On August 31, Zach Allen sat in a car when he should have been on a field. Having just broken his collar bone in Homer’s second football game of the season, the senior turned to his mother, LaDonna, with a request.

“I looked at her and said, ‘Mom, you’ve gotta call coach Fleming,’ ” recalls Allen.

They were too late. Homer’s grapevine does quick work, and news of the injury had already reached basketball coach Tom Fleming.

Basketball was on Allen’s mind, yet with his defending league MVP, team captain and leading rebounder looking at an 8-10 week recovery period which would include surgery, it was far from Fleming’s.

“My heart just sank because I realized how important football was to him,” recalled Fleming. “Basketball wasn’t even on my mind. I just felt horrible for him because football was so important to him and he was so important to that team. Basketball was secondary.”

As it has been for the past three years. It’s no surprise that Allen refers to Fleming not only as the most influential person he’s known throughout high school, but as a friend. The coach reiterates the sentiments.

“Zach’s like a best friend. I could talk to him like a best friend, let him know my concerns in happy times and bad times.”

It helps when a coach’s best friend averages a double-double.

“What was so special about him is you always had a chance when he was on the court,” said Fleming. “I have never seen anybody so hungry for the basketball.”

Allen’s basketball career at Homer was one for the record books. Over a three-year span, the center amassed 740 points, and 622 rebounds (second all-time at Homer) for a career average of 13.2 PPG and 11.1 RPG, including a 14.5 PPG and 12.2 RPG average this season.

With the numbers Allen has put up over the years, the accolades have been plenty. He is a two-time Big Eight MVP, two-time Jackson Citizen Patriot all area selection, an honorable mention for the 2008 Detroit Free Press all state team, and most recently was given all state honors by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM). The BCAM selection has earned Allen a spot in an all star game to be played Saturday, August 2, at Brighton High School.

To Allen, the individual recognition pales in comparison to what his team has been able to do.

“Back-to-back (conference) championships has gotta be the best memory I have of playing at Homer,” said Allen. “Knowing that my team was only the second team ever to do that was pretty special.”

That accomplishment has earned Allen’s team a place on the Homer wall of fame, forever immortalizing him and his teammates. The BCAM selection will also earn Allen an individual spot on the ode to Homer’s elite.

“Walking through the hallways, I’ve always wanted my picture up there with everybody else.” Allen’s goal throughout high school was to don cleats and a helmet on the wall and join his father, Lacy, as an all-state football selection for the Trojans.

“That’s what I always thought when I was growing up. I’m going to be an all-state football player, just like my dad,” reminisces Allen. “Well, things didn’t work out, but I ended up being an all-state basketball player.”

It wasn’t always a picture that drove Allen, nor a hunger to which his coach referred; sometimes, it was a thirst.

“My first game on varsity my sophomore year he (Fleming) said ‘get 10 rebounds and you’ll be fine’,” recalls Allen. Not only would he be fine, he’d have a 12-pack of Mountain Dew waiting for him. “I haven’t seen the Mountain Dew yet, but I did get 10 rebounds.”

Fleming laughs at the memory. He employed similar tactics through the years to motivate the goal-driven Allen.

“I’d give him certain incentives, and that would be on his mind. If it was just a Mountain Dew and I said you better get 12 rebounds and you’ve got a Mountain Dew coming, I swear to God he’d have 11 rebounds with two seconds to go and you better believe he’s going for that twelfth,” claims Fleming. “He’s just so hungry for goals, and that’s a beautiful thing for a coach.”

His goals extended to the classroom as well. A first team academic all state selection, Allen will attend Eastern Michigan University in the fall to study accounting on a partial academic scholarship. He also plans on walking on for the Eagles football team.

His 6’3” height and an admitted lack of jumping ability might be a hindrance for him in the all star game, and his average speed a road block on the gridiron. Fleming, however, is confident that, with his work ethic, Allen, won’t fly under the radar for long in either venue.

“He won’t be the flashiest kid out there, but if he gets the same amount of time as anybody else, he will lead them in rebounding,” predicted Fleming, adding that the football team would be lucky to grab on to a player like Allen.

“He’s probably the most relentless player I’ve ever coached.”

He’s also one of the thirstiest.