Just Watch This

Alcoa drops statement 100 points to win district

By Stefan Cooper
Editor
Blount Press Row

It’s an old playground move we thought long gone.

As Alcoa’s Jabriel Koko got into position for a rebound at the District 2AA championship game last week at Eagleton, Austin-East’s De’Andre Hundley reached back and grabbed a fist full of Koko’s shorts to keep Koko from jumping.

Didn’t work, though.

There’d be no rebound. Alcoa’s Joseph Carter drained the 3. In fact, there was little the Roadrunners were able to do to hold the Tornadoes in a 100-80 clock-killing win for the two-time defending state champions.

They’ll do it again Thursday night in the Region 1AA championship game at Unicoi. The rematch between Alcoa (27-5) and Austin-East (17-16) determines who stays home for Monday night’s sectional and who hits the road.

Tipoff is 7 p.m.

The 100-point outburst in the district decider was no small thing considering the Tornadoes began this year’s state title defense without a pair of key elements.

School all-time leading scorer Jahvin Carter, the first Blount County player — boys or girls — to reach 3,000 career points since girls basketball in the state went fullcourt with the 1980 season, was off to Penn State after last year’s title defense. Alcoa’s first-ever Mr. Basketball winner, Carter took with him a huge chunk of the scoring.

Also gone was forward Eli Owens, who graduated early in December and left to get an early start on his college football career at Michigan.

How would Alcoa replace them?

“Last year, we just depended on Jah,” sophomore Jamir Dean said. “This year, we’ve got scorers left and right.”

It’s more the mindset the Tornadoes take into every season than one single player, Alcoa coach Ryan Collins said.

“It’s a different entity (each season) and you’ve got to figure out what the strengths are year to year,” he said. “Even though players come and players go, ‘What are our strengths?’

“I think our biggest strength (this season) is kind of our depth. I think anybody we put out on the floor at any time is a threat, and, when you put out five true threats, offensively and defensively, you can be pretty tough on both sides of the ball.”

Five players went for double figures the night the Tornadoes gave the Roadrunners 100. Dean paced a torrid attack with a game-high 21. Condis Cherry was right behind him with 20 and a trio of 3s. Moro Ayl was a bucket back with 18 and two bombs.

Versatile big Jay Kirk scorched the netting for 17 points and a pair of treys. Jabriel Koko pumped in 11.

“Because we have so many different options, anybody can go off on any given night,” said senior Eli Graf, looking for his seventh state championship ring with these Tornadoes.

The Carson-Newman football signee won four state titles on the gridiron.

“People underestimated us a lot since we lost Jah, but we don’t listen to that or entertain that,” Dean said. “We just do what we do. We listen to coach Collins and our seniors and do it for our seniors.”