What Kimora Fields and Jason Reuter are doing for the Bradley Central Bearettes girls' basketball program is unprecedented.
Representing a program that has had numerous legends — highlighted by the state's second all-time winningest coach in Jim Smiddy and one of the WNBA's top rising stars in Rhyne Howard — Fields and Reuter are fashioning accomplishments that are in a class of their own.
Fields put the rest of the state on notice last season when the 6-foot freshman blossomed into one of Volunteer state's brightest stars. Despite her youthfulness, Bradley Central's ever-steady powerful post player dominated the big stage against the likes of Florida State freshman Avery Treadwell (Bearden) and North Carolina State's Mallory Collier (Bartlett) on the way to winning Class 4A state tournament MVP honors. In her first three state tournament games she shot 74% from the field.
Fast forward a year and Fields has propelled the nation's No. 23 ranked Bearettes (31-1) back to the "Glass House" at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center, where the state's undisputed No. 1-ranked team is the heavy favorite to repeat and claim its eighth gold ball this weekend at the BlueCross Basketball State Championships.
Fields will enter Wednesday's (3:15 eastern) state quarterfinals against undefeated Clarksville (31-0) with 1,333 career points along with a 69.9 career field goal percentage (547-of-783). The TSSAA record for field goal percentage by a girls' basketball player is held by Jackson County's Makenzie Hensley (2009-13), who shot 65.2% in her four prep seasons.
"Kimora has been more dominant this year," Reuter said. "We run a lot of our offense through her because she is that good. She is shooting 71% from the field and I have never had a player shoot that high. I think she has taken the momentum from last year's MVP and just ran with it and embraced it.
"Every individual award we get, though, is also really a team award. Kimora has pretty good people around her. We are blessed to have that, especially with a healthy Avary Brewer for the state tournament run. I do believe, though, that Kimora is ready to rumble again."
Since Sunday, Reuter has been busy at work with his coaching staff and players watching film on Clarksville and, specifically, senior McDonald's All-American guard Imari Berry.
Not often do opposing players generate too much concern for Bradley Central's vaunted defense led by 6-foot-1 junior TaTianna Stovall, but Berry plays at an elite level. She and Fields are the only two Miss Basketball finalists in the Class 4A state tournament. Berry averages nearly 25 points per game and attempts nearly eight 3-point attempts per game while making three.
"There are no secrets, Berry is a tremendous player," Reuter said. "We have been watching a lot of film on her and she has all the tools. TaTianna has answered the bell every game this year when we put her on the best player. I have a lot of confidence in her, but I do realize she is going against a girl who has put up 30 points a bunch of times this year. We will just have to play it out and see what happens. I like our matchups."
Through Reuter's 14 seasons at the helm of the winningest girls' basketball program in state history, he has accomplished something no other coach in the sport can claim.
With 418 career wins opposed to just 44 losses, Reuter is the only coach with over 400 career wins to have posted a career winning percentage above Smiddy's mark of .855 (1,217-206). Reuter is currently in a league of his own with a .905 winning percentage. Nine of his losses have come to out-of-state competition.
Reuter has plenty of time to keep improving his rank as Bradley Central has just one senior. The Bearettes starting lineup is comprised of junior point guard Malia Wilcox (4.1 assists, three steals per game), junior shooting guard Brewer (11 points per game, 38% 3-point shooter), junior small forward Harmonie Ware (14.2 points, 2.4 steals) along with Stovall (12.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 1.6 blocks) and Fields (22.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals, 1.2 blocks).
"This team is looking to bring back a gold ball," said Reuter, who will look to win his third state championship with the program in his ninth state tournament appearance. "This is definitely a strong team and they have as good a chance as any of the other teams I have taken to win it all.
"Jim Smiddy is still resonating today on this program's standards. You have to win at a high rate and win championships. His legacy still lives on."
A rare feat
For just the second time in TSSAA history, and first time since 1969, both Bradley Central and Cleveland's girls' teams have made the state tournament in the same season.
First-year head coach Bianca Hensley and the Lady Blue Raiders pulled off a 40-38 road victory over Blackman in Saturday's sectional round in which senior Callie Brewer led the way with 12 points.
In their first state tournament appearance since 2008, Cleveland (23-9) will face Lincoln County (25-9) in Wednesday's noon quarterfinal battle. The winner will advance to Friday's 10:30 a.m. semifinal against either Sevier County (31-3) or Bartlett (28-10).
Meanwhile, Bradley Central or Clarksville will face either Dobyns Bennett (24-8) or Coffee County (33-3) in Friday's other semifinal at noon. The Class 4A state title game will be played at 2 eastern Saturday from MTSU.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Bradley Central sophomore Kimora Fields (0) is shooting 70 percent so far in her star prep basketball career for the legendary Bearette program.