January 15, 2025
Cornelius Hines’ Strong Senior Season Fuels Eustis High Basketball Success
By Kyle Coppola
Cornelius Hines’ Strong Senior Season Fuels Eustis High Basketball Success
EUSTIS, Fla. — At 6-foot-7, Eustis High School senior Cornelius Hines is a towering presence on the basketball court, and he’s making his final high school season one to remember. Hines has been a force for the Panthers, averaging a double-double with 11.1 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds per game through 18 games.
Hines, who leads the team in field goal percentage at an efficient 55%, has scored 199 points this season, recently surpassing the 600-point mark for his career. He’s on track to break 700 points by the season’s end.
(Hines lines up for a free-throw attempt. He is shooting at team high 55% from the field this season.)
On the defensive end, Hines has been equally dominant, recording a team-high 43 blocks this season. Combined with his 96 blocks as a junior, he has amassed an impressive career total of 132 blocks and counting.
“He’s the anchor of our team on both ends of the floor,” said Eustis head coach Wesley ‘Nino’ Green in a recent interview. “Cornelius doesn’t just contribute with his scoring and defense; he inspires the rest of the team to elevate their game.”
While Hines has been a standout, he shares the spotlight with fellow senior Timothy Key, who leads the team in scoring. Together, they form a dynamic duo that has powered Eustis through a competitive season. But it has been a total team effort with players like Lomar Sparrow, John Miller and Andrew Riley also having a big impact. They are a huge reason Eustis High School is currently 13-5 and ranekd as the #7 team in FHSAA Class 4A.
(Coach Wesley Green has built a strong team which is ranked inside the top ten in class 4A this season. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)
As a junior, Hines showcased similar production, averaging 11.2 points per game and cementing his role as a rim protector with nearly 100 blocks. His ability to maintain this level of play has been crucial to the Panthers’ success.
“When we looked at where we would be about four years ago I built this team around the seniors we have on the floor this season. I am proud of the young men they have become and we are taking it one game at a time.” says coach Green. Eustis hopes to contend for a district championship and much more this season.
With postseason play looming on the horizon, Hines looks to cap off his high school career with a strong finish. Look for Eustis to continue their momentum. They are riding a four game win streak and play at Evans High School tonight as they look for win number 5 in a row.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
