Terryonte Thomas didn’t know what to make of the text message from Drew McBrayer: Call me ASAP.
Thomas thought the New Hope High School boys basketball coach wanted to talk to him about the team’s practice Wednesday, when he felt worked hard and tried to get into the passing lanes, communicate with his teammates, and rotated to the back side.
While McBrayer appreciated Thomas’ effort in practice to make the Trojans better, he wanted to tell Thomas he had been selected to play in the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Basketball Game.
“I was happy and honored,” the 6-foot-4 senior guard said. “I was just glad to be selected to represent Mississippi.”
Thomas will join Starkville High center Jesse Little on the 12-player team that will take on the top senior All-Stars from Alabama at 7 p.m. Friday, March 17, at Dunn-Oliver Acadome on the campus of Alabama State in Montgomery, Alabama.
Mississippi State signee Nikolas Weatherspoon, of Velma Jackson High, also was named to the team. Calhoun City’s Ladavius Drain, Callaway’s Kassim Nicholson, Clinton’s Jerrez Porter and Galin Smith, Laurel’s Troymain Crosby, Meridian’s Ladarrius Brewer, Oxford’s Jarkel Joiner, Pontotoc’s Tyeus Jones, and Ripley’s Dewayne Cox round out the team that will be coached by Clinton’s Clay Norton.
Last year, Starkville High’s Tyson Carter and Columbus High’s Demetrice Clopton were selected to play in the game. Carter had 14 points as Mississippi earned an 85-83 victory to snap Alabama’s four-game winning streak in the series. Alabama leads the event 14-12.
Columbus High School boys basketball coach Gary Griffin said Thursday morning that Robert Woodard II has been selected for the North/South All-Star game, which features the top juniors from the state of Mississippi.
Woodard II is averaging 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and four-and-a-half blocked shots per game for Columbus, which will play host to Hernando on Friday night.
“I try to keep up with things, and he still is the No. 1 junior in the Class of 2018, and his stats have went up from last year,” Griffin said. “College coaches and high school coaches have told me they think Robert’s leadership skills and his skill level have developed and matured from last year. He is deserving not only to be in the North/South game but to be one of the best players in the nation.”
Starkville High girls basketball coach Kristie Williams said Thursday morning she hadn’t received official word about senior center Kelsey Jones making the team. She also wasn’t able to confirm that junior guard Tabreea Gandy had been named to the North/South All-Star game.
The Mississippi/Alabama girls All-Star game will be played at 5 p.m. Friday, March 17.
Thomas is the first New Hope High player to be named to the game since Rashanti Harris and Dale Hughes, who led the Trojans to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A State title in 2008. Thomas has been a fixture in New Hope’s lineup since his freshman year. Back then, he played in the post, but his game has evolved and he is now a backcourt player who often plays point guard for New Hope (13-6), which will play host to Oxford on Friday night. Thomas is averaging just under 19 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and almost five assists per game.
McBrayer said he received a phone call Wednesday afternoon following his team’s practice. He said he wasn’t surprised Thomas was selected.
“It shows hard work pays off,” McBrayer said. “He has worked his tail off to get there.”
McBrayer said he nominated Thomas to play in the game. He said a selection committee of coaches from throughout the state then picked the team. He believes Thomas, Harris, and Hughes might be the only New Hope players who have been selected to participate in the game. He said it was the goal of Thomas, who played in the junior All-Star game last season, to play in the senior All-Star event.
“His versatility is one of his biggest attributes,” McBrayer said. “He can do so many things for you on the floor. … He can play inside and outside, he can be tough around the rim, and now he can knock down shots from the 3-point line, which he has added to his game. That has helped him a tremendous amount.”
Thomas said he wasn’t surprised he was selected because he felt he had a good chance because New Hope has played well this season. He said the experience he gained from playing in the junior All-Star event last year will help him know how hard he will have to play and what it will take to win in the senior All-Star game.
Thomas also said the chance to play in front of college coaches could help him wrap up the recruiting process. Earlier this year, Thomas said he has a number of schools he is interested in, but McBrayer said Thomas is focused on his senior season and that he will let his recruitment take care of itself.
“It is a great honor to be selected to a team like that because you’re talking about the 12 best seniors in the state of Mississippi,” McBrayer said. “He knows he is going to play college basketball next year and he is going to wait and let the chips fall where they may and make a decision at that time.”
Starkville High boys basketball coach Greg Carter echoed McBrayer’s thoughts about Thomas when he said Little has invested significant time and effort to improve his skills. He said he thought Little, who is 6-9, should have been selected for the North/South All-Star game last season. He said Little used not being selected as motivation.
“He has put a lot of extra time into his game,” said Carter, who is the father of Tyson, and is a former player at MSU. “He will go to the gym in the morning and find places to work out on the weekend. He started that last March and it has paid off.”
Carter said Little is averaging 14 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots per game this season. He said American, College of Charleston, Austin Peay, and Middle Tennessee State are some of the schools that have expressed interest in Little.
“He is blocking shots at a much higher rate than last season,” Carter said. “Last year, we were a pretty good defensive team on the perimeter and we kept the ball in front of us. This year, we have struggled with it a little bit and he covers up a lot of those mistakes. He is a much better scoring option, too. When he catches the ball close to the block he is scoring or getting fouled, and he is shooting the perimeter jump shot better.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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