OCP, Osceola show off new depth in Rotary Tip-Off basketball victories

A year after starting its 2024-25 boys basketball season with a 3-6 start and disheartening 9-16 finish, tradition-rich Orlando Christian Prep looks to be back on track.

That’s a big emotional lift for Warriors senior guard Josh Theus, a fourth-year varsity player who enjoyed state championship seasons as a freshman and sophomore.

“Last year, mentally, it felt like a step back,” Theus said Wednesday night after the 10-time state champ Warriors ran this season’s record to 3-0 with a 58-46 win over Boone. “We didn’t meet expectations. That’s what is motivating us this year. It’s a whole new team.”

Now the senior leader for OCP, Theus scored 18 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 assists as the Warriors dealt Boone (3-1) its first loss, 58-46, in a first-round game at the Rotary Tip-Off Classic at Winter Park High School.

OCP, No. 2 in SourceHoops Class 1A preseason rankings, advances to play a Friday night semifinal against another team with state tournament hopes, Kissimmee Osceola (4-1). The Kowboys, also with an influx of new players, won 70-53 against Sanford Seminole (1-2) in the tourney opener.

Thursday’s semifinals match host Winter Park (2-1) vs. Port Orange Atlantic (2-1) at 6:30, followed by Orlando University (2-1) vs. Central Florida Christian Academy (3-3).

Only five players from OCP’s 2024-25 team are back. And one of those, Zeke Gunn, will leave the team in January as an early-enrollee football player signed by Marshall University.

But with the addition of players like 6-foot-5 senior Mason Pandov and 6-7 sophomore Jayden Strader, the Warriors have the depth and versatility that was lacking last season when OCP’s streak of nine consecutive region titles and state tournament appearances ended.

“It’s a good group,” 10th-year OCP coach Treig Burke said after the win. “So far, so good. We have new guys and guys up from JV. It will take time to keep improving the chemistry.”

Pandov, the son of Orlando Magic strength and conditioning coach Todor Pandov, previously played on one of the secondary teams at Montverde Academy. He added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors and is a player with 3-point range and ballhandling skills.

Strader, a transfer from Deltona Trinity Christian, collected 10 rebounds in the victory.

Osceola’s two senior standout guards, Jordan Mason and Luke McCrimon led the Kowboys past Seminole, which cut a 16-point Osceola lead to 50-44 but couldn’t stop Mason down the stretch. The 6-2 son of Kowboys coach Steve Mason, scored 27 points. McCrimon added 16.

“We were pretty much five guys last year,” Jordan said of a season that ended with a 64-61 region final loss to Sarasota. “We have so many guys that do everything now. We still haven’t played our best basketball, which I think is a good thing.”

Saturday will have four games, culminating with the championship.

Two players who previously played for powerhouse Southeastern Prep Academy of Maitland, Ryan Kelly (6-3, Sr.) and Hazzan Efford (5-9, Sr.), have been added to the roster for Oak Ridge (3-1). Pioneers athletic director Sylvester Edwards said both were cleared to play as of Monday.

When asked, the Orange County Public Schools district informed the Sentinel that Kelly and Efford were approved by the FHSAA as Home Education students and added: “Both students have followed all required protocols, including the mandatory waiting period. They are now eligible to participate in team activities.”

Kelly signed with Sam Houston State in November.

The Pioneers’ only game this week is their Saturday 6:30 p.m. matchup with another state-ranked team, Edgewater. That’s the nightcap for the Breast six-game Cancer Awareness Classic at Oak Ridge.

Also Saturday, Windermere Prep, which rolled past Pine Ridge 95-68 on Wednesday to improve to 6-0, hosts the Orlando Health Hoopfest with seven games.

James Nowells scored 19 points and had the game-winning basket for Olympia (4-1) in a 58-57 win against Evans (4-2) on Wednesday. He was also the hero in a one-point win against Jacksonville Providence.

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at [email protected].