Jase Millsaps did not know what would happen when he returned to Tellico Plains.
The Bears’ senior transferred to Greenback in eighth grade but returned to Monroe County in time for his senior season of basketball.
In that season, Millsaps surged on the court and in practice as a trendsetter, a player that coaches and the younger group could turn to as a leader. After a year back in a maroon jersey, Millsaps showed his prowess, signing with Tennessee Wesleyan.
“He was our biggest leader this season and that was not what we were expecting to get out of him. It was good to get that,” Tellico Plains assistant coach Jesse Lambert said. “With being such a young team, it is always good to have people for our younger guys to look up to and take after.”
On a team made up of mostly underclassmen, Millsaps settled into the starting lineup with his physicality. Lambert and other coaches attribute the seamless way he transitioned into the team to a key moment in their season and the development of the younger group.
“He is someone that would come into practice every day and work hard. He was good at communicating and he is one of the best leaders off the court,” Lambert said. “Everybody loves being around him. He is a great kid.”
Short on veteran players for the squad, Millsaps took the opportunity to turn into one for Tellico even though he had not played with the Bears since middle school.
“Everyone was kind of surprised. You do not expect someone as a first-year player at school to be as big a leader as he was,” Lambert said. “It was something that we needed. I don’t know if we would win the games that we did win without him.”
TWU’s closeness to home and relationships with friends already there steered Millsaps to pick the school.
The Bulldogs won 15 games in 2022-23 before falling in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championship Tournament to Bryan College.
Millsaps credited his impression of assistant coach Reggie Jackson as a factor in his decision.
“Coach Reggie talked to me like he knew me his whole life. That is one thing that stood out to me,” Millsaps said.
Millsaps noted he expects to have to stretch his game from his center role in his school to evolve into a guard-type player for the collegiate level.
“They are getting a good post and rebounder. He will give everything he has got every night,” Lambert added. “He is real good down low and has been working on his outside game.
“They are going to get a competitor and that is the best thing you can ask for.”
Millsaps plans to major in sports management with aspirations of working in a school and coaching basketball.
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