Brandon Tobias made his visit to the University of Alabama at Birmingham last week, and that was enough for him to commit to play basketball there.
Tobias led Dillard to three straight Class 6A state championships. This season he averaged 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots as Dillard compiled a 24-9 record.
UAB coach Mike Anderson, who had recruited Tobias to play at Arkansas while he was an assistant under Nolan Richardson, was pleased with the singing that completed his first recruiting class. Tobias originally signed with Arkansas last November but was granted his release from his national letter-of-intent.
“Brandon is a tremendous athlete and plays like a warrior. I am ecstatic to add Brandon to our recruiting class and to have him as a part of our program,” Anderson said. “He is an outstanding rebounder and I am delighted to get a player of his caliber. When we signed him at Arkansas last November, he was one of the first players in our recruiting class who had already qualified academically.”
Tobias is the fifth player in this year’s recruiting class.
Bucks name new AD
The revolving door of high school athletic directors saw a few more changes this week.
Al Southard has replaced Joe Redmond as the athletic director at Deerfield Beach High. Redmond had to step down as the school’s AD after becoming the Bucks’ football coach. He will serve as an assistant to Southard.
Southard, 51, has been a communications teacher at Deerfield for six years and has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Miami. He currently is in the master’s program at Florida Atlantic
“I’ve been around Broward sports since 1984,” Southard said. “I like high school sports better than any other sports and being an important part of high school education.” …
Tracie Latimer, who has been the Dillard athletic director for the past three years, will step down from her position at the end of the school year. She has accepted the assistant athletic director job at Cypress Bay, where she also will teach English. … Chris Hixon will leave as the Ely athletic director to replace Jeff Morford as the athletic director as South Broward. Ely hasn’t named a replacement for Hixon. Morford announced his resignation in early May.
FHSAA honors
The Florida High School Activities Association announced that Palm Beach Gardens High School and Gold Coast were among the 14 state schools to win an FHSAA Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Award. The honor recognizes 14 member schools that have displayed exemplary sportsmanship during the 2001-02 school year.
The winners
Class 6A Section 1, University High School (Orlando); Class 6A Section 2, Palm Beach Gardens High School; Class 5A Section 1, Mosley High School (Lynn Haven); Class 5A Section 3, South Fork High School (Stuart); Class 4A Section 2, North Marion High School (Citra); Class 3A Section 2, South Sumter High School (Bushnell); Class 2A Section 1, Freeport High School; Class 2A Section 3, Melbourne Central Catholic High School; Class 2A Section 4, Gold Coast High School (West Palm Beach); Class A Section 2, Bronson High School; Class A Section 3, Morningside Academy (Port St. Lucie); Class A Section 4, Westwood Christian School (Miami); Middle School Section 1, Callahan Middle School; and Middle School Section 2, Bayonet Point Middle School (New Port Richey).
Dave Brousseau can be reached at .
