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Sickles' Renaldo Garcia takes over Berkeley Prep basketball program

 
Renaldo Garcia led Sickles to the 8A title this past season, the first boys basketball state title for a Hillsborough County public school since 1982.
Renaldo Garcia led Sickles to the 8A title this past season, the first boys basketball state title for a Hillsborough County public school since 1982.
Published April 28, 2017

Renaldo Garcia, who helped Sickles High become the first Hillsborough County public school to win a boys basketball state title since 1982, is leaving the program he coached for the past 17 seasons to take over Berkeley Prep.

Garcia, 47, replaces Bobby Reinhart, who stepped down after 17 seasons to concentrate solely on being Berkeley Prep's athletic director.

Reinhart, 51, was in charge of finding his replacement and knew who he wanted.

"I asked a mutual friend whether Renaldo would be interested in the job," Reinhart said. "Once I got an affirmative on that, I started pursuing it. We had more than 80 who applied. It's a great situation here. And Renaldo is one of the best."

Garcia already is adept at helping basketball programs at the high school and college levels achieve significant milestones.

He was a starter for Tampa Catholic in 1985 when the program went to the state semifinals for the first time. Four years later, Garcia was starting for Florida when it beat LSU on the road to clinch a share of the school's first SEC title.

As a coach, Garcia led Sickles to its first state semifinal appearance in 2010 and the school's first state title this past season. The Gryphons made 12 playoff appearances and won eight district titles during his tenure. Garcia leaves with a 332-104 record.

Now, there is a new challenge, albeit without much rebuilding.

Reinhart turned the Buccaneers into a contender. He was 335-160 at Berkeley Prep and led the program to playoff appearances in 13 of 14 seasons, including state semifinals appearances in 2012 and '14. Reinhart also is the only Hillsborough County coach to win the prestigious Kingdom of the Sun tournament.

Garcia inherits a team that returns its leading scorers, rising senior Zach Mathis (14.8 points per game) and rising sophomore Kegan Karnes (11.3 points).