando), 6-2, Sr.
Jerron Granberry, Coral Reef (Miami), 6-5, Sr.
Tim Hardaway Jr., Palmetto (Miami), 6-5, Jr.

Third team
Bryce Clark, Ely (Pompano Beach), 6-5, Sr.
Richie Edwards, Lakeland, 6-7, Sr.
Antonio Johnson, Melbourne, 5-11, Sr.
Angel Rodriguez, Dr. Krop (Miami), 5-10, So.
Tony Watson II, Palm Beach Gardens, 6-2, Sr.

Fourth team
Julian Vasquez, Miami Senior, 6-1, Sr.
Bryan Bynes, Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes), 6-3, Sr.
Jayson Guerrier, Oviedo, 6-4, Sr.
Kevin Paxson, Jupiter, 5-11, Jr.
Shemiye McLendon, Vero Beach, 6-3, Sr.

Recruiting: Flavarsity.com releases its full preseason top 100

Flavarsity.com has released its top 100 list of statewide football recruits list. It had released 26-100 earlier this week.

Tampa Catholic senior Christian Green, right, was ranked No. 3, tops among bay area players. The 6-foot-2, 200 pound quarterback/receiver has garnered tons of interest from some of the country's top universities. This ranking will help solidify his place a blue chip prospect. Some of his offers include Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee and Southern California.

Hillsborough defensive back Terrance Mitchell is ranked No. 12, and Tampa Catholic lineman Chaz Green is ranked No. 18. 

Other locals selected include Blake quarterback Michael McFarland (No. 40), Leto running back Jeremy Deering (No. 44), Gulf lineman Leon Orr (No. 55), Nature Coast running back Tevin Drake (No. 67), former Armwood lineman Alton Bailey (No. 70), Tampa Bay Tech fullback Maurice Hagens (No. 73) and Hillsborough quarterback Tarean Austin (No. 74).

No Pinellas County athletes were listed.

-- IZZY GOULD
izzygould@gmail.com

Ex-Pasco star Robbie Shields to sign with Mets

Former Pasco High power-hitting shortstop Robbie Shields, the New York Mets' third-round pick in the recent big-league draft, is expected to sign with the club this evening, his mother announced.

Shields, the draft's 103rd overall pick, will begin play in the Mets' single-A affiliate in Brooklyn, Pam Shields said. Terms weren't disclosed, but the signing bonus could reach six figures. The 103rd pick in the 2008 draft received a $350,000 bonus according to Baseball America.

Shields, who played three seasons at Division II Florida Southern College, hit .329 with 22 home runs and 122 RBIs as a collegian. As a Pasco senior in 2006, he hit .553 with a Pasco County record-tying 18 homers.

Among Shields' teammates will be former Ridgewood standout John Servidio, an outfielder in his second season of pro ball.

JOEY KNIGHT

Spoto baseball coach Larry Benton arrested on prostitution charge

Spoto baseball coach Larry Benton was arrested early Saturday morning on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting another to commit prostitution.

Benton, 50, was arrested by Tampa police at 6500 N. Nebraska Ave. in Tampa and booked Saturday at 2:39 a.m. He was released at 11:09 that morning on a $250 bond. His occupation, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrest report, was listed as a TV technician.

According to Spoto's Web site, he's a member of the school's faculty.

Benton couldn't be reached this afternoon; the answering machine on his home phone indicated his voice mailbox was full. Spoto principal Clyde Trathowen didn't immediately respond to a phone message.

Hillsborough County school district spokesman Stephen Hegarty said Benton will not be permitted to report to the school -- which has adjourned for the summer anyway -- until district officials interview him and gather all the facts on the incident. A determination on discipline, if any, will follow.

A 1977 King High graduate, Benton transformed Tampa Bay Tech's once-moribund program in the 1990s, leading it to a pair of 20-win campaigns and a Western Conference title during his seven seasons. After a hiatus of several years, he was hired at Leto in 2003 before eventually moving on to Spoto.

His 2009 Spartans team finished 13-11.  

JOEY KNIGHT

 

Football: Gaither's Jamal Allen gets two offers

Gaither defensive back Jamal Allen has picked up scholarship offers from the University of Massachusetts and James Madison.

The 6-foot cornerback had 26 tackles and five pass deflections for the Cowboys last season. Arguably his best effort was a seven-tackle game in a 17-14 win against Freedom.

