Stewart a success on, off court

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Four years ago, former Shelbyville Central Golden Eagle basketball standout and Class AAA Mr. Basketball recipient Barry Stewart decided to further his education as well as his basketball career at Mississippi State University.

That decision turned out to be great for both Stewart and Mississippi State.

As his college career winds down, the success and experiences he's encountered as a Bulldog are far beyond what he expected.

Over the past four years, Mississippi State has won three Southeastern Western Division championships as well as the SEC tournament championship last year.

Stewart, a 6-foot-3 guard, will leave Starkville as the all-time leading 3-point shooter, the school record holder in minutes played and in the top five in assists. He was selected to the Coaches SEC All-Freshmen team and is a member of the MSU 1,000-point club.

"Back when I signed with Mississippi State I was young and knowing I'm going 4 1/2 hours away from home, I just wanted to make my way onto the court and hopefully have a good career," Stewart said. "Everything else has just been a great blessing."

Stewart has broadened his knowledge in the classroom and improved his skills on the court, but over the past four years he's found a way to maintain the character and morals he had while growing up in Shelbyville.

"My character and reputation means everything to me," Stewart said. "My mother and father have always told me that your reputation is all you've got so I try to make sure I keep a good clean reputation so I can give someone younger than me someone to look up to. There are so many people out there that do the wrong thing so I try to do the opposite and do the right thing.

"Sometimes trouble has a way of finding you but I'm not the type of guy that goes out looking for trouble. I just wasn't raised that way."

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury knew what he was getting when he signed Stewart and he has more than lived up to his expectations.

"I'll take a Barry Stewart every day at every position. He's absolutely a special player but he's an even better person and that's what everybody wants to talk about. He's had a great career for us."

His awards and accomplishments go far beyond his play on the basketball court as he was recently named to the SEC Men's Basketball Community Service Team.

"That's a very nice honor and I think there's more to this than just playing basketball, that's just a small part of our lives," Stewart said. "I'm just blessed to have the opportunity to touch others' lives. Going to schools and being able to read to them, helping out at camps and encouraging others to do the right thing is some of the most fun I've had in a long time."

Stewart was recently honored on Senior Night in pregame festivities before the Bulldogs' matchup against Tennessee.

"Senior Night was a real emotional experience for me. When they introduced me and I walked out of that tunnel with over 10,000 fans cheering for me, it was really overwhelming," Stewart said. "But the best part about it was having my family and friends there for me. That really made it special."

Shelbyville Central basketball coach Kevin Thomas had the opportunity to attend Senior Night and was able to spend some time with his former player after the game.

"I didn't realize how emotional it was going to be until I got there and they started talking about what all Barry had achieved," Thomas said. "When he was introduced to the crowd it was probably the first time I've broke down and cried in a long time. I had tears come to my eyes simply because I looked back and thought about watching him play in junior high and how hard he worked throughout his high school career. He's just such a great person and to see the success he's achieved just really makes you proud."

Stewart and the Bulldogs have an opening round bye in the SEC tournament and play the Florida/Auburn winner at Bridgestone Arena on Friday night at 6:30.

"I'm looking forward to playing in the SEC tournament in Nashville," Stewart said. "I'm sure there will be a lot of people dressed in Vanderbilt's black and gold and Tennessee's orange and while but it will be great getting to play back in Middle Tennessee and hopefully they will be a number of Mississippi State fans there as well."

He's on track to graduate in May with a degree in Information Technology Services but won't rule out the possibly of playing professional basketball at some level.

"After the season my main goal is finishing up my degree and graduate," Stewart said. "It would be hard to just put away a basketball just like that and if I have any opportunities to continue to play basketball I'm sure I'll look into any possibilities I might have."

Who knows what the future holds for Stewart, but if his past is any indication he'll be successful in whatever he encounters.

"The past four years at Mississippi State has been a wonderful experience for me," he said. "It's not easy bringing a group of guys together to win and get on the same common goal. To have achieved that, it's really been something special."