Familiar Names Lead Everglades City Hoops

Everglades City basketball is back. That’s the message coach Gerald Lewis is selling. And by the looks of things, his players are buying what he’s selling. 

On Saturday, the Class 1A Everglades City went toe-to-toe with Class 6A East Lee County in the Don Stewart Shootout in the Lely gym before bowing 62-57. 

Playing five classifications up is never an easy task, but Lewis has a plan - and it all harkens back to the past glories of Everglades City basketball. 

"I made the schedule very difficult,” Lewis said, "so that way when we come to the end and we hit the district tournament, we'll be saltier. We'll be better at the end than we were when we started. And the players have responded. They're looking at adversity and facing adversity and overcoming a lot. And their mental strength is growing. That's what we need to do as a young team.” 

Lewis’s roster is filled with names that honor the area’s history. Names like Billie and Osceola.  

"The same old families that were here back from the 50s and 60s and 70s,” Lewis said, "are still here playing with the same family names from Everglades City. It's neat because it's still the same families playing with each other and living together. It's an awesome thing.” 

Lewis also has a former Everglades City head coach, Shade Jones, helping him with the team. Jones coached Lewis’s brother Keith back in 1976 when the Gators were a team to be reckoned with in SW Florida. Keith was backcourt mates with Foy Ballance, an outstanding ball handler and shooter who some old timers still consider the best player in SW Florida basketball history. 

“Shade Jones has become my mentor,” Lewis said. “He’s been helping us. My brother played on his great 1976 team with Foy Ballance,” Lewis said. "Then they had that number one team in the 80s. They were all good teams, and now we're returning and getting some of that respect back again. And it's nice to see because everybody who's been around a long time remembers the old days when Everglades was tough.” 

The Gators have been aided by several players who joined the team after playing elsewhere in past seasons. 

“What it's done is it's brought an awful lot of talent,” Lewis said. "Good shooters. And we're returning back now to the old Everglades City basketball. The way it used to be when we were very competitive.” 

Against East Lee, the Gators were led by Randel Billie with 12 points, Kelvin Huggins with 11, and Jamere Osceola with 10. Six Gators scored at least six points. 

Lewis is proud of how his team is faring against its beefed-up schedule. 

“I’ve never been more proud of my players than I am right now,” Lewis said after Saturday’s game. "The way they fought back and competed all the way to the end.”  

Lewis is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. 

"I did this on purpose,” Lewis said. "I've got us playing Barron Collier (1/23, 7 p.m.) and Lely (1/24, 7 p.m.) the last two games of the season, just to see where we are now versus where we came from." 

While he doesn’t expect the Gators to beat 4A schools like Barron Collier and Lely, he realizes the value of scheduling such games.  

"If we can play them tough,” Lewis said, “within 10 or 15 points, I'll be happy. Now, a win would be fantastic, but we just want to compete.” 

Everglades City (8-8) hosts Marco Island Academy (3-13) on Thursday, January 16, at 7:00 PM. It will be the third meeting of the two teams this season, with the Gators winning the first two games comfortably.