Sports: Spartan hit the big shots

Spartan hit the big shots

By JOHN C. COTEY, Times Staff Writer

Leesburg took a chunk out of a Lakewood lead when it happened. Belle Glade Glades Central was close to overtaking the Spartans when it happened.

Kevin Dorsey ... swish.

Largo knows the feeling. So does Boca Ciega. Eustis. Plant.

Kevin Dorsey ... swish.

There were a lot of things that Dorsey did well this season, but stopping a team in its tracks was probably what he did best. Whether with a steal, a 3-pointer or a stop-and-go-and-stop-again drive to the hoop, Dorsey had a knack for the big basket.

With the 5-foot-11 senior guard, the Spartans lost just once and would go on to win their first state title.

Naturally, Dorsey led the Spartans with 23 points in the final.

"I feel like when we need a shot that I can hit it," Dorsey said. "I don't look to be the man or to save the game. But I do feel if my team needs it, no one can stop me."

With teams focusing on 6-6 Marcus Morrison and 6-8 Brian Ligon, Dorsey navigated the 3-point arc like a shark. Leave him alone and he'd kill you with his jumper, making 46 percent of his treys. Cover him, and he was silk, slipping through the defense.

"That's why he was so tough," said his coach, Dan Wright. "He'd make a couple of those, and when you come out to guard him, he goes around you."

Usually at just the right time, too. In the regional final against Lakeland Kathleen, he wasted little time sinking his first 3 and combined with Morrison to bury the Red Devils early. When they rallied, Dorsey stuck a few more 3-point daggers in their back.

In the state final, Glades Central pulled within 1 with four minutes left before Dorsey dropped in a 3-pointer and then found Ligon under the basket for a layup.

Dorsey, who averaged 15.5 points and shot a team-best 61 percent, wasn't named Class 4A tournament MVP, but he should have been.

"He made all the big shots," Wright said after the game.

He has yet to get a qualifying score on either his ACT or SAT. But if he does, a number of Division I schools are expected to renew interest they showed after his performances in the playoffs.