Mount Hebron's Kevin Tonkins is an explosive basketball player -- a quick leaper with smooth finesse moves around the basket and turn-on-the-crowd, slam-dunking ability.
That explosiveness is the reason his teammates nicknamed him "Chocolate Thunder."
In the last eight games Tonkins has played up to his true ability, erasing the memory of a slow, injury-hampered start.
A pulled stomach muscle kept him out of three pre-league games and his absence contributed to losses against Loyola and Poly, two of Mount Hebron's more challenging opponents.
Once healed, it took time for him to regain his conditioning.
The pent-up frustration of what had been until then a personally disappointing season exhibited itself against Wilde Lake in the fifth league game.
He got into early foul trouble, and after drawing a technical for protesting a reaching-in foul against him, he kicked the team bench and left the court for the locker room.
The Vikings fell behind by 18 but came back to win that game. Tonkins went scoreless but the game proved to be a personal turning point.
"I try to be a perfectionist and when I make mistakes I overreact to them," Tonkins said about the Wilde Lake incident.
Vikings coach Scott Robinson said: "Since that Wilde Lake game he has played really focused and under control. He's been very positive and has played hard, and hasn't put too much pressure on himself."
During the eight games since that incident he has averaged 15 points, rebounded well, blocked shots and gone on a couple of dunking binges. He has 12 dunks, including three in one game against Glenelg and two against Wilde Lake.
Last Tuesday against Oakland Mills he played his best overall game by scoring 17 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, blocking four shots and making two steals.
"Playing at Oakland Mills is definitely an experience," he said. "The fans there are really rowdy and let you know if you make a mistake."
In a previous victory over Oakland Mills he scored a season-high 18 points.
Tonkins is respected by his opponents as one of the top players in the league. "He almost beat us twice this year," said Oakland Mills' Irving Conwell.
Tonkins also earns plenty of respect from opposing coaches.
"We concentrated on controlling him," Wilde Lake coach Paul Ellis said. "He was a big concern because he can easily explode for 15 or 20 points."
Tonkins considers himself a slasher and finesse player whose basketball strengths are quickness and leaping ability.
"And I think opponents tend to underestimate me because of my size," he said. He's 6-foot-2 and 172 pounds and normally plays against bigger opponents.
Tonkins started last season at small forward and averaged about nine points and five rebounds as the Vikings tied for the county title with Atholton.
This season, at a No. 4 position, he is averaging 11.3 points and 9.2 rebounds.
In two seasons he's come a long way from eighth man on the junior varsity to varsity standout.
"I've grown about four or five inches since JV and I'm still growing," he said.
His older brother, Phil, is a sophomore starter for Gettysburg College and a former Viking standout. Phil is 6-foot-4, and Kevin hopes to reach the same height.
A good student, Kevin wants to major in electrical engineering at Drexel University and take his chances as a walk-on at that Division I school.