The dust settles on Booker High's dream season

Booker High coach Markus Black laughed during the postgame news conference on March 7.

He didn't know what else to do.

He was feeling so many emotions, he said, and the laughter was a defense mechanism against them. All 15 of his players left the locker room with red eyes, he said. A different decision here, a different bounce there, and his team might still be playing basketball. Instead, Booker was headed home.

The Tornadoes fell 62-61 to Leesburg High (30-1) in the state semifinals at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Leesburg, now back-to-back state champions after defeating Rickards High 71-62 on March 8, hasn't lost to a Florida High School Athletic Association opponent since 2015, but Booker (29-3) gave the Yellow Jackets all they could handle. It was a textbook back-and-forth game with 11 lead changes. Down seven points with a minute and a half to go, the Tornadoes gave a final push, getting to within one with about 13 seconds left.

"I was thinking we were going to win it," senior Jordan Curtis said. "It was a great run, and I have a lot of confidence in my team. It came down to defense in the end, and we didn't execute."

They followed the first part of their plan perfectly, trapping Leesburg guard Cordrayius Graham in the corner, but they couldn't get a steal, and they didn't foul Graham before he passed the ball up court, and before they could react, the game was over. Curtis and his teammates could only watch the replay on the video board, wondering what just happened. 

Junior forward Johnnie Williams IV led the Tornadoes with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Jordan Clark added 15 points and six boards, and seniors Jaylen Jones and Curtis scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. For a team that had a habit of starting slow, the Tornadoes started this one on fire. Williams IV had a quick seven points in the first quarter, and Booker led for most of the frame.

"We came and punched them in the mouth," Black said. "We just didn't finish the job."

Black said he had not yet addressed his senior class specifically, but added that it was the class that arrived at Booker at the same time he did, as the JV coach, and the players in that class grew with him. He told them one year later that they had a chance to reach the final four in the future, and he was right. They will have a shot again next year, too, but not with the class that started the program's turnaround. Curtis, Jones, forward Jeff Pedro, wing Fred Francois and guard Chris Gough will all be gone.

"These seniors don't get another go at it, and that's the part I'm upset about," Black said. "But people need to understand: Booker is back on the map. We're not that doormat everyone is walking on. We're here.”

Leesburg coach Sean Campbell agreed. The Tornadoes were just as athletic as his Yellow Jackets, he said, crediting the team on a game well-played. Campbell said Leesburg expected a tough game and got every bit of one. It’s not what Black and company wanted to hear, but it’s a positive for the future.

Williams IV, Clark and junior starting guard Hudson Gough will return for the Tornadoes, who will do less rebuilding and more reloading next season. Freshmen King Winkfield and Curtis Butler Jr., who both got important minutes in the second half of this season, will be expected to do more.

It’ll be the next phase of Black’s plan for the school. The coach estimates that the school will be state contenders for the next two or three years (at least) based on the talent in and entering the program. Even though the semifinal loss stings, Booker boys basketball proved that it belongs at the top. Those whispers that bothered Black before he took the job have been silenced.

"I don't care who you line up,” Black said. “We can go toe-to-toe with anybody. I wouldn't trade these guys for the world."