Eagles expecting big things

As Shelbyville Central winds down the regular season and prepares for the postseason, coach Kevin Thomas believes his team's best basketball is still ahead.

After finishing runner-up in the District 8-AAA and Region 4-AAA tournaments, the Golden Eagles fell two points shy of the TSSAA state tournament after a 71-70 loss at Walker Valley in the sectional last season.

The recent suspensions of senior standout Emmanuel Andrews, junior Trevor Reed and sophomore Qua Allen for their involvement in an altercation after last Friday night's game against Lawrence County was a huge blow to the program.

"It's just unfortunate to have a situation like this happen this late in the season. This is really hard on Emmanuel, Qua, Trevor and all of the kids. All we can do is just step up and show everyone how much character we have and get through this together," Thomas said. "I really hate this for Emmanuel. He's the school's all-time leading scorer and it's a shame he has to go out like this. He really loves the game of basketball and no one questions how hard he plays the game."

With four starters returning from last year, expectations for this season remain high.

Even though the regular season hasn't gone as expected, the Eagles are primed and ready to make a run in the postseason.

"This has been an up and down season but the kids have really fought hard and bought into playing defense and that's really what's helped us all year long," Thomas said. "I think as the season has progressed, our maturity level has really gotten higher. I think we gotten more involved as a team on offense and I think these kids are more confident players and they know they can go out and make plays."

Defensively, Shelbyville is giving up an average of 55 points a game, with a number of quality teams on the schedule.

At the start of the season the Eagle offense was generated mainly by Andrews, a McDonald's All-American nominee. Before his suspension, Andrews was one of the leading scorers in the state, averaging over 28 points a game.

"We've gotten more people involved on offense since the first of the season. We've gone to a high-low offense and getting Seth Jarrell and

Bobby Wilson more touches inside the paint," Thomas said.

One area that the Eagles have excelled in all season is rebounding, averaging 32 boards a game, including 12 off the offensive glass.

Jarrell is leading the way with an average of eight rebounds a game. Wilson follows with an average of six a game with Nathan Jefferies collecting five.

"This team has really bought into rebounding and playing defense. That's kept us in a lot of games and it's also won us some games as well," Thomas said.

One area of concern for Shelbyville to be successful in the postseason is turnovers.

"For us to get to where we want to go, we've got to do a much better job of handling the basketball. Everybody on this team has got to do a better job of handling the basketball," Thomas said. "It's not just about handling the basketball; it's passing and knowing when somebody is open. Our timing on offense hasn't been consistent and we've got to do a better job of that."

The district and region tournaments will be as competitive as ever with a number of quality teams looking for one of two berths to the sectional.

"I think by far that we're going to have the best District 8-AAA tournament we've ever had since I've been here. Our district is as close and competitive as it's been in a while and I think on a given night anybody can win," Thomas said. "Then when you look at the region, the district we match up with may be the strongest district in the state. La Vergne and Smyrna are now included in that district and those teams not only have a lot of size but a lot of depth."

The District 8-AAA tournament will be played in Columbia with Shelbyville hosting the Region 4-AAA tournament.

Over the past several years, Shelbyville entered the postseason as one of the favorites. That's not the case this time around.

Columbia will be the top seed in the district tournament and powerhouses like Oakland, Siegel and La Vergne wait in the region.

"I think it's as important to win our district tournament as ever because that other district is so strong, especially their top three teams," Thomas said. "There's always the possibility of an upset over there so we can't worry about that other district, we've just got to concentrate on our district tournament and take it one game at a time.

"We have been the favorites for a while but I'm looking forward to being on this side and seeing what happens. The success we've had over the past number of years has really put a target on our backs and trying to get that message and our kids to understand that has been one of the hardest challenges we've had this season."

Despite the setbacks and the regular season losses, Shelbyville's expectations haven't changed.

"Former Eaglette coach (Rick) Insell told me one time that once you build a strong program, you're find out that it's a lot harder to stay on top than it was to get there," Thomas said. "We talk about hanging banners in the gym and we want to hang a 2010 banner in here as well."