Largo’s Donavan Hale, a two-sport star, picked up his first offer in basketball from Florida State, the same school where his father played.
Hale, a 6-foot-3 guard, is rated a three-star recruit in the 2015 class. This past season, he battled through knee and ankle injuries to help the Packers win the Pinellas County Athletic Conference title a second straight year and reach the Class 6A region semifinals.
Hale has received interest from Central Florida, Louisville, Mississippi State, Tennessee and USF, among others, to play basketball. The Seminoles became the first program to come through with an offer after Hale went to the school on an unofficial visit this past weekend.
FSU kept Hale on its radar for most of the season, with assistants attending Largo’s region quarterfinal against Jefferson. Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton was in attendance when the Packers lost to Lennard in the region semifinals.
“I knew FSU was serious about Donavan when Leonard Hamilton showed up,” Largo coach Phil Price said. “Donavan has been extremely under-recruited. I think FSU wanted to get on him early.”
In the past two decades, FSU has had success landing Pinellas County players, which started with Hale’s father, Ron, a former Packer standout who averaged 12.3 points per game as a Seminole from 1997-2000. Former Clearwater stars Luke Loucks and Okaro White also have played for FSU.
With most of the interest from big-time colleges coming in basketball, Hale now has to decide whether that is route he wants to go at the next level. Last season, he started at quarterback and led Largo to a district title.