With lightning-quick reflexes and great court awareness, De'andre Turnbow has become an integral defensive stopper for the Chattanooga Prep basketball program.
Turnbow continues to build off the solid freshman season he put together in 2022-23, which he capped with five steals in two games at the TSSAA Class 1A state tournament. On Thursday, the sophomore guard picked up a career-high eight steals to spark his 15-point performance in a 62-41 victory at East Hamilton.
"De'Andre is one of our more athletic guards," said first-year head coach Christian Collins, who took over for his twin brother Christoffer this season. "I told him that defensively, we go where you go. If you break down for us defensively, then opponents get chances for easy buckets.
"He gets us and himself going when he is able to play with a lot of intensity and effort from start to finish."
Chatt Prep won 29 games last season on a surprising run to the state final four. The Sentinels are considered state championship contenders again, and they have even more depth in the program for a still-new school that won't have its first senior class until the 2024-25 academic year.
TaSuade Williams scored a game-high 18 points for the Sentinels (6-3), whose three losses this season have been to strong opposition — Cleveland, Plainview and Silverdale Baptist Academy — and have come by a combined 18 points.
With 6-foot-6 sophomore center Joel Bullis out due to an injury, Kyrell Randolph has stepped up in the low block for Chatt Prep. The 6-foot-2 Randolph impressed Thursday as he blocked four shots and was very active on the offensive boards.
"Randolph is our big sleeper," Collins said. "He will do everything we ask of him defensively. This time last year, he was one of our six or seven guys we would play. Now, we have 10 to 12 that can play.
"I really like how this team is coming together and all the pieces we have added along to the guys who took this program a long way last year."
East Hamilton (1-6) was led by junior Josiah Wiley's 13 points, while classmate Myles Willingham made a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter.
However, Turnbow stole the show in the victory and made an unbelievable steal in the third quarter. The heads-up guard reached around the East Hamilton player with possession to poke the ball out, then sprinted to save it from going out of bounds. The play led to points for Williams on the other end.
"I take a lot of pride in my defense," Turnbow said. "Sometimes the other team doesn't see me coming. When we can get steals, we can get easy buckets. We play real fast and don't want to slow down. We want to get after you anytime on the court. Our defensive pressure is what makes our team go."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.