Future bright for Scott County Central

COLUMBIA -- If this week's third-place finish in the Class 1 boys basketball tournament was a statement that Scott County Central is back, freshman Otto Porter has more bad news for other teams in the state.

"I have a little brother," Porter said. "But he has a long way to go."

Porter's brother is a fourth-grader.

But "Bubba," a string bean listed at 6 feet, 2 inches, should be around for a few more years, giving the Braves something to build around in their state championship hopes.

He scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 24 minutes Friday in the third-place victory against Fair Play.

"For only being a freshman, he plays like a senior," said senior teammate Caleb Johnson, an all-stater last year. "He's got a good mind, he shoots the ball really well, he rebounds well, he passes well. I told him he has to be physical, put on a little weight.

"I think he'll be pretty good by his senior year."

While Johnson might be understated about Porter, he expects big things from the program he is leaving.

"In the future, I see a lot of state championships," Johnson said.

Senior D.D. Gillespie believes that future is not far off.

"Next year, they'll probably be even bigger," Gillespie said. "They'll be a great team. If they come out and play their game, I think they'll win it all."

Scott County Central has more state championships -- 12 -- than any school in Missouri, but the Braves' 18 years of dominance ended in 1993, after they won their eighth Class 1A title in nine years. They finished second in the state in 1994.

For the Braves to return to the top, they may have to knock off the current dynasty -- Jefferson. The Eagles followed Thursday's two-point win against Scott County Central by winning their third straight state title with ease Friday.

"You take Jefferson, they've come up here three or four years in a row, so when a team gets up here, somebody else in the [school] wants to come on up and do it," Scott County coach Ronnie Cookson said. "It's really important in our program at Scott County Central High School that we get back. We've won a district four, five years in a row, and we needed this for everybody.

"I thought these kids here maybe broke the ice and maybe we can come back, if the kids come back and work hard. That's the biggest thing."

The Braves have plenty coming back. First, after saying for most of the year that he was done after this season, Cookson has left the door open for his return. On the court, in addition to Porter, leading scorer Drew Thomas is a junior, and point guard Bobby Hatchett, who averaged in double figures, is a sophomore. Junior Randy Timmons averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Porter said juniors Desmin Williams and Alan Timmons are poised to take on bigger roles, and the Braves did carry one other freshman on the roster in guard Stewart Johnson. And Porter said he actually does have a relative, cousin Dominique, who will be a freshman next year.

"We'll try to be back here next year," Porter said. "It feels pretty good to get third place in the state in our first year being up here. It's a good experience to see how hard guys work just to win it, and it's pretty tough."

Jefferson graduates just two seniors, and the Eagles know what it takes to win it.

"We don't want to lower our expectations," said Jefferson junior Craig Mattson, who grabbed the final rebound Thursday and scored 20 points Friday to lead his team.

"We talk about that with the kids," Jefferson coach Tim Jermain said, "and if you're not willing to lower your expectations, you've got to be willing to put in the hard work and effort."