By JOEY JOHNSTON

Tribune Sports Writer

(c) Tampa Bay Times. Originally published March 14, 1985.

LAKELAND — Believe it or not, Tony Mack has something left to prove.

Mack, who has scored the most single-season points (1,240) in the history of Florida high-school basketball, wants to have a good game tonight. A spectacular game isn’t necessary, just a solid performance.

Mack and the Brandon Eagles are returning to the Lakeland Civic Center, the scene of an unhappy memory. Last March, the Eagles upset No. 1-ranked Jacksonville Ribald 59-58 in the Class 4A semifinals. Unheralded Palm Beach Gardens was the championship-game opponent. It was a perfect spot for Mack to make an impression on college coaches and fans.

Mack made his impression — a very poor one. He dribbled the ball off his foot during a key possession. One of his free-throw attempts was an air ball. His shot selection was ragged.

But most importantly, when Brandon needed a leader in the second half, Mack hit just one basket. He vanished.

Brandon lost that championship game, 63-55. Mack’s inconsistent 16-point performance left some doubters after his fine junior year (averages of 24 points, 13 rebounds per game).

The doubts are obviously gone. Mack refined his explosive inside play and added a deadly outside jumper to his arsenal. He has developed into the nation’s top scoring machine (41.3 points per game).

Mack has some dues to pay tonight when the Eagles meet the No. 1-ranked Miami Carol City at 8:30 in a Class 4A semifinal game.

“I’ll always think we could’ve won if I would’ve played better in the second half,’’ Mack said. “I was just like another guy on the court. They (Palm Beach Gardens) were fronting me and I didn’t touch the ball much.

“I guarantee you I’ll play twice as hard this year. I want to win the state championship.’’

But there’s more on the line. This is the time of the year when the state’s prep writers select “Mr. Basketball.’’ The award, popularized in Kentucky and Indiana, is 3 years old in Florida. Previous winners include Kissimmee Osceola’s Frank Ford (Auburn) and Gainesville Buchholz’s Vernon Maxwell (Florida).

The award’s prestige is growing. It’s a top goal for the state’s elite players.

Mack and Carol City 6-9 center Irving Thomas are this year’s favorites to win “Mr. Basketball.’’ Coincidentally, both players will be in the spotlight tonight with most of the voters looking on from the press table.

To Brandon Coach Frank Vining, Mack is the only choice.

“If he’s not ‘Mr. Basketball’ in Florida, I don’t know who else is,’’ Vining said. “Irving Thomas may be a great player, but there’s no question that no one in the state has had a year like Toney.’’

Thomas’ statistics — 18.1 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 5.8 blocked shots per game — don’t measure up to Mack’s. But Carol City Coach Ernie Bell said it’s a deceptive comparison.

“Irving doesn’t dominate like Toney because we’ve got six of the finest athletes in the nation on our team,’’ Bell said. “People who have seen him (Thomas) think he’s the best around. He jumps well, he has all the post moves and this is the second year in a row he has averaged 14 rebounds a game.

“He has gotten so much national attention, but he has handled it so well. And another thing people don’t realize is he’s a 3.0 (grade-point average) student. He and Toney are definitely the top ones in the running.’’

Mack said there’s no rivalry with Thomas. In fact, the two are good friends. There were the only juniors on the Team Florida AAU squad that captured the 19-and-under national championship last summer.

“I’m not going out there to compete with Irving,’’ Mack said. “We get along good. He’s a real rough player and he likes to go to the offensive boards. I think he slams off the offensive boards better than any player I’ve seen in high school.

“It would be real great to win it (Mr. Basketball) and win the state championship, too. It would really top off a great season for me.’’

And it would help erase the memory of last year.