Young Sunshine State quartet still improving

Lake Howell High School head coach Reggie Kohn has good job security. He has four impressive class of 2007 prospects to work with over the next two years at the Sunshine State school.

After starting all four years at South Florida, Kohn took the head coaching reigns from his father Steve Kohn as the head coach at the Winter Park, Fla. high school and what a way to start.

In his first season as the head coach, Kohn and his talented young players - Nick Calathes, Joey Rodriguez, Chandler Parson and John Roberson - advanced to the state finals where they met up with a talented Dwyer team. Dwyer won.

A year later, the two teams met again. Now sophomores, the younger Lake Howell team ended their season once again to Dwyer 71-61. Dwyer is lead by Alabama-bound Alonzo Gee and Nebraska recruit Kyle Marks.

Despite the loss, the future is bright for Lake Howell. Calathes was all the buzz at the Lakeland Center, home of the state Final Four. The 6-foot-5, 170-pound combo guard put in a game high 36 points. Rodriguez, a 5-foot-11 point guard, added 18 points.

Kohn knows his young team will grow from the loss. They did last year.

"The biggest thing with them is that they are just getting older," Kohn said. "They'll get better as they grow up. They've had the experience and that was real big for all of them, this year. They've all matured and that just comes with getting older and playing more. It's a matter of being 16 instead of a 14 and 15-year-old. They are getting bigger and stronger."

Calathes, the younger brother of St. Joseph's freshman Pat Calathes, has already caught the eye of several high-major programs. With room to grow just like his brother (Pat went from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-10 in high school), there is plenty to like about the younger Calathes.

"Plain and simple, Nick is a scorer. I don't see him as a shooter but more of a scorer," Kohn said. "You'll finish the game thinking he had 12 points but then you look at the stats and he's got 24. A lot of times, I'm thinking to myself, 'How did he get that many like that?' He just has that knack for scoring. Now, he can shoot it, too. A lot of people just call him a shooter but he's not. There is a lot of different ways he can put it in the basket."

Rodriguez, a heady point guard, is equally as effective.

"Joey will bring a lot to a college," Kohn said. "He's so tough, just tough as nails. That includes being a leader. He has to be the leader. He has the team looking at him all the time. He's right there with the guys with his poker face, nothing shakes him."

At 6-foot-6, it could be easy to assume Chandler Parsons plays inside for Lake Howell. That's not the case says Kohn.

"He's a pure shooter," Kohn said. "I mean a real pure shooter."

Kohn says high-major schools are starting to send mail to Parsons, too.

The Florida schools - Florida, FSU and South Florida - have all shown interest in Calathes and Rodriguez. Wake Forest is in the mix. Virginia Tech is also very much in the picture. The list will certainly expand from coast to coast.