2022 All-Big Bend Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Tonie Morgan, Florida High
Most high school athletes will spend two to three years on their varsity squad. The top players sometimes spend four years playing varsity. It’s rare that any basketball player is spending more than four years on one team, let alone it be the varsity team.
Florida High senior guard Tonie Morgan just finished up her fifth varsity season with the Seminoles, however, she is a rarity on the court and has been described as a “once and a lifetime player”.
Morgan has had a target on her back in nearly every game she has played this season, but that has not stopped her from taking control of every matchup. She was the core piece into Florida High’s state semifinal run and elevated her squad to elite status, naming Morgan the 2022 All-Big Bend Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
“It feels good for it to be mine this year and not share it. It was nice to share it last year, but it feels even better now,” Morgan said.
The senior has worked throughout her career to establish trust with her teammates that she is the one to score and lead the charge. This is the second straight season that Morgan has averaged 20 points a game and around six rebounds. Even in her sophomore year, she was averaging 17.5 points per game.
As a Seminole, Morgan has been seen as a scoring threat and her teammates have rallied around that.
“Playing with my teammates all these years they know what I can do and they trust me,” Morgan said. “Them giving me the ball and letting me show them what I can do really helps. Me giving them the ball and getting assists helps us look good. It’s just the team and working on my game outside of practice.”
Morgan this season was able to get the ball moving a little more, seeing her assists per game total jump from one last season to four this season. The depth aspect of having senior guard Audia Young and junior guard Laniyah Gennie see a jump in their scoring played a role in the Seminoles success, adding an arsenal to Morgan’s scoring.
Florida High tapped into its depth at the midway point of the season, sparking an 11-game win streak, a district title, a regional title, and a trip to state semifinals. The last time Florida High went down to Lakeland was when Morgan was in eighth grade.
“It was really big that everyone played a part,” Morgan said. “We didn’t make it as far as we wanted to, but we got back there. I think the team really wanted it this year.”
It’s been a long journey for Morgan, even if she was playing for the same team the entire time. Faces came and went, but she learned so much from playing alongside so many different players. Names range from Jordan Rosier, who is currently playing at South Alabama, to teammate Young, who will be playing at Auburn in the fall.
Morgan described the journey as different, playing with so many different people.
“It’s been the same Florida High team, but it’s been a different team every year,” Morgan said. “Each team brought something different, but it’s been great. Coach Marshall has held it down and had a big picture in mind. Every year we had a common goal, so it wasn’t hard to play for the same team for five years.”
Morgan is not done balling just yet. She heads off to Georgia Tech in the fall to play with the Yellow Jackets, a program that has been on the upswing as of late and is playing in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s the first team time in a long time Morgan won’t be wearing the Garnet and Gold, in fact, she’ll be competing against them but is looking forward to facing a high level of competition.
“I’m ready for the new competition and to meet new people,” Morgan said. “I’m just excited for this new chapter. I’ve been in high school for too long. I’m ready for something new.”
As Morgan prepares to head north to Atlanta and wraps up a lengthy, but decorated career at Florida High, she thinks fondly of how her high school career started and ended in a similar way in getting to state. One thing she’ll always remember is the joy of her teammates and the feeling of getting to Lakeland in 2017 and 2022.
“I think I’ll remember that most,” Morgan said. “The faces on all my teammates. They were nervous, but they were excited, and I was like that my first year. Seeing that was a different feeling. The whole journey to me was important and made me who I am.”
2022 All-Big Bend Girls Basketball Co-Coaches of the Year: Darryl Marshall, Florida High; Chris Neal, Madison County
The Big Bend has a vast basketball scene that ranges from 1A all the way to 6A. The girl’s basketball competition was fierce, but it was two of the smaller schools in the area that came out as the best this season.
In 1A, Madison County was an aggressive squad, led off by the offensive strengths of senior Dakayla Hopkins and sophomore Janiyah McKnight, which led the Cowgirls all the way to state semifinals. Two postseason wins over Lafayette gave Madison County a district title and a regional title to hold high.
In Southwood, Florida High dominated the second half of its season, to also make a trip down to Lakeland for state semifinals. Power 5 commits Morgan and Young led the way, but a collective team effort allowed the Seminoles to excel to the top of the Big Bend rankings. Even in its district and regional title games, Florida High was unmatched.
The successful runs by the Cowgirls and Seminoles have named their head coaches, Chris Neal (Madison County) and Darryl Marshall (Florida High), 2022 All-Big Bend Girls Basketball Co-Coaches of the Year.
“It’s just about trusting the process,” Neal said. “A lot of girls felt some type of way, so I built up the schedule for that purpose and prepared them for the challenge. It’s a roller coaster at times, but it’s about trust and just understanding that it’s a sport that requires you’re full attention.”
“It was just special in the team coming together,” Marshall said. “It was just a great year with team chemistry. When you have that team chemistry, it makes you want to come to work happy. That’s what I really enjoyed about these young ladies this year.”
The emergence of McKnight for the Cowgirls played a huge role in the team’s offensive process. She averaged 15.3 points per game and broke into double scoring figures in all, but six games. In the regional title game against Lafayette, down by double digits, McKnight took over in the second half, leading Madison County to come back and win the title off of 22 points.
Right behind her was Hopkins in the paint, who has been a lethal force for the Cowgirls all four years. She nearly averaged a double-double with 9.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Hopkins had an impressive eight double-doubles on the season. Her efforts in the paint facilitated the offense around her and made Madison County a threat under the net. Neal said she also stepped into a more vocal role this year, which came by surprise in a way.
The Cowgirls season ended with a sour taste in their mouths, but Neal said that the team is already working towards next season.
“I think the way we lost we know a become gave some of them a reality check,” Neal said. “It happened with us before in 2019 when we lost to Hawthorne by one at the buzzer. I always ask them if they don’t like the feeling they’re experiencing right now, you change the narrative. I think the mental aspect will be a little bit more disciplined to understand hey, we can’t just get there, but we’ve got to show up.”
Florida High had a historic run, led off by Morgan and Young. However, the biggest thing that made this run special for the Seminoles was the team’s ability to come together and execute. After a large loss to Miami over Winter Break, Florida High recollected and blew out nearly all of its opponents leading up to state semifinals.
Wins over Wekiva, Pine Forest, Rickards, and Providence proved that the Seminoles were more than just their two big-time college comitts. Florida High will be without Morgan and Young next winter, but the Seminoles are driven to prove that those losses won’t change anything.
“We won’t have Tonie and Audia obviously but we’ll still have a competitive group that’s ready to get back out there and show the city,” Marshall said. “We haven’t lost to a city team since the [Turral] twins were at Lincoln, and everyone knows that. With Tonie and Audia gone, everyone thinks that it’s their time to get us, but that’s not the case.”
“These young ladies are hungry to prove to everyone that Florida High has not fallen off.”
Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com, on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
