No doubting Telfair's value

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published March 13, 2005

LAKELAND - Sean Morrison's high school career almost ended Thursday night in a rather unfitting way - on the bench during a state semifinal.

He was there after picking up five fouls. He sat there, his bushy goatee cupped by his right hands, yelling encouragement to a team without its leader. He wondered who might save him, give him another chance, let him try to go out a champion.

In the end, it was who he expected.

Super Mario Telfair.

The other Spartans star.

This season, there was no Brian Ligon or Coryon Ross to team with Morrison. Telfair graduated this season to co-star.

He and Morrison scored about the same. Rebounded about the same. Carried the load about the same. But it always was Morrison who was the face of this team. For three seasons, it had been his team.

But at the state tournament, Telfair borrowed it.

Telfair directed the semifinal win, tenderly playing the last 15 minutes with four fouls, but doing remarkable damage. It was Telfair who orchestrated the state championship win Saturday, as Morrison struggled again. It was Telfair's name his teammates chanted, even before the public address announcer could announce what everyone knew.

Telfair may not have been the best player at the Class 4A tournament, but he was the most valuable.

There were bigger performances. Tallahassee Rickards' Jermonte Bush torched Lakewood for 42 points and was unstoppable in one semifinal. In the other, Lake Wales' Marvin Williams scored 36, but was outdone by Orlando Jones stars Calvin Liptrot and Jarvis Williams, who scored 25.

Even Saturday, Williams scored one more than Telfair. But there was no doubt. It wasn't how much you scored at the 4A tournament, but when you scored.

Bush had 42 points; Telfair had the first five of overtime. Williams had 19, but his last two baskets were answered on the other end by Telfair. The first gave Lakewood the lead for good. The second, with 1:53 left, put Jones away.

All week, he made big free throws, twice converted crucial 3-point plays, and grabbed win-or-lose rebounds. He did it under the basket, in a crowd, where the spotlight never seems to find him.

"I would have believed we could win state at the beginning of the year, but the MVP part ... not until my teammates started telling me I was going to win it," Telfair said.

No one was more thankful for his MVP performance than the guy who was most likely to give an MVP performance. But it wasn't Morrison's weekend. The games, he can forget those.

The moment? Never.

"I kind of felt like I helped out a lot, helped carry the team this year," Morrison said. "And (Saturday) they carried me, especially Mario."

It is a gift that will keep on giving, and one as much for Morrison as for Dan Wright, the 28-year veteran who at various times over the past decade has been coach, counselor and father to current players. When Telfair was 10, he said he would run around the courts at Lake Vista, shooting baskets and pretending he was a Lakewood Spartan. It wasn't because of who was on the team at the time, but who coached them.

"I always dreamed of playing for Coach Wright," Telfair said.

And he always dreamed of being a state champion. Telfair always thought he would play a role when that day came, something important but not flashy, something vital but understated. Heck, he didn't even have to be the best player of the court.

Just the most valuable.

[Last modified March 13, 2005, 00:23:15]