PK Yonge Basketball

Feb 27, 2008

By JOHN PATTON
Sun high school sports editor

As an assistant under Mark Griseck for five seasons, P.K. Yonge coach Carlos Villalobos was used to playing "big brother" to the Blue Wave players.

If Griseck was a little hard on the guys and they needed to vent, Villalobos would listen and explain why their coach said the things he did. If the players just wanted to kick back and hang out, Villalobos was their guy, too.

But after Griseck left for Orlando Olympia last summer, Villalobos was promoted and his role changed, too.

"I have gone from big brother to dad," Villalobos said.

Along with being the final word on coaching decisions, Villalobos has had to take on added responsibilities like booking hotel rooms, taking calls from parents and getting information to the FHSAA when required.

Plus, he inherited a team that graduated all five starters from last season's Class 3A state runner-up.

No matter, as Villalobos has P.K. Yonge (24-6) back in Lakeland for the final four, starting with today's 4 p.m. semifinal against Fort Myers Dunbar (21-7). The game will air on AM-980 in Gainesville.

The team got a big boost within a month after the end of last season when Josh Snodgrass, a starting guard on The Rock's 2007 1A runner-up (since taken back by the FHSAA for violations), transferred back to the program where he played his middle school years.

The 6-foot-4 junior has been one of the area's best players this year, averaging 22.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Snodgrass already has a scholarship offer from Florida Atlantic, and other schools have expressed a lot of interest.

"He's been a big part of our success," said fellow junior guard Autis Gibson, third on the team with a 13.2 scoring average. "We know to go a long way, we need him to score, we need me to score and we need Walli (Wade, 15.5 ppg) to score."

Even with their own version of a "Big Three", the Blue Wave had their share of early-season offcourt difficulties.

"Stuff every team probably goes through," Snodgrass said.

However, Villalobos said the team really began to jell during the latter part of the Christmas holidays, and the Blue Wave is 14-2 since the beginning of January.

And now, they find themselves back in Lakeland.

"This is very exciting, but it is a business trip for us," Wade said. "It became business when we won (in the regional final) against Wildwood.

"We're taking this very seriously, and we're ready to go."