By C.S. Howard

The Booker Boys Basketball team finished their season with a 1910 record and 4-0 in 4A District 11 play, their first time since 2018. Let’s meet the graduating seniors.

Zion Fernandez is a shooting guard/small forward and came to Booker during his senior year. He comes from a basketball family and grew up watching his brother and cousins play the game. He played at Sarasota High as a freshman and sophomore and spent his junior year at Riverview. He also played at SSAS while in middle school and played AAU ball and a lot of pick-up ball in the community. His advise to our youth is to always be positive.

“If you mess up, don’t give up, push through and keep your head up; always have faith.”

Zion is the grandson of Art Hallett.

Jerry Olaince is 18 years old and has played basketball all four years at Booker. He is a small forward/power forward and has been playing since fourth grade. He played at Booker Middle School under Coach James Ward. He started on JV at Booker before moving to varsity in his junior year. He comes from a basketball family – his mother, brother and uncle all being players. Jerry plans to attend college and earn a degree in business or finance. He advises our youth to “be self-motivated and make sure you put in the practice for whatever you want to do. Always strive to be the best and make your parents proud.” Jerry is the son of Yolando Olaince and Jason Olaince.

Jovan Palavra, 17 years old, has played at Booker all four years of high school. He is a point/shooting guard. He played at Booker Middle under Coach James Ward for three years and played AAU ball. He started showing up for practices when he was in the fourth grade to watch his brother play and was encouraged by Coach Ward to think about playing the game, a decision he was glad he made. Jovan plans to study finance in college and hopes to receive an academic scholarship. He encourages youth to

“don’t just try to fit in with the social norms or because of popularity; think for yourself and make your own path.”

Jovan is the son of Helida Palavra and Joaquim Palavra.

Jamareon Ruffin is also 18 years old and has played all four years at Booker. Basketball is a family sport got him – his grandfather, dad, uncle and cousin played the game so he wanted to keep the tradition going. His advice to our youth is to “work hard in class and always follow your dreams; I was not as focused as I should have been so I didn’t get to play like I wanted to, but I stayed the course and became a good studentathlete. Never give up.” Jamareon plans to major in Business and Marketing and hopes to play on the collegiate level as well. He is the son of Tearia Eddins and grandson of Evelyn Ford.

Andy Villegas has been playing at Booker since his sophomore year. He played in the Suncoast League for a few years. He said basketball helped him mentally to stay focused and to how to apply himself. He plans to attend college to become a sports therapist. His advice:

“fight through adversity and don’t ever give up. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something; have a goal in mind and make i t happen.”

Andy is the 18-year-old son of Norma Perez and Edgar Villegas.

Carl Williams is in his second year as coach for Booker boys. He has been coaching for 16 years. His assistant coaches are Ron Jones, Steve Brown, Stone Hollaway, and Mario Evans. “We are all from Newtown and we understand the needs and goals at a school like Booker and are proud to serve the school and community,” Coach Williams said.

Booker’s boys basketball team: Jovan Palavra, Andy Villegas, Jaydin Stuart, Hubbard Brian, Darius Behn, Jamareon Ruffin, Jerry Olaince, Micah Brewer, Thomas Sutton, J.P. Lattimore, Javian Johnson, Zion Fernandez, Kaiden Wright and Mike Peterson.

Jovan Palavra joins the 1,000 point club at Booker.