Wharton dribbles back to top

If someone had told Wharton boys varsity basketball coach Tommy Tonelli before the season his team would have the best record in Hillsborough County by January, he'd probably disagree.

Yet, his Wildcats entered the second half of the season 16-1 and won its first two games after the holiday break to emerge as Tampa's No. 1 team.

"What's special (about this team) is they find a way to get it done during the course of a game," Tonelli said. "It's not always a thing of beauty. It's not always a masterpiece. When the going gets tough, they claw their way back."

Considering the way the season started, Wharton's success can be seen as a miracle.

On Nov. 14, one of the players, junior Drake Williams, fell to the ground during a drill. Tonelli discovered Williams wasn't breathing and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation and ordered some players to look for school staff to help.

Fortunately, Tampa Fire Rescue paramedics were on campus and administered a defibrillator shock and CPR. Williams was taken to University Hospital, where doctors concluded he has a rare heart condition that causes "sudden cardiac death."

Weeks later in December, Wharton won the Berkeley Prep Invitational and the Alonso Holiday Tournament. The Wildcats faced some of the Bay area's top teams in the Berkeley Invitational, defeating two previously undefeated teams in St. Petersburg and Sickles to win the championship. Wharton defeated Countryside (Clearwater), one of the top teams in Pinellas County, in the Alonso Holiday Tournament championship, 62-57.

"They're a fun group to coach," Tonelli said. "They're a pretty cohesive group."

When the first state poll was released, Wharton debuted at No. 6 in Class 6A. The Wildcats, who finished 14-14 and missed the playoffs last season, have been led by a high-scoring trio, all of whom are averaging double digit points per game.

Senior guard Damian Dixon leads the team with 18.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Junior guard/forward AJ Astroth adds 15.7 points and 3.4 assists while junior forward Xavier Owens is averaging 14.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game.

"It's pretty exciting to have that record, but it didn't come easy," Dixon said. "We had to put in a lot of work. We have to stay humble."

"One game it may be Damian, or one game it might be Xavier or AJ," Tonelli said. "I don't know who teams concentrate on when they play us. If they try to close down our guards, it seems Xavier has the ability to get going."

The program has yet to reach the state tournament, but advanced to the elite eight round in 2007.

"We've shown we're a strong team," Dixons aid.

"They have a team-oriented mind set," Tonelli said. "They know their roles."