Teams that fall four wins short of a state championship are rarely classified as “special.”
Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.) should be highlighted as an exception.
Heading into Tuesday night’s regional semifinal matchup with Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), the Tigers owned a perfect record (26-0), national ranking (No. 22 in this week’s Xcellent 25) and dreams of a Class 5A state title.
But 6-foot-5, 225-pound Dwyer junior Jacoby Brissett, who led the Panthers to a football championship in December, scored 27 points to help bounce Blanche Ely from the playoffs, providing a cruel end to a magical season.
Brissett, a major conference Division I recruit in both basketball and football, is averaging 15.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while playing all five positions for the Panthers. He has taken his game to another level in the postseason, tallying 27 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in Dwyer’s first-round victory over Oakland Park Northeast.
“Jacoby is the quarterback on the court, the extra coach,” Dwyer assistant coach Nat McNeal said. “He has really put the team on his shoulders in the last two games.
“Now that he is in basketball shape, he is hands down one of the best players in the state.”
The Tigers at the Arby's/KFC Holiday Classic in Kentucky. Blanche Ely beat four teams in four nights - each by 14 points or more - to win the event.
<center>Photo courtesy of Reginald McNair</center>
Brissett has another year to soak in high school accolades. An undersized, overachieving group at Blanche Ely isn't as lucky.
Despite a state title in 2007 while current University of Florida freshman Kenny Boynton was on the roster and a 24-6 record in 2008-09, the Tigers were an afterthought headed into this season. Picked to finish third in District 16-5A, they beat their first 13 opponents by 10 points or more and won a pair of tournament titles.
An undefeated run through District 16-5A followed.
“This is my 17th season (as a head coach) and I would have to say it is definitely going to be one of the most memorable,” Blanche Ely head coach Melvin Randall said. “It easily ranks in the top three.”
The cumulative effort and success magnified the emotions in the locker room following Tuesday’s loss.
“It was tough. Very emotional,” Randall said. “I don’t think there was a dry eye among them.”
Holding it together for Randall was made even tougher by the thought of senior guard Fredrick Conner, his first four-year varsity player. Conner led the team in scoring this season (18.3 points per game) and went out firing with 37 points and three steals against Dwyer.
“Fredrick is the first player in my 17 years that has started out with me as a freshman and finished as a senior,” Randall said “We have a bond that no one can take away. To see him end without a state title was painful.”
Fellow seniors Jonathan Randolph (14.7 points per game) and Jalen Williams (10.7) were the team’s next two scorers, while Terrell Fuller and Wilfredo Quintana were valuable reserves. Their high school careers are over, but not without a run to remember.
“From the beginning, we were stereotyped as an average team,” Randall said. “But we knew we were much better. I was very pleased with the way they played and stepped to the challenges. It would be very selfish of me to be disappointed … I still say the kids made history.”
