By Gary Curreri

Melvin Randall admits he was “caught a little off guard” when he was told he was no longer going to be the Blanche Ely’s boys’ basketball coach after leading the team to back-to-back Class 7A state titles.

Randall said he was informed on June 7 that his 13 years at the school that yielded three state titles was over. Randall, who has been a math teacher at the Pompano Beach school for the past 26 years, has compiled a 456-136 record and five state titles between Deerfield Beach and Blanche Ely high schools.

“This has been going on for the last two years and it basically boils down to something personal,” said Randall, who was informed in a 10:30 a.m. meeting with Blanche Ely assistant principal Malcolm Spence (Blanche Ely administrator over sports) and assistant principal Antonio Womack. “There was no explanation, no nothing. I was kind of shocked. I am not bitter. There have been many placed in my position who have said ‘forget it’ and have just walked away. I am not going to walk away.”

“I am still teaching (math) there, but with the coaching it’s pending,” Randall continued. “I may go into the private sector. You have to have a better excuse than we are moving in a different direction. Which direction is that? Are you going down? I am not being cocky, but that is the only direction I can think of. We only lost five games the past two years.”

Randall finished the 2012- 13 season at Ely by winning his second consecutive Class 7A state championship and earning its second consecutive national ranking.

Randall, 50, of Ft. Lauderdale, has expressed his frustration with the school’s administration by not being allowed to keep two of his long-time assistant coaches (Morris Grooms and Reginald McNair, both former players of his,) from the 2011-12 season and also is upset at how he was treated by Ely principal Karlton Johnson after leading the team to a state championship in 2012 when he had to apply for his position twice.

“Whatever the situation was, it didn’t warrant dismissal,” said Randall, the only coach in Broward to lead two different teams to national rankings – Deerfield Beach in 1999 and Blanche Ely the past two seasons. “It could have warranted suspensions maybe, instead of the harshest thing (firing).”

I am very proud of what I have done at Ely as the boys head basketball coach,” Randall said. “And really doing it the hard way and being successful and running into a situation that I have been in a few years and being successful.”

“My job is to educate 9th grade students and above and also, when I am in the gym, I am trying to do the same thing through that crazy sport of basketball,” Randall said. “It is not just bouncing a basketball and getting Ws and Ls. It is about mentoring these kids and giving them lifelong skills.”

Randall said he didn’t want his name to be tarnished as he moved past the situation.

“I am going to be heard because they are not going to tarnish my name,” Randall said. “I don’t want people to say maybe he did something drastic because he won two state titles, and he must have done something (wrong). And to be put in a spot to coach at the next level, and that is what athletic directors would be thinking as well. It is going to be pretty interesting.”

Efforts to reach school officials were unsuccessful.

By Gary Curreri

Blaise Leone is looking forward to the city’s first ever Extreme Aquathon on Saturday, April 20.

Leone, a Parks and Recreation Manager II for the city of Deerfield Beach, has slated a run/swim/run event for boys and girls ages 7-12 at the Deerfield Beach Middle School Athletic Complex at 501 SE 6 Ave.

“We wanted to do something new and different,” said Leone. “We wanted to make it fun for the kids. I see a lot of those kinds of extreme races for adults, the mud races and those types of things, so I wanted to do something different than just a running race. To increase the fun factor, we added obstacles to the first run portion of this race.”

“They will go through a series of tires and a series of foam obstacles before maneuvering through a low crawl like a cargo net,” Leone said. “They will go about 100 yards and go through a transition area, which is a 50-yard swim in the pool and, when they come back out, there will be about a ½-mile run through one of our baseball fields and then a lap around the track.”

The 7-9 age group will start at 8 a.m., while the 10- 12 age group will start at 9 a.m. The course will be the same for both age groups.

Leone said he would consider adding a cycling component once they get the race management down and doing a more extreme event for kids and also putting together an event for adults.

There will be Olympic-style medals for The top 3 places for both male and female participants in each age group. All participants also get a T-shirt, backpack and lunch provided by Muscle Maker Grill.

“They don’t have to be elite athletes,” Leone said. “It is a relatively short course that anyone can come and have fun.”

The registration fee is $23 and the registration is limited to the first 100 participants. Registration can be done in advance at the Middle School Athletic Complex office or online at www.deerfieldbeach.com. They will also accept registration on the day of the event.

For more information, contact the athletic office at 954- 480-4426.

Randall named coach of the year

Blanche Ely’s Melvin Randall was recently named the state’s overall boys basketball Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year.

Randall guided the Tigers to a 27-2 record and their second consecutive state championship. It was also Blanche Ely’s third state title during his tenure at the school as it also won the 6A title in 2007. Blanche Ely finished the season ranked No. 8 in the final MaxPreps XCellent 25.

Randall finished ahead of runner-up Neal Goldman of Tampa Jesuit, the Class 5A Coach of the Year who led his Tigers to a 31-1 record and the program’s first state title since 1984.

The Tigers concluded its campaign this season with a heartbreaking 66-65 overtime loss to Dallas Texas’ Prime Prep in the quarterfinals of the National High School Invitational, a postseason tournament that featured some of the best high school basketball teams in the nation.

Ely, which was making its second appearance in as many years at the tournament, was led by Kahlil Thomas’ team high 20 points and nine rebounds, Lance Tejada (12 points) and Therrell Gossier (11 points, 10 rebounds). Prime Prep’s Jordan Mickey had a game-high 28 points for the Spartans (37-1).