Parker: Eagles have reason to hold their heads high

MURFREESBORO -- As an athletic, wiry young man walked down the ramp out of the Murphy Center's Monte Hale Arena, he humbly kept his head fixed to the ground with a medal around his neck and a huge chunk of hardware in his arms that read "Mr. Basketball" and told everyone he was one of the top three players in the state this season.

Despite the fact that he scored 22 points and brought down 15 rebounds in arguably the most impressive game in Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association history, he seemed to find a way to think he lost the state championship for his team.

"I've been extremely proud of this year. Too bad I came up short," he said with his head still fixated on the concrete below him.

The basketball gods forced his baseline 3-pointer out of the bottom of the net in Saturday's double overtime 76-75 loss to Memphis Hamilton, the country's eighth-ranked team.

But Barry Stewart has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. He and the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles are winners in every sense of the word.

They gave a small Southern town reason to hope and believe. If you weren't in attendance or glued to a television on Saturday evening, shame on you.

Naysayers constantly bet against them. They repeatedly proved them wrong.

Even the most faithful of followers bowed down when Hamilton first jogged out of the locker room.

"We ain't got a chance...just look at them."

But basketball talent is never judged by appearance. You can wear all the headbands, tights and tattoos you want, but no decoration makes the heart any bigger.

Stewart showed his blood pump is easily the biggest muscle in his body by sinking three consecutive free throws with no time left on the clock in front of an arena full of screaming fans with his high school career and his team's fate on the line.

"He stepped up and made the big free throws in the clutch, and I commend him," said Hamilton's Joseph Watkins, the tournament MVP. "I take my hat off to him. He played great. The whole team played great."

Just to be in uniform that night is a memory fit for the ears of tiny grand-children.

"I shook a man's hand who handed me the coaches plaque and he said, 'There's nothing wrong with being a part of the greatest game in TSSAA history,'" Central coach Kevin Thomas said.

Along with playing for the first gold ball in school history, this collection of Golden Eagles won 34 games and took down some great teams along the way.

They beat a pair of state champs in Brentwood Academy (33-2) and Madison Academy (31-6) of Huntsville, Ala. These weren't exactly arguably the best team's in their class either. Brentwood Academy beat Evangelical Christian by 24 points and Madison Academy defeated two-time defending state champion Sumter County by 25.

"Coming into the season, we had to write a paper about what we looked forward to this year," Shelbyville senior Dequan Twilley said. "On my paper, I put that my goal was to be standing as the last team.

"It didn't happen tonight, but throughout the season my team played hard. The coaching staff worked very hard for us as far as scouting teams and getting us ready for games. Overall, we had a great season. This is the kind of season a senior can ask for."

Thomas echoed his sentiments.

"It's just been an extraordinary year from the standpoint of the way our kids behave on and off the court. They're winners."

Who can argue? District regular season and tourney champs. Sectional champs.

They also shot down teams with great players. Along with BA's Brandan Wright, who's North Carolina bound, they defeated Raleigh Egypt and Bradley Central. They are led by two of the premiere junior point guards in the country in Maurice Williams and Terrence Oglesby, respectively.

Demario Ragland, Matt Johnson, Twilley and Stewart depart with a flare for greatness and a winner's legacy.

"Hopefully, we're leaving behind a sense to win," Stewart said.

"This group of seniors is going to leave a legacy that 'Hey, it can be done and we've done it,'" Thomas said. "It's just going to come with hard work because that's how they got here.

"They're undersized. But, man they got big hearts and great work ethic."

Feel free to introduce yourself and let them know how proud you are of them when you see them in the crowd at SCHS gym for years to come.

You know Dequan will be there when he gets a chance to come home from college. His brother Deonta and cousin Emmanuel Andrews will grace the local hardwood for at least the next three years.

"We've left a lot. They've got to step up and do it big like we did this year," Dequan said. "I wish those guys the best of luck the rest of their years in high school. I just want them to remember this. As far as we got this year, they just need to work harder than we did and they can get it."

Good luck outworking this group of men. They aren't afraid to put in overtime.

Danny Parker is sports editor at the Times-Gazette.