Eastside Basketball Celebrates 20th Anniversary of State Title
Eastside High School turned back the clock during its 54-48 win against Williston on Saturday
The program honored one of the most memorable teams in recent memory. Twenty years ago, the Eastside boys basketball team won the Class 5A state championship for the first time in school history.
Former players were in attendance for the halftime celebration. The players were presented with the championship trophy and the cut-down net from their state title run. The accolades were a reminder of what made the team so special. It was a squad that took pride in its performance on the defensive end.
“Defense, we relied on defense,” Alton James said. “Our defense turned into offense. We felt like we were gonna win the games as long as we stopped them.”
The 2006 team was led by James, who was looking to go out on top in his final season as a Ram.
James, when it mattered most, was one of the most reliable closers in the state. He had a clutch performance in the District 4 semifinals against Leesburg.
Eastside trailed by seven points with 6:59 remaining and it appeared the Rams’ season was coming to a disappointing end. This was before James scored 11 out of 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Rams in outscoring Leesburg by 12 in the final minutes in capturing the 70-65 victory.
Without James’ magical fourth quarter, the state championship run would never have happened. He went on to average 15 points, three assists and two rebounds to capture first-team 5A All-State and all-tournament team honors in the process.
After clawing to a victory in the district tournament, Eastside would have to rack up five more wins to hoist the trophy. The Rams started regional play with a 68-50 win against First Coast (Jacksonville) and a 55-45 win against Niceville before escaping with a 47-42 win against Wolfson (Jacksonville) in the regional final.
But what awaited in Lakeland for coach Herman “Pop” Williams and his Rams was a player familiar to most Gator fans. Eastside would go head-to-head with Lake Howell for a spot in the state title game. Lake Howell was led by future Florida Gators guard Nick Calathes.
What on paper was supposed to be a nightmare matchup for the Rams ended up being the difference in the game. Eastside held Calathes to just 6-of-19 shooting to help propel it to a dominant 65-46 victory.
Then, on March 3, under the bright lights in the Lakeland Center, Eastside finally climbed the mountain top it had chased for years. With a 58-47 win against Tampa Chamberlin, the Rams could call themselves state champions.
“We all grew up together, we played AAU together,” James said. “Playing for ‘Pop’ and everyone being from the east side of town … it was special.”
While eight seniors went out on top for the Rams, it was one of the youngest players on the roster, sophomore Dante Anderson, who elevated the ceiling for Eastside.
Anderson delivered on the biggest stage, averaging 16 points per game in the state semifinal and championship games. His performance earned him the Florida Sports Writers Association Class 5A Final Four MVP honors as just a sophomore.
“That year we didn’t know what we had with him (Anderson),” James said. “Once we got to states and we saw him, we were like OK, he’s the real deal.”
College coaches had already noticed Anderson’s play, as he received scholarship offers from Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Missouri at just 16. Even former Florida coach Billy Donovan had conversations with Anderson multiple times. It appeared Anderson would be well on his way to play at the collegiate level and beyond before tragedy struck.
On May 19, 2007, a little more than a year after Eastside had captured its state title, Anderson died in a car crash on Southwest 13th Street in Gainesville.
A future filled with promise was suddenly taken away.
For Williams, Anderson lives on through the traits he embeds in his players and the standard he sets on the court.
“We always talk about him in the locker room, about the energy he enforced through the game, and how he took the game seriously,” the longtime Eastside coach said. “That’s one thing I always instill in me and always try to instill in my players.”
Williams is finishing his 28th season as Rams coach and takes pride in leading his alma mater. Over the years, that pride translated into a lasting imprint on the program. In December 2024, Eastside renamed its court the “Herman ‘Pop’ Williams Gymnasium”.
“He’s Eastside Basketball,” James said. “If you know anything about Eastside, you know ‘Pop’.”
For Eastside basketball, 2006 was more than a championship. It was about the standard created for years to come. It’s the memory of players like James and Anderson, who gave everything on the court, and a coach who has dedicated nearly three decades to shaping young athletes into leaders.
Category: Basketball, Eastside High School, High School Sports
