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  • Randall Benton / RBenton@sacbee.com

    Huskies D'Erryl Williams (2), and teammate Huskies Dakarai Allen (4), center, take the court with teammates for the game between the Sheldon High School Huskies, and the Serra High School Padres at Sheldon High School in Elk Grove on Friday, March 8, 2013. This game is the first round of the NorCal Open Division CIF State Boys Basketball Championships.

  • Randy Pench / rpench@sacbee.com

    Sheldon's D'Erryl Williams goes up for a shot in the first half during the Sac-Joaquin Basketball Championships at Sleep Train Arena on Saturday, March 1, 2013.

  • Randy Pench / rpench@sacbee.com

    Pleasant Grove defenders Thomas Fitzgerald (44) and Colfax "Cole" Nordquist (11) , right, knock the ball away from Sheldon's Dakarai Allen (4) in the first half during their Sac-Joaquin Basketball Championships game at Sleep Train Arena on Saturday, March 1, 2013.

  • Randall Benton / RBenton@sacbee.com

    Huskies Dakarai Allen (4) in the team's locker room before the game between the Sheldon High School Huskies, and the Serra High School Padres at Sheldon High School in Elk Grove on Friday, March 8, 2013. This game is the first round of the NorCal Open Division CIF State Boys Basketball Championships.

  • Randall Benton / RBenton@sacbee.com

    Huskies D'Erryl Williams (2) scores during the game between the Sheldon High School Huskies, and the Serra High School Padres at Sheldon High School in Elk Grove on Friday, March 8, 2013. This game is the first round of the NorCal Open Division CIF State Boys Basketball Championships.

  • Randall Benton / RBenton@sacbee.com

    Huskies D'Erryl Williams (2), left in the locker room before the game between the Sheldon High School Huskies, and the Serra High School Padres at Sheldon High School in Elk Grove on Friday, March 8, 2013. This game is the first round of the NorCal Open Division CIF State Boys Basketball Championships.

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Sheldon's dynamic duo set sights on state title, legacy

Published: Monday, Mar. 11, 2013 - 5:49 pm
Last Modified: Wednesday, Mar. 27, 2013 - 5:17 pm

Dakarai Allen and D'Erryl Williams already stand as the two best basketball players ever at Sheldon High School, and now they covet a bit more.

They want a lasting legacy. Two more championships. Their jerseys retired. Their names immortalized.

"To win a state championship ring would be the exclamation point for us and our team," Allen said.

Added Williams: "We want to be legends."

It already has been a remarkable run for the Huskies seniors, who hit the gun lap of their prep careers this week. Their resumes read of unparalleled regional success:

• Four Delta River League titles in a row.

• Four consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championships, a record.

• The first public school to win a large-school Northern California banner in 2012.

Tuesday night, the muscular 6-foot-3 Williams and the long and lithe 6-6 Allen will lead NorCal-ranked No. 2 Sheldon against NorCal- and state-ranked No. 1 Salesian of Richmond in a NorCal Regional Open Division showdown at Saint Mary's College in Moraga. Salesian beat Sheldon 69-60 last month in a nonleague game. The Huskies tired late, missed all 14 of their three-point shots and returned from the East Bay grumpy but determined.

Allen and Williams vow better results this time. They sense the urgency, and neither wants Tuesday night to be their last stand.

"This is it," Allen said. "We know this is our time."

Allen and Williams provide Sheldon (26-5) with a unique skill set as a duo that loves to defend. On offense, Allen is explosive on the break, and crafty and slithery in the post, and he can hit three-point shots. Williams is a pass-first point guard early in games and often becomes a left-handed power player in the lane late.

Their combo act has played out for years with a growing list of admirers.

"I remember seeing Williams as a freshman and thinking, 'He's a man now!'" Kennedy assistant coach Joe Mugartegui said. "Then you saw Allen and thought, 'This area has to deal with these guys for three more years?' One thing you notice about those two is they have a will to compete and win."

Allen and Williams have been best friends since the seventh grade, and it's no wonder they are in sync in so much of what they do. In conversation, in class, in play. Williams matured early. Allen didn't grow into his own until his freshman season, saying: "It took me a while before I was any good."

They have pushed each other to excel, and their bond only continues to tighten.

"We're brothers, very close, and it goes beyond basketball that's made us close," Allen said, eyeing his pal as they plowed through a plate of wings near school.

Brothers being brothers, they don't hesitate to scold each other on a blown play or a missed one-liner in the quad.

"We have enough authority to get on each other," Williams said with a laugh.

While their prep careers will soon end, the Allen-Williams show will move to Southern California. They will be college roommates at San Diego State, playing for the Aztecs next season on scholarship. Williams said he'll remind Allen to keep his boat-size shoes out of the front room. And they'll push each other on the court and in the classroom.

Both have been superb students at Sheldon. Their fathers - Von Allen and D'Erryl Williams, Sr. - also study their games. The fathers express admiration or discord, sometimes with just raised eyebrows.

"My dad remembers every play, and he'll tell me to play hard, play smart," Williams said.

Said Allen, "Our dads want the best for us."

So does Sheldon coach Joey Rollings, who said the jerseys of Allen and Williams very well might be retired.

"Great kids, great students, great characters and great players," Rolling said. "They've done it the right way, and they'll be missed."

Follow on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and on podcast: ESPN1320.net

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