Cleveland's JaCobi Wood, left, and Madison Hayes of East Hamilton were named Mr. and Miss Basketball in Class 3A during an awards ceremony Tuesday evening at MTSU's Murphy Center. This was the second straight year for Hayes to be named to the honor.
photo by Contributed
(UPDATED with quotes from Madison Hayes) Cleveland’s JaCobi Wood and East Hamilton’s Madison Hayes were named TSSAA Division I Class 3A Mr. and Miss Basketball Tuesday night in a ceremony at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center.
Wood joined Vincent Yarbrough as just the second Blue Raider to be honored as Tennessee’s top male player in the classification, while this was Hayes second straight year winning the award.
“It was a great feeling,” said Wood of the moment they announced his name.
“I just thought about all the hard work I’d put in, all the work with my teammates, with coach after hours, with my AAU coach, everything.”
“It just meant a lot for me to be out there and to be one of the finalists. My friends and I had been talking about being able to win Mr. Basketball and fulfilling one of our goals that we set together. We don’t strive to get individual goals or to go out on the court and try to score the most points. With our team, we always just let that stuff go on its own and whatever happens, happens. We’re such an unselfish team, and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in right now because of that mindset.”
Wood averaged 28 points, 5 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game this season, and also scored 50 points in a game twice. He has also led the Blue Raiders to a 33-1 record, the No. 1 ranking all season by The Associated Press, and a berth in the state tournament next week.
Wood, who was joined by his family, Cleveland coach Reggie Tucker and principal Autumn O’Bryan, and his AAU coach Will Harris among others, said none of this would have been possible without the support of those around him, and the entire Cleveland High School community.
“It means a lot to have the support of the entire Cleveland High School community; I don’t take that for granted.” Wood said. “I appreciate all the people I’ve had on my side, and making sure I know which ones are really on my side. Sticking together with my family and all of the close ones that I have with me, it really means a lot and helps me be great.”
“I’m extremely excited for JaCobi,” said Tucker. “It seems like yesterday me and him were sitting in my office after pre-season workouts talking about him being Mr. Basketball.”
Wood dedicated this season to his late brother, Jay Mee, Jr., who passed away last May in an accident at the Ocoee River just before his 26th birthday. Wood said that Mee would’ve been overjoyed about his little brother bringing home the prestigious honor, but would also make sure he knew that the work wasn’t finished.
“He would be proud, definitely, but I know he would tell me that this isn’t over, we’ve still got more work to do,” Wood said. “Getting back in the gym tomorrow, that’s what he would want me to do, to just keep striving to be better every day. The one thing he always told me was to never settle; that’s the one thing I always kept with me. He said never settle, and always try to be great.”
Wood will get that chance to be great as the Blue Raiders begin their quest for the Gold Ball next week right back in “The Glass House” where the senior was just honored. Cleveland is set to play Whitehaven at 10 a.m. Central time next Wednesday.
“I’m so excited,” Wood said of the opportunity. “We’re playing Whitehaven, another tough team, and I love it. The atmosphere at MTSU, I can already tell how it’s going to be. It’s going to be fun being together with my team one more time in my last year for three more games hopefully, and try to bring this gold ball back.”
It has been quite a year in a legendary prep career for Hayes. In addition to Tuesday night's honor, the future Mississippi State Bulldog was named a McDonald’s All-American, a Naismith All-American semifinalist, Gatorade Tennessee Girls Basketball Player of the Year, and was just named a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American honorable mention. She also won gold last summer for Team USA in the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup in Mongolia.
"This means a lot to me because I was up against good players in Alasia Hayes (Riverdale) and Denae Fritz (Maryville)," said Hayes. "I'm excited that I was chosen and that my team and family were there to support me."
Hayes finished her illustrious high school career with over 3,000 points, 1,500 rebounds, 500 assists, and 500 steals. The point total put her in elite company as the tenth female in Tennessee history to reach the milestone, and just the fourth in the 5-on-5 era.
Like Wood, Hayes was also surrounded by family, as well as East Hamilton coaches Hunter Gremore and Shameca Gardner, principal Brent Eller and athletic director Keitha Booker, as well as all of her teammates and a few other supporters.
Hayes and the Lady Hurricanes had their season end in a heart-breaking loss to Stone Memorial 62-60 in the region quarterfinals, but she is excited about beginning the next chapter at Mississippi State and feels that her time at East Hamilton has prepared her to turn the page.
"I think starting out as an eighth grader playing up at the high school, and trying to learn the system, I feel that's how college is going to be. I feel like I'm that eighth grader again coming into high school, and trying to adjust to college and to the system there, as well as to the people who are coaching me and how they coach. I feel like starting young really helped, because now I'll have to kind of be young again."
Hayes, who watched what she could of the Lady Bulldogs defeat to top-ranked South Carolina in the SEC championship game while at a camp, is excited about getting on campus and working towards putting her new team on top of the conference.
"South Carolina is a really great team, but I feel like myself and a couple of players that we have coming in can really make a difference on our team. I feel like we can beat them next year, because (Mississippi State) was really young this year with only one senior. Next year we'll have more experience."
This was the fourth year in a row that District 5-3A has had a finalist for Miss Basketball, with Bradley Central’s Rhyne Howard named a finalist in 2017 before winning the award the following year.
2020 MR. AND MISS BASKETBALL WINNERS
Division II-A Miss Basketball
Macey Lee, Trinity Christian
Division II-AA Miss Basketball
Dontavia Waggoner, Ensworth
Class A Miss Basketball
Chloe Moore-McNeil, Greenfield
Class AA Miss Basketball
Keeley Carter, Macon County
Class AAA Miss Basketball
Madison Hayes, East Hamilton
Division II-A Mr. Basketball
Moussa Cisse, Lausanne
Division II-AA Mr. Basketball
Kennedy Chandler, Briarcrest
Class A Mr. Basketball
John McClaran, Eagleville
Class AA Mr. Basketball
Johnathan Lawson, Wooddale
Class AAA Mr. Basketball
JaCobi Wood, Cleveland
(E-mail Kevin Llewallyn at kevin.llewallyn@gmail.com.)