All-everything guard only a junior

BY DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

RESERVE-He’s the best boys basketball player in the Region.

Bar None.

Now, he’s been recognized as the best player in the entire state in his classification.

Reserve Christian junior guard Demond “Tweetie” Carter was named Class B MVP by the Louisiana Sportswriters Association last week after helping lead the Eagles to their third state championship in four seasons.

Already committed to play for Baylor University, Carter had a phenomenal junior season for Reserve Christian, averaging 32 points, pulling down five rebounds, dishing out eight assists a game and two steals a contest.

“It’s kind of bittersweet that he only has one year left with us,” Eagles Head Coach Tim Byrd said. “We are looking forward to his senior season. It’s especially exciting because of the players that we have coming back surrounding him.

Byrd said Carter possess all the skills on and off the court to be an outstanding player on the next level.

“Other than the obvious skills that he has, what makes Tweetie such an outstanding player is that he has a service heart,” Byrd said. “He just wants to serve everybody which makes him really unselfish.

“He has got a huge heart inside and does not like to lose and he doesn’t like to let his teammates down. That is what makes him such a great player. The way you sum that up is that he is just a winner.”

Not expected to contend for a state title this past season by the pundits, Byrd said the Eagles had to rely heavily on Carter.

“Because we had such a young and inexperienced team we had to rely a lot on him and not just for his scoring,” Byrd said. “He had to distribute the ball, play good defense, rebound the ball. He just has to do it all for us to compete against the teams that we have competed against.”

He also said any individual award is reflective of solid teammates.

“He has a solid team around him,” Byrd said. “They are also very unselfish. They understand the value of what the team means. You can’t enjoy awards without team success. His teammates are driving forces in his success as an individual.”