When St. Ed’s hosted Sebastian River High for a boys basketball game last Friday night, the final score of 47-38 favored the Sharks.
The outcome of the game was certainly meaningful to the players, coaches and fans, but the overriding theme of the evening was about something of much greater significance to the St. Ed’s community and for everyone who knew Darell Flowers.
In a tribute that was delayed for a year, Flowers’ No. 5 jersey was retired in a ceremony at halftime. The popular St. Ed’s player and coach succumbed to a rare but rapidly progressing form of cancer on Jan. 31, 2015, at age 20. His jersey was to be retired in his presence the day before when it was hoped that he would be back home after another round of treatment in Atlanta.
Appropriately, almost a year to the day later and at the start of the nationwide Coaches vs. Cancer Week, St. Ed’s dedicated the evening of Jan. 22, 2016, to Darell Flowers.
When disease forced Flowers to give up his dream of playing college basketball, he found comfort and solace back at St. Ed’s and with the game that he loved so dearly and played with all of his heart. He became an assistant coach and tried to spend as much time as he could in the gym and on the road with his Pirates. That was where he always wanted to be.
“This was a difficult time for everyone who knew Darell so well,” Pirates head coach Greg Zugrave said. “It’s something that we wanted to do for a long time and this was the right time to do it. We needed to acknowledge the big influence he had – not only with the basketball program, but also with the school and the Vero Beach community. We were looking forward to recognizing all of the great things he has done for our community.
“He will absolutely always be in our thoughts. When the basketball season started and he was not here we missed him even more because he was not at practice, not at our games. But he is definitely in our hearts and someone we think about all the time here at St. Ed’s.”
Junior Willie Mosley and freshman Grayson Long had a special relationship with their cousin Darell. They were all good friends and Flowers was instrumental in the lives of both when it came to school and basketball.
“Darell was like a role model and father figure for me,” Mosley said. “When I first thought about going to St. Ed’s he would tell me what a good school it was. He always wanted me to come here.
“I never got to play with him on the school team, but we played pickup basketball all the time. I think the retirement of his jersey is pretty cool. He went to St. Ed’s since first grade so I thought it was something that should be done.”
Mosley is the starting point guard for the Pirates. Grayson enrolled at St. Ed’s in the eighth grade and played on the junior varsity basketball team and varsity football team this year.
“I think it’s a great thing that they would honor him in that way,” Long said. “He’s a great person who deserves such a high honor.
“I never really played basketball until we had a talk. I knew he was an avid player and we would always talk about basketball. He always told me that I should play, so we made a bond together with sports. I would go over to his house and play video games, and then we would go outside and play basketball.
“The jersey ceremony was greatly appreciated, but it was also a moment to sit back and reflect and think. I can’t put into words how much I miss him.”