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MURFREESBORO ― Jahvin Carter wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see his alma mater take one step closer to repeating history.
Alcoa's all-time leading scorer, now in the transfer portal after playing his freshman season with Penn State, led the Tornadoes to consecutive state titles in 2023 and 2024, earning tournament MVP honors both seasons and Class 2A Mr. Basketball last year.
On Wednesday he was in attendance for Alcoa's 65-55 win over Hickman County in the TSSAA boys basketball state tournament quarterfinals, as the Tornados move within one win of a third consecutive state championship appearance.
Alcoa plays the winner of Jackson Central-Merry and Jackson County on Friday at 2:15 p.m. in the Class 2A state semifinals.
MORE: Top players entering TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025
BRACKET: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule and scores
"I think a complete program connects the past to the present to the future ..." Alcoa coach Ryan Collins said. "It's cool to have (Carter) and Brandon Winton over there behind us and there's no place they'd rather be, than with their guys.
"That just shows love for (the team). They want them to win but they want to be here for (Jamir Dean and Condis Cherry), they want to be here for the rest of the kids in our locker room."
Dean, a sophomore, played alongside Carter on last season's state championship winning team and leaned on the advice of his former teammate on Wednesday, as Alcoa went into halftime with a 15-point lead.
Carter pulled Dean to the side at the break and urged him to be more aggressive, get into the paint and draw fouls, advice he took to heart in the second half as he went 4-of-4 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line for 13 points.
Dean finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, calling the atmosphere inside MTSU's Murphy Center familiar, having found success on this stage as a freshman. After experiencing the joy of lifting the gold ball last year, Dean is making sure he doesn't take any moment for granted on this year's run.
"It's not a guaranteed thing every year, it could be a once in a lifetime experience, you never know," Dean said.
MORE: Lady Vols recruit Haylen Ayers among 12 honored as TSSAA Mr. and Miss Basketball winners for 2025
It's a sentiment echoed by his fellow sophomore Condis Cherry, a standout football player who transferred to Alcoa from Austin-East ahead of the school year. Cherry was at the state tournament last year with Austin-East, alongside his brother Shane, and experienced the heartbreak of a state quarterfinals loss to Douglass.
"(I learned) just don't take it for granted. It's a privilege to be here," said Cherry, who had 22 points. "Last year I lost in the first round and (I've) been thinking about it for the whole season, like, how do I get past the first round?"
Cherry has now cleared that first hurdle which alluded him at Austin-East, but the expectations for Alcoa are gold ball or bust, and all Wednesday's win represented was one step closer to their season-long goal.
With expectations comes pressure though, a balance the Tornadoes have been intentional about striking as they continuing moving toward a third straight state championship appearance.
"It's really hard," Collins said. "... now it's an expectation for us to be here. It's an expectation to win this game and again, we've got to flip the script. We've talked for two years now on replacing expectations with intentions.
"And the biggest thing is, we've done the work, alright, now let's just let go of the result. And we go out there with great freedom when you know the result is gone."
Harrison Campbell covers high school sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025: Alcoa advances with win
Continue reading...
Alcoa's all-time leading scorer, now in the transfer portal after playing his freshman season with Penn State, led the Tornadoes to consecutive state titles in 2023 and 2024, earning tournament MVP honors both seasons and Class 2A Mr. Basketball last year.
On Wednesday he was in attendance for Alcoa's 65-55 win over Hickman County in the TSSAA boys basketball state tournament quarterfinals, as the Tornados move within one win of a third consecutive state championship appearance.
Alcoa plays the winner of Jackson Central-Merry and Jackson County on Friday at 2:15 p.m. in the Class 2A state semifinals.
MORE: Top players entering TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025
BRACKET: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule and scores
"I think a complete program connects the past to the present to the future ..." Alcoa coach Ryan Collins said. "It's cool to have (Carter) and Brandon Winton over there behind us and there's no place they'd rather be, than with their guys.
"That just shows love for (the team). They want them to win but they want to be here for (Jamir Dean and Condis Cherry), they want to be here for the rest of the kids in our locker room."
Dean, a sophomore, played alongside Carter on last season's state championship winning team and leaned on the advice of his former teammate on Wednesday, as Alcoa went into halftime with a 15-point lead.
Carter pulled Dean to the side at the break and urged him to be more aggressive, get into the paint and draw fouls, advice he took to heart in the second half as he went 4-of-4 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line for 13 points.
Dean finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, calling the atmosphere inside MTSU's Murphy Center familiar, having found success on this stage as a freshman. After experiencing the joy of lifting the gold ball last year, Dean is making sure he doesn't take any moment for granted on this year's run.
"It's not a guaranteed thing every year, it could be a once in a lifetime experience, you never know," Dean said.
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MORE: Lady Vols recruit Haylen Ayers among 12 honored as TSSAA Mr. and Miss Basketball winners for 2025
It's a sentiment echoed by his fellow sophomore Condis Cherry, a standout football player who transferred to Alcoa from Austin-East ahead of the school year. Cherry was at the state tournament last year with Austin-East, alongside his brother Shane, and experienced the heartbreak of a state quarterfinals loss to Douglass.
"(I learned) just don't take it for granted. It's a privilege to be here," said Cherry, who had 22 points. "Last year I lost in the first round and (I've) been thinking about it for the whole season, like, how do I get past the first round?"
Cherry has now cleared that first hurdle which alluded him at Austin-East, but the expectations for Alcoa are gold ball or bust, and all Wednesday's win represented was one step closer to their season-long goal.
With expectations comes pressure though, a balance the Tornadoes have been intentional about striking as they continuing moving toward a third straight state championship appearance.
"It's really hard," Collins said. "... now it's an expectation for us to be here. It's an expectation to win this game and again, we've got to flip the script. We've talked for two years now on replacing expectations with intentions.
"And the biggest thing is, we've done the work, alright, now let's just let go of the result. And we go out there with great freedom when you know the result is gone."
Harrison Campbell covers high school sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025: Alcoa advances with win
Continue reading...
