Eagles that met in the nest are now flying high
Blake Allen and Evan Ravenel are poised to help their basketball team dominate.
By BRANDON WRIGHT, Times Correspondent
Published December 14, 2007
BRANDON
The first time Blake Allen and Evan Ravenel got together, it didn't involve a pick and roll on the basketball court.
They weren't hooking up on an alley oop, driving the lane or even dribbling for that matter.
Well, there may have been some dribbling.
"We were in kindergarten," Allen said. "That's how long we've know each other."
Ravenel, the other half of a talented Brandon High basketball duo, puts it this way: "We've got a loooooong story together."
As kids, the duo concentrated more on finger painting than racking up points in the paint. After seeing Ravenel - who was much bigger than the average child even back then - Allen's father suggested his son should make fast friends.
"Even back then he was big," Allen said of the 6-foot-8, 260-pound Ravenel. "My dad said I should be real nice to him."
Allen and Ravenel's personalities meshed, forging a friendship that endures to this day.
"We've always been pretty tight," Allen said. "We didn't go to the same middle school, but now it's like we started together and we're going to finish together."
No finish would be more fitting than walking off the floor of the Lakeland Civic Center holding a state championship trophy. They thought they had a pretty good shot at that last season but the Eagles were unceremoniously bounced from the tournament semifinals by Bloomingdale, a team the Eagles handily beat in the previous regular-season meeting.
"It didn't hit me until I was watching Wharton play in one of the regional games," Allen said. "I was like, 'Wow, our season is really over.'"
It turned out to be quite a blow for a proud program.
"When you wear that "B" on your chest, it means something," Eagles' coach Mark Hermann said. "People know who we are and they play each game against us like it's a state championship. They know if they beat us, they've done something."
That comes from a long tradition of excellence. They may be overshadowed by the Eagles' mind-boggling 32-year dual match winning streak in wrestling, but the basketball program has racked up its fair share of accolades.
Brandon, the 5A state runnerup in 1999-2000, compiled a 62-game winning streak against Hillsborough County public school teams that spanned three seasons before Wharton defeated the Eagles in 2005-06.
"Honestly, it is an amazing feat," Hermann said of the winning streak. "It'll never be done again."
Playing in the county's toughest district with Wharton, Armwood, Newsome and Bloomingdale, the Eagles will have their hands full trying to avoid a repeat of last season's early exit.
"Top to bottom, all the teams in the district are quality," Hermann said. "Most districts have a couple teams you can count on as an automatic win. Not this district."
And the Eagles will lean heavily on Ravenel and Allen to re-establish their district dominance. Ravenel, who has signed with Boston College, is a low-post force who rarely runs up against an opponent who can physically match up with him.
"He's got the size and, for a big guy, moves pretty well," Hermann said.
Allen, a point guard who has received interest from Central Florida, Marshall and Wofford, runs the offense and distributes the ball. But he also has a wicked jumper from three-point range that stretches defenses and frees up space for Ravenel down low.
"The kid can shoot," Hermann said.
As important as they are on the court, the locker room may prove to be where the senior tandem makes its biggest contribution. Allen and Ravenel have embraced a leadership role.
"When we come out and go hard to do things the right way, the team takes our lead," Allen said. "I like that kind of pressure."
Allen and Ravenel speak in serious tones while discussing their roles on the team, but it's not far from howling laughter when the conversation turns to that kindergarten class at Temple Terrace Elementary.
"She had this big, bright red hair," Ravenel said of his teacher. "Can't forget her."
They've come a long way.
Brandon Wright can be reached at b21wright@yahoo.com.