Jewuan Long, who helped lead Liberty Tech High School to back-to-back TSSAA basketball state championships in 2006-2007, joins Mark Campbell, Meg Griffin Nethery, Preston Overbey and Jabriel Washington as inductees when the 35th annual Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame is held April 22.
The 2020-21 event will be held at 6:30 p.m., at the Carl Perkins Civic Center.
WNWS.COM – NEWS/TALK 101.5 FM & 93.1 FM – visited with Jewuan, who became the first Mr. Basketball from Jackson-Madison County in 2007 – for a question and answer session about his selection into the hall of fame.
Question: What were your thoughts when you first learned you had been selected for membership into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame?
Answer: Words honestly can not describe my thoughts. Blessed, honored, and humbled would be the closest thoughts that I can think of. My mindset has always been to just win and to never look for individual accolades. I’m just another example that accolades will find you if you win as well as put in the extra work that most players aren’t.
Question: In high school, you played basketball at Liberty, you were on a team that won the first state title in basketball in Jackson history – which became back-to-back state championships. What was the experience like?
Answer: It was an amazing experience. My teammates and I talked about winning a state championship since eighth grade not knowing that it would be Jackson’s first.
We definitely felt like local celebrities at the time with the whole city of Jackson rooting for us and celebrating with us after the championship. As an athlete, there is nothing like winning your very last game of the season and holding up that gold ball.
It was such great feeling, that we worked just as hard to make sure we were able to experience it all that very next season – and to do it with my childhood friends made it that much more special.
Question: Your head coach Dexter Williams entered the Hall of Fame in 2019. How special is it that you follow him into the Hall?
Answer: Very special. I felt that we all entered the Hall of Fame in 2019 when coach was inducted.
We were a genuine team who understood that it took everyone for our success from top to bottom, and that feeling is the same for my induction. Coach Williams has done something no other coach in Jackson had ever done, so it’s definitely an honor to come in right after him.
Question: You were heavily recruited by colleges and selected Murray State University. How did you decide on Murray State?
Answer: I came from a winning high school program so I wanted to make sure I chose a school, not just because of their name, but also because of their winning tradition. Murray State was winning championships long before I arrived, during my career and continuing to win eight years after.
It’s an amazing place to be with the best fans in the country and inevitably you gain relationships that last a lifetime from teammates as well as people in the community. It didn’t hurt either that it was only an hour and forty minute drive from home.
Question: How special was your senior year when Murray State finished 31-2, won the Ohio Valley Conference title and tournament, and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA basketball tournament?
Answer: My senior year was one of the best years of my life. Knowing that we lost three valuable seniors from the year before, we were overlooked as we were picked third in our conference preseason rankings.
It was just a surreal feeling to be THE story of NCAA basketball for being the last undefeated team in the nation with all eyes on us and receiving our highest national ranking in school history at No. 7.
Question: After your college basketball career ended, did you have any thoughts of playing professionally?
Answer: I was actually debating for a couple of months after the season on whether I wanted to play professionally or go ahead and start my career in engineering. After going back and forth with an agent and my former engineering company as well as consulting with my coaches and family, I decided to jump right into my engineering career with no regrets.
Question: You make your home in Orlando, and there is life after basketball. Would you tell us about your career?
Answer: Right after college, I worked at an engineering company (BFW Engineering) in Murray, Kentucky as a civil designer.
About two years later, I joined the Murray State basketball staff as a grad assistant coach (and) I eventually received my masters in Occupational Safety & Health.
I am currently a safety manager for a general contractor, Brasfield & Gorrie where I started in Nashville then moved to Tucson, Arizona for two years. I moved to Orlando in October 2019.
A table for eight for the event is $500. For reservations, call Beth Sedberry (731) 616-8558.
(PHOTO: Jewuan Long)
David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
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