Andrews claims Male POY
Published 9:47 pm Saturday, March 21, 2009
There is not a position on the basketball court Tevin Andrews cannot play. The Pike County senior guard/forward for the Bulldogs can score from anywhere on the court and helped PCHS make the AHSAA Class 3A South Regional by moving from the post to the point guard position.
Andrews’ unselfish play and knack for finding a way to score in clutch situations garnered him The Messenger’s 2008-09 All-County Male Basketball Player of the Year award.
The senior ‘Dawg was also named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association 3A Second Team.
“It makes your job a lot easier having a player like Tevin,” PCHS first-year head coach Doug Holland said. “You can get on him about something and then the next day he will come back and work hard for you. His attitude is great and he is a great worker.”
Andrews has that unique quality found in most great athletes.
“He has that passion for the game of basketball,” Holland said. “I remember he was talking when it was still football season about how he didn’t care who was in the other team’s three spot, they were going to get stopped. So he is passionate about what he does.”
Andrews has had that love of the game for as long as he can remember.
“If I am not competing on the court, I am down at the rec center playing ball,” Andrews said.
Near the end of the season Andrews switched positions to make the Bulldogs a tough team to handle. He switched from his post position to the point guard position when Holland and assistant coach Roddrice Griffin thought his athleticism could cause mismatches for other teams.
“I felt like I was very athletic no matter where I played,” Andrews said. “So once they moved me to the point I felt like I could compete wherever they need me to play.”
Holland said the switch opened up many opportunities for the Bulldogs.
“With his size, we knew he would create problems for people (at the point),” Holland said. “He loved playing on the wing, but he didn’t have any objection to the switch. We told him he would have to sacrifice for the betterment of the team and he handled that well. I was proud of him for understanding his role on the team that made us successful this year.”
He may have been the most talented player on the team, but he was never worried about getting the ball.
“We just had a real good team this year and I knew if I did my best for them they would do their best as well,” Andrews said. “My teammates were always distributing the ball and we made sure we distributed the points equally so everyone got touches on the offensive end.”
Andrews averaged 12 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. He also recorded 43 blocks and 41 steals on the defensive side of the ball.
One thing that Andrews was certain of was that there was always a teammate that would pick up the slack if he was having an off night.
“It changed the versatility of our team when we could switch players up and know we would have a mismatch at a certain position,” he said. “
Holland said Andrews is not only good on the court, but in the classroom as well.
“The thing I really liked about Tevin is that he is a really good student athlete,” Holland said.
And it does not hurt that Andrews knows how to keep the atmosphere happy in the Bulldog locker room.
“He is the biggest clown on the team, but when it is time to play he has that look that you can feel he is ready to play,” Holland said. “He just has that killer instinct when it is time to go. And everyone feeds off of knowing that he is our leader and he will always go hard.”
Andrews has drawn some interest from colleges in the area, but whether he continues his basketball career or not he will be able to look back on the 2008-09 season and know that he did everything he could to help his team win.