-- IZZY GOULD
izzygould@gmail.com

Wesley Chapel's Joyer gets release from USF after academic issues

Wesley Chapel center Kamran Joyer, who signed with USF in February, has asked for and been granted a release from his scholarship with the Bulls after uncertainty as to whether he'd be accepted academically, his father Jack said Monday afternoon.

Joyer, who has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, had agreed to take two courses at Hillsborough Community College this summer, then go before the academic committee that reviews incoming athletes at USF in August.

But Jack Joyer said Monday he received an e-mail from Jason Linders, USF's academic advisor for football, warning him that even if Joyer completed the two HCC classes with high grades, he wasn't guaranteed to be accepted into USF.

The issue, his father said, relates to the practice of "grade forgiveness," as Joyer re-took four classes online to improve the grades he earned in the classroom. Doing so allowed him to meet the NCAA minimum requirements -- his father said he has a 2.59 grade-point average and an 870 on the SAT -- but Joyer was told that USF would weigh the original grades when considering whether to admit him for fall classes.

Rather than face that uncertainty, Joyer asked for and was given his release by USF coach Jim Leavitt, freeing him up to sign with another program where he can be assured of getting into school. Jack Joyer did not name any specific schools Monday, but said last week he was aware that Michigan and Tennessee had scholarships available.

USF's coaches had anticipated some attrition from signing day, when 29 players signed with the Bulls, four over the NCAA limit for one class. Joyer is the sixth signee not expected to be in school this fall -- defensive tackle Khyri Thornton was not admitted and has signed with Southern Miss, safety Kevin Williams did not pass enough junior-college classes to be admitted, running back Adaris Bellamy is headed to prep school in Virginia, and tight end Gerard Atkins and safety Ivan Nicholas have not been cleared and are expected to grayshirt or defer enrollment until January.

Even without those six signees, USF is believed to be at the NCAA's overall limit of 85 scholarships, unless other returning players do not stay with the program as expected.

-- Greg Auman, Times staff writer

Baseball: Three University of Tampa baseball players sign with MLB teams

Three University of Tampa players have signed with Major League Baseball teams, the school announced Monday.

Spartans pitcher Alex Koronis, who was selected in the 11th round of the MLB draft, has signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. Spartans pitcher Danny Keefe, who has appeared in two games with the Class A affiliate Boise Hawks, was a 14th round pick signing with the Chicago Cubs.

Spartans catcher Jose Jimenez was picked up in the 49th round and selected for the second consecutive year by the Los Angeles Angels.

-- IZZY GOULD
izzygould@gmail.com

Recruiting: Flavarsity.com ranks state's top 100

Flavarsity.com has started to release its annual list of the top 100 statewide college football prospects. The first portion includes prospects 26-100 according to the Web site's projections.

"We spent countless hours evaluating prospects from Pensacola all the way down to Miami," flavarsity publisher Michael Langston wrote. "Plenty of names will rise and others fall throughout the year."

Among the locals selected are were Blake quarterback Michael McFarland (No. 40), Leto running back Jeremy Deering (No. 44), Gulf lineman Leon Orr (No. 55), Nature Coast running back Tevin Drake (No. 67), former Armwood lineman Alton Bailey (No. 70), Tampa Bay Tech fullback Maurice Hagens (No. 73) and Hillsborough quarterback Tarean Austin (No. 74).

No Pinellas County athletes were listed.

-- IZZY GOULD
izzygould@gmail.com

Harvard showing strong interest in Cobras QB Zack Wynn

Hudson rising senior quarterback Zack Wynn, who has proven as prolific in the classroom as he is in the pocket, has generated considerable interest from two-time defending Ivy League champion Harvard.

Wynn, attending a camp this week at the school's Cambridge, Mass., campus, owns a grade-point average above 4.0 and scored an 1150 on his first crack at the SAT, Cobras coach Mark Nash said. He has thrown for more than 4,500 yards in three seasons as a starter.

"The (Harvard) recruiter watched his highlight film in my office and said, 'He is just what we're looking for in a quarterback,'" Nash said.

Ivy League programs don't offer athletic scholarships, but Nash said it's his understanding Wynn could be eligible for a financial-aid package that covers all his college costs. At least two former Harvard quarterbacks -- Buffalo's Ryan Fitzpatrick and the New York Jets' Chris Pizzotti -- are on NFL rosters.

JOEY KNIGHT