Gateway Charter boys basketball is the best team in Southwest Florida. The Griffins are 16-6 and ranked first in the area and 39 in the entire state. They haven't lost to a Southwest Florida opponent all year and have some impressive wins on their resume like Lehigh, Port Charlotte and Bishop Verot.
“I feel like we’re getting really close to peaking at the right time," head coach RJ Jones said.
“We blend in well together and connect as a team," senior guard Trey Fogle added. "That helps us in the long run.”
Gateway Charter's success is in large part thanks to its four-headed monster comprised of Pat Johnson, Myles Jones, Gio Easley and Trey Fogle.
“They’re high-level athletes," Jones said. "They’re some of the best players, if not the best four players in the area, I think.”
That praise is being backed up by an accomplishment they've all reached this year — eclipsing the 1,000 career points mark. Hitting 1k in a high school career is super rare. In fact, no player in Gateway Charter boys basketball history had ever reached that plateau before. So, having multiple players do it in a single season is unheard of.
“It’s a great feeling," Easley said. "We’re all accomplishing our dreams.”
“It’s just crazy because who would think four players on the same team could hit 1,000 in one year,” Johnson added.
Easley, Johnson and Jones have all already passed 1,000 career points. Now, it is Fogle's turn. The senior guard is currently at 981 career points. However, the 1k celebration will have to be put on hold for a couple of games since Trey just injured his ankle. Despite the injury, Fogle and his coach are confident he'll get the necessary 19 points in the playoffs.
“I’d be grateful to hit it," Fogle said. "It’s a cool accomplishment that you can tell everyone when you grow up.”
The quartet's scoring prowess makes it so difficult for other teams to guard the Griffins.
“It’s definitely a big advantage because if one person is not having a good game, you have three other, four other, five other people that could go," Jones said.
While the guys are proud of their individual accomplishments, right now they are focused on the team. The Griffins are determined to make a deep playoff run.
“Win districts again, go farther than we did in regionals, and make it to Lakeland," Jones explained as the team's goals.
The high school basketball district tournaments begin next week.