Trio of former local coaches entering 'Court of Legends'

Three highly successful former local basketball coaches -- Jan Bennett, Gordon Gibbons and Tom Mosca -- are among 10 individuals set to be inducted later this month into the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches' "Court of Legends."

The FABC announced its 2012 class late Monday afternoon. The newest inductees will be formally honored at a banquet at The Lakeland Center on Sept. 23.

The inaugural class was enshrined in 2009.

Gibbons, currently coach at Clayton State University outside Atlanta, spent 13 years at the local prep level at Jesuit (1970-78) and Tampa Catholic (1982-87), with four of his teams reaching the state tournament. He later spent 10 seasons as coach at Division II Florida Southern, earning nine 20-win seasons and a final four berth.

Mosca, former women's coach at Robinson, Jefferson and the University of Tampa, has won more than 600 career games. He earned five state playoff berths at the prep level, leading the 2010 Dragons team to the state tournament.

Bennett, who had a litany of local coaching stops, won 574 games in a 33-year career. He emerged from a brief retirement in the late 1990s and led Seminole Presbyterian (now Cambridge Christian) to the Class 1A final four in 2000.