How Hume-Fogg reached first TSSAA boys basketball state tournament since 1989

In 1912, long before honky-tonks, bachelorette parties, pedal taverns or the Predators made their home on Broadway, Hume-Fogg High School opened in downtown Nashville.

The school remains at its original address, 700 Broadway, 112 years later. Today, that location is one of Nashville's best little ironies.

Just a few blocks from the festivities that bring millions of visitors to Lower Broadway every year, students attend one of the most academically prestigious schools in the United States. U.S. News and World Report ranks Hume-Fogg, a magnet school, as the third-best high school in Tennessee and No. 98 in the nation.

But on Monday night, Hume-Fogg held its own party — one for its boys basketball team and its fans, who partied like it was 1989.

With a 50-32 sectional win over Chester County, the Blue Knights (25-6) are headed to the TSSAA state basketball tournament for the first time in 35 years. They'll face Upperman (29-4) in the Class 3A quarterfinals on March 14 at MTSU's Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.

"Being at a school known for academics, being downtown, having limited students, I think it's amazing what we've done," said junior point guard Miles Rucker. "I can't put it into words."

Hume-Fogg used to succumb to those limitations often. Before this season, its most recent district championship came in 2002. Between 2010 and 2018, the Blue Knights went 34-161, including a winless 2016-17 campaign.

"The program was dead," said coach Barry Mangrum.

That's why Kelly Harned, Hume-Fogg then assistant principal and boys basketball coach from 1990 to 2009, called Mangrum in 2019. The Blue Knights needed someone to turn the program around, and Mangrum, after nearly three decades combined at Harpeth, Antioch and Stratford, needed a new challenge. Both got what they wanted.

Coaching at a school with Hume-Fogg's academic rigor doesn't present many differences, if any, for Mangrum. He's learned how to read his players' body language for any signs that they're drained, physically or mentally, from their lengthy nights of homework and studying. In practice, he doesn't need to use that skill often.

"They're so self-motivated," Mangrum said. "They're so energized, they're all fine."

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The Blue Knights went just 5-20 last season. Their biggest weakness, Mangrum said, was at point guard. Over the offseason, Rucker went from "a kid who nobody knows" to a calm, composed floor general who's tallied four assists for every turnover he's committed, doing so through "unparalleled" work.

The rest of the team has followed suit. Forward Michael Nwoye averages 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and forward Alonzo Rhodes averages 14 points and eight boards. Nwoye and Rhodes are built similarly, each a lanky 6-foot-6, and Hume-Fogg excels in transition behind their athleticism.

Nwoye, Rhodes and Rucker are all juniors, and third-leading scorer Isiah Ring is a sophomore. Hume-Fogg only has one senior. The experience gap reared its head in the first quarter Monday, as Chester County, which made last season's state tournament, forced four turnovers in the first four minutes and led 10-2.

But the Blue Knights settled down and took a three-point lead at halftime. From midway through the third quarter until the final buzzer, they outscored the Eagles 29-8. Their nervous start, and explosive finish, reinforced an enticing possibility: that they're just getting started, and there will be more parties to come.

"I don't know what can be accomplished the rest of the year," Mangrum said. "But it's gravy from here on out. Every experience we get will help us next season."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.