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The road to Hillsboro legend started in sixth grade for Cortez Graham-Howard.
It actually started in the backyard of his future head coach.
Hillsboro head coach Rodney Thweatt was introduced to Cortez by his cousin Jamie Graham, The now Lipscomb Academy football coach saw something special in his little cousin and thought Thweatt was the man to help bring his talents to the surface.
That day they talked and began to bond while eating some cheeseburgers. Fast forward to Saturday night and the two were standing together and raising the program’s first state title following a 57-42 win over Oak Ridge in the Class 4A championship game.
“Right now for me it’s all about these guys and what they did this year and tonight,” Thweatt said. “I’m focused on this group and their commitment every single day to getting better. We don’t run a loose or easy ship.
…when you come to Hillsboro you have to commit yourself to working, grinding and doing things the right way. Since the first day they got to campus they did that and I’m just so proud of them. I just wanted the last game for this group to be something special and that’s what it was.”
Foul trouble in two of the three games limited Graham-Howard’s playing time in the second halves of those games. Even dealing with those foul problems he averaged a team-high 17.7 points.
He finished his high school career scoring a team-high 20 points and grabbing five boards in 26 minutes of action.
For Hillsboro, it wasn’t just a major win for the school, but for Metro Nashville as a whole. It was the first time since 1981’s Pearl High School squad that a Metro Nashville school won a large class state championship.
“It really is amazing and I just can’t believe we did it coming as far as we have since freshman year,” Graham-Howard said. “Being that first team to win it in such a long team means a lot. Especially with the perception that’s on Metro Nashville basketball.
…for us to be a Metro school and win it over other counties, it’s huge. It’s a big accomplishment.”
Jalen Heard comes up clutch
Things looked bleak when Graham-Howard picked up his fourth foul late in the third quarter and Oak Ridge was surging.
At the time of the foul the Burros lead was a mere four points. Graham-Howard checked out and Jalen Heard checked in.
A transfer from Cookeville prior to the season, Heard’s proven himself time and time again throughout the season. He was at his best Saturday night.
Shortly after checking in Heard stole the ball away from Oak Ridge and drove the court for a quicky layup. He then proceeded to knock down a three as time expired giving the Burros a seven-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Heard wasn’t done though. He connected on another three-pointer 20 seconds into the quarter and from there, the Burros never looked back.
“He brought a lot coming from Cookeville,” Graham-Howard said. “It can be hard to bring someone new into an experienced group like we have. He’s not selfish and came up big for us tonight.”
Tyren Fisher ends career as tournament MVP
While Graham-Howard is a Mr. Basketball finalist who gets a lot of the spotlight, the Burros have a run a six-man rotation that’s allowed all of their stars to shine in different ways.
Graham-Howard was the Burros’ tournament scoring leader but it was Tyran Fisher who was named the tournament’s overall MVP. He led the Burros’ rebounding, assists, steals and blocks per games while only being off the court for a total of two minutes in three games.
When Fisher’s name was called as the tournament MVP, Thweatt didn’t hide emotions shedding some tears and pumping his fists into the air.
“Sometimes as a coach you can have strong relationships but I don’t know if you can have a stronger relationship than me and Ty,” Thweatt said. “Me know what he’s capable of, I tried pushing and pulling it out of him every day. We’ve had some hard talks I’m sure he didn’t want to hear at those times.
…he took all of that and did everything I asked him to do. His defense, rebounding, winning impact plays, I can’t say enough about him and I’m going to miss him to death. I told he was capable of dominating basketball games and that’s what he did this week.”
