November 4, 2008

LOWELL -- When plans break down, players make things happen.

Terrel Randle knows that sentiment holds just as much importance off the basketball court as it does on it.

Randle, who turns 27 today, has seen things break down. A father of three children who grew up with a lack of structure in his own life, Randle found his way to UMass Lowell and Costello Gymnasium this fall.

He comes to the River Hawks men's basketball team with a wealth of athleticism, even more life experience, and an immense appreciation for what it takes to make things happen.

"Basically, the only way I'm able to do all this is from support," Randle says. "People think I'm mad strong, but if it wasn't for help from others, I'd probably just go back to doing what I was doing before."

Randle arrived in Lowell after two years at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester.

The path to Quinsigamond featured several twists and several speed bumps. Raised in Boston's South End, Randle's mother moved him and his little brother to Framingham when he was around 10 years old. He says his mother had struggled with substance abuse issues, and the move enabled her to seek help.

While she did get clean and sober for a while, the move also paved the way for Randle's undisciplined behavior in the following years.

"She tried hard to support us and make sure we did good things, but she was a single mom," Randle says. "That only lasted a couple years. Then she went back to her nonsense. By that time I was 12 or 13 and I was just doing what I wanted to do."

What he wanted to do meant a lot of playing basketball and hanging out with friends, but it didn't necessarily include paying diligent attention to his school work. He says the time he spent living with the Eversley family in Framingham and the Hanrahan family in Ashland helped him get back on track.

His mother had been having troubles again, but the Eversleys served as a foster family for Randle for about a year and a half. Eric Eversley Sr. is a police officer in Boston, and he helped provide structure and discipline. Prior to his senior year, Randle went to live with his AAU coach, Vincent Hanrahan, in Ashland.

Without the two families, he says he probably wouldn't have graduated from high school.

After high school, Randle headed to Mass Bay Community College in Framingham. In a short period of time, Randle had his license suspended for repeated infractions -- he still hasn't gotten it reinstated -- found out his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Davaris, was pregnant with their first child Ahlysa, and he withdrew from Mass Bay.

During the next two or three years he worked everywhere from retail to factories to selling cellular phones. Eventually, he ended up working with kids ages 7-18 at a residential treatment center, the job he considers his "calling."

When Davaris enrolled at Quinsigamond after the couple had their second child, Ariana, Randle decided he'd also start taking classes there and it didn't take long for him to find his way to the basketball team. The two were living in an apartment in Concord and receiving help from Davaris' fa mily raising the kids.

Quinsigamond head coach men's basketball coach Hadley Camilus, who also works as a senior admissions coordinator for the school, raves about the impact Randle had on his team on the court and in the classroom, saying, "He kind of made it cool on my team to do well academically."

Randle compiled the highest grade point average (3.74), was selected to the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and led the basketball team in scoring (18.8 points per game) last year despite traveling between 45 minutes to an hour to get to campus from home and working to help support his kids (the third, Alijah, was born in November of 2006).

Camilus says sometimes he'd find Randle plopped down on a sofa in the lobby of the gym catching some sleep before heading off to work or class. Still, if Camilus told Randle to meet him on campus at a certain time, Randle would be there 10 minutes early.

Camilus admits he had some skepticism about the travel situation in the beginning. It didn't take long for him to realize it wouldn't be an issue, saying, "He would've ridden a bike here if he could."

On the court, Randle could flat out play. The one thing Camilus always got on him about was his slow starts. Even when he started slow, he had too much talent.

"At 50 percent basketball capacity, he was the best guard in our league," says Camilus. "At 100 percent, he was the best in the nation."

When Camilus called then UMass Lowell coach Ken Barer, he told Barer he had a "poor man's Dwyane Wade."

New River Hawks coach Greg Herenda took over last spring, but assistant coach Marc Kuntz filled him in on Randle's recruitment and his story. Herenda says he was initially "intrigued" but "cautious" because he knew it would mean a lot of work for Randle.

At the same time, Herenda has coached players in similar situations in the past. The common denominator he has found is dedication.

"Usually these individuals appreciate things more and work harder because they appreciate their opportunity more," Herenda says.

So far, Randle has been adjusting to a more structured playing style, but he says he has gotten plenty of support from his teammates as well as the coaching staff. Herenda says he hopes basketball can be an outlet for Randle.

"I'm proud he's part of our program, and I'm glad we have him," Herenda says.

Randle and Davaris aren't still together, but Randle stays very much a part of his kids lives. He sees them regularly, sometimes spending the night with them in Concord. An academic scholarship and financial aid allows him to pay tuition, but he still keeps a couple part-time jobs so he can work when his schedule allows so that he can earn money to help with his kids.

Spending more time away from them has been an adjustment in itself.

"There'll be times when I'm sitting here just like, 'I don't know how much longer I can do this stuff,' " Randle says. "Just because I don't see them like (I'm used to). I'm used to being with them every night, tucking them in, kissing them good night, all that good stuff."

Randle's goal is now to earn both his bachelor's degree and his master's degree in criminal justice at UMass Lowell. He hopes to work with juveniles before they get involved in the justice system.

"I feel like once I'm done I'll move my family to a nice little house and do big things, live that American Dream," Randle says with a laugh and a smile.