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The Mettle Of 'Iron Five'

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 23, 2008

TAMPA - After the improbable result, the mad celebration and the awards ceremony, Coach Ron Carrell had a few quiet moments in the locker room with his King High School girls basketball team after it captured the 1988 Class 4A state championship.

He still can recite his parting line:

"People are going to remember this for a long, long time."

It is 20 years later.

Just as Carrell predicted, King's state title run remains one of the most memorable feats in the history of Hillsborough County high school sports.

Tonight at The Lakeland Center, Florida's big-school state championship game will be contested in girls basketball. Emotions will run the gamut - cheers, tears and everything in between - but it's unlikely that tonight's story will rival King's season-long tale.

"What happened to us in 1988, that wouldn't be a bad movie," Carrell said.

The Lions had a tumultuous beginning - with the removal of a coach and the replacement, Carrell, having only three players show up for the opening practice. Undaunted, Carrell ran a regular workout.

When the team finally came together, there were no real Division I prospects. It lacked physical stature (the tallest player was 5-foot-9). It didn't have tremendous outside shooting. The Lions were not even considered the best team in their district.

"But that team had things you can't measure," said Carrell, now in his 30th year as a math teacher at King, and who last coached in the 1998-99 season.

Those intangibles were exemplified by the team's nickname.

The Iron Five.

There was Dawn Hagenkotter (the 5-7 center), Tara Bowers (5-8 point guard), Fran Singletary (5-6 shooting guard), Nikki Minor (5-9 forward) and Trinia Andrews (5-7 forward). Singletary, a junior, was the only underclassman.

With a thin bench, Carrell's starters averaged 30 minutes (out of 32). The Lions defeated Armwood in the Class 4A-District 5 final, hanging on to a two-point victory after Armwood's half-court buzzer-beating attempt hit the rim.

Had it gone in, King's season would have ended.

Instead, the path was cleared, almost magically.

After dispatching Gaither in the regionals, King went on the road to defeat No. 3-ranked Clearwater 63-55 in the sectionals.

King had a berth in the state's Final Four at Hillsborough Community College (still the only time Tampa has hosted the event).

In the state semifinals, the Lions downed No. 2-ranked Coral Springs Taravella 72-61.

Waiting in the final was No. 1-ranked Pensacola Washington, rated 24th nationally by USA Today. When Washington built a 17-point lead with 6:39 remaining in the third quarter, it looked like King's dream had ended.

But that deficit only enhanced King's closing finish.

The Lions rallied before an increasingly frenzied crowd. The much-taller Washington lineup grew frustrated, failing to adapt to King's pace. And the Lions prevailed 68-65.

"Sometimes, a group of people can come together to make some great things happen," Carrell said. "Sometimes, people just come together. Sometimes, they go their separate ways."

Carrell doesn't know much about what happened to his former players. There aren't plans for a team 20-year reunion. Occasionally, Carrell watches the videotape of the state tournament games. He still gets chills.

Carrell still works with King's math club and coaches that team in state competitions. Little known fact: When the Iron Five emerged, it was Carrell's second state title in that school year.

King's math club also won a state championship.

"If you ask me what I do, I'd say the specialty is motivating young people and showing them they can do some things they don't think they can do," Carrell said. "Between the basketball team and the math club, I saw very little difference in the way they prepared, the way they worked as a team and the excitement they showed in realizing their goal.

"When you believe in yourself, great things can happen."

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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