Homegrown phenom finishes career with the national single season record for threes

By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

Tweety is the real thing.

You can look at his statistics – which include 287 three-pointers this year, a new single season record that shatters the old record by more than 70, and his average of more than 30 points-per-game this season.

You can look at the success that he’s had – including four state titles, all four for which he was named as the Outstanding Player for the championship game.

You can look at his experience – six years and 276 games on a small school varsity squad that has now played in numerous national tournaments, and one that, quite frankly, has seen the best that the state of Louisiana could throw at it.

You can even look at a single game and know it – such as the one where he scored 74 before leaving the game, ultimately outscoring 5A East St. John all by himself.

But the way you can really tell is just to watch him play the game.

Since cracking his way into the line-up as a seventh-grader at Reserve Christian, Demond &#8220Tweety” Carter has scored 7,457 points and holds second in career scoring for the state history books. He has virtually put Reserve Christian on the mapŠ by literally leading the Eagles team on courts across the country to play against some of the best teenage talent in, arguably, the world.

And he’s done it all with great humility and with respect for the game.

Fans can attest to the fact that Tweety just looks like he’s a full step ahead of the competition. He’s faster, more agile and more passionate about it. He hustles, as evident