Eagles take aim at state tournament

With four starters returning along with a key reserve, expectations are running high for Shelbyville Central's Golden Eagles as basketball season nears.

Coming off a 26-7 season where the Eagles were runners-up in the district and region tournaments and missed advancing to the TSSAA State Tournament by one point, coach Kevin Thomas and his team are motivated for even better results this season.

The Eagles have dominated District 8-AAA over the last several years, winning 54 of their last 56 district games.

"Our expectations are very high for this season," Thomas said. "We expect to win the district tournament and be the number one seed going into the region. We also expect to advance to the state tournament. We do realize that there's a lot of basketball to be played before then and the region is much tougher.

"Siegel is one of the best teams in the state then Smyrna and La Vergne are now in our region, so that's going to make the road a little tougher because I think our region is as tough as any in the state. I don't think we need much more motivation that that."

The Eagles are led by senior guard Emmanuel Andrews, who's considered one of the state's best players. He averaged 24 points a game last year and has the ability to score off the dribble or knock down a 3-pointer.

Add to the mix seven players taller than six feet in Seth Jarrell (6-6 junior), Trevor Reed (6-3 junior), Brian Campbell (6-3 senior), Bobby Wilson (6-2 junior), Nathan Jefferies (6-2 senior), Scotty Archibald (6-2 junior) and Christian Haile (6-0 sophomore) and opponents face huge matchup problems.

Archibald is a transfer from Nashville who's expected to provide great depth as the season progresses.

"This is most definitely one of the biggest teams I've had going into my 11th year at Shelbyville," Thomas said. "I know a lot of teams are going to try to slow down Emmanuel and run gimmick defenses on him but I feel really good about our size inside and our opponents may have to choose their poison. If we make good passes and take care of the ball we're going to be really hard to defend, I don't care how teams try to defend us."

One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle for the Eagles is replacing point guard Deonta Twilley, who is now at Walters State.

Isiah Washington and Zach Hamler will be called upon to handle point guard duties with Andrews available as well.

"Isiah and Zach have got to be themselves," Thomas said. "I don't expect them to come out and get 12 points and six assists a game like Deonta did last year. The biggest thing for them is just to be poised and steady and run our basketball team."

Defensively Shelbyville will play a lot of man-to-man, throw in a few traps and mix in a zone from time to time.

The Eagles' schedule is extremely challenging, including a matchup with visiting Siegel on Jan. 5.

Shelbyville ended Siegel's year in the region semifinals last season.

"That will be a huge game with a number of Division I players on the floor," Thomas said. "All our fans need to mark their calendar and make sure not to miss that game. We play a tough schedule to help prepare us for the postseason."

Shelbyville should be the front runner to claim another district championship with Columbia and Lawrence County, along with the rest of the district, looking to play spoiler.

The Eagles open at home Monday night at 6:30 against Blackman.