By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

All you need to know about Michael Sanchez’s basketball career at Osceola High is that he is the first Kowboy since FSU signee J.D. Bracy 13 years ago to start four varsity seasons.

“It’s crazy. He’s been starting almost longer than I’ve been a coach here,” OHS Coach Nathan Alexander said.

Sanchez, the Osceola News-Gazette Player of the Year in 2011, will continue his basketball career at Warner College after signing a letter of intent to the Lake Wales school.

“I like the coach, and I’ve scrimmaged a little with the players, so I have an idea of what it’ll be like there,” he said.

The Royals, coached by Sean Hanrahan, play in the NAIA D-II Sun Conference.

Sanchez, a point guard who averaged 18.8 points, four assists and three steals last season, led the Kowboys almost like another coach.

“It’s not easy to replace a Michael Sanchez. He compiled 79 wins in four years, a winner in every aspect of a student athlete. He’s graduating with a 3.5 GPA and over 1,000 career points,” Alexander said.

Sanchez two seasons ago was the Great Florida Shootout MVP, when the Kowboys won the consolation championship. During his career, the Kowboys reached the regional playoffs three times. They won the district championship in 2010.

One of his most impressive games came in the 2011 regional playoffs at Lakeland Kathleen, when the Red Devils blanketed Sanchez.

“They had two guys on the ball most of the game, but Michael was still able to beat that pressure. We had no chance in that game without him,” former Kowboys Coach Steve Mason said after the game. “Michael is a pure point guard; he makes the other guys around him better.”

OHS, after losing talented forwards Brenton Williams (now at South Carolina) and J.J. Jackson, didn’t have the firepower to handle Lake Wales the past two seasons. The Highlanders were state runners-up in 2011. OHS wasn’t in Lake Wales’ district last season, but it was beaten by the Highlanders at last year’s Great Florida Shootout.

“They have a great team. That was probably the best team I’ve played against,” Sanchez said.

Ironically, Sanchez will play college basketball just a few miles from the Lake Wales High campus.

Playing against top-level competition will help him in the future, he said.

“Definitely. I know what it’s like to go against great players,” he said.

Sanchez also knows how to win with them. He teams with Poinciana High guard Stefan Moody, a Parade All-American who will play at Florida Atlantic University, on the U-19 AAU Heart and Soul squad, which captured a tournament championship recently.

“We actually work pretty well together,” he said. “I’ve known Stefan since the eighth grade.”

Sanchez, who began playing basketball in Puerto Rico, is ready to continue his career.

“It’s a great opportunity for me, and it’s not too far away, so my family can see me play,” he said.