Panthers are poised for championship run again,
Brainerd boys’ basketball coach Levar Brown began planning for this week nearly a year ago exactly.
On the drive back from last year’s disappointing loss in the Class AA championship game, Brown knew he had a base of talent to build on and potentially make a return trip to Murfreesboro, site of the TSSAA’s Division I state tournaments.
So Brown put together a challenging schedule that included eight games against teams in a larger classification and seven against state-ranked competition.
The tough regular-season road did in fact lead Brainerd back to state for a third consecutive season. The Panthers, winners of 10 of their past 11 games, will step on the floor of Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center this morning at 11 Eastern to take on Haywood in a quarterfinal.
“It’s going to be a very tough test for us, no doubt,” Brown said. “They’re very athletic and they’ve got good size. They can run and they can shoot, so we’ll have our hands full. But I like my team. I like the way we approach games, and the kids have worked hard to get back here and have another shot.”
The winner will face the winner between Maplewood (26-7) and Sullivan East (31-7) in the semifinals at 3:45 p.m. Friday.
The area’s most decorated boys’ basketball program, Brainerd also has more state tournament experience than any other school competing in the eight-team AA bracket. The Panthers are making their 17th appearance in a state tourney, but Haywood is next with 14. They’re also the only two AA teams to have previously won state championships, with the Panthers owning three and the Tomcats winning their lone title two years ago.
Brained’s run to last year’s title game snapped a 19-year dry spell without an area team reaching the title game in one of the state’s two largest classifications.
After rolling past Livingston Academy by 19 points in a sectional this season, the Panthers (29-5) have had more than a week to rest and prepare for Haywood, which averages nearly 70 points and outrebounds opponents by 15 per game.
The Tomcats (26-7), who are on a nine-game winning streak and have typically used their up-tempo style to race to early leads, are led by senior forwards Tristan Jarrett, who averages 21.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and Dedric Boyd, who averages 20.5 and 5.
Brainerd is led by the calm presence and inside-outside scoring ability of senior point guard Kentrell Evans. Fellow senior Jesse Walker was a standout in the post in last year’s state tournament and again in last week’s sectional game.
Brown admits his team will lean on the experience of those two, as well as three other senior contributors today.
“We’ve been in a lot of big games and won against all types of teams,” Kentrell Evans said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence going back to the state tournament. We’ve been in that atmosphere and know how hard you have to play to move on.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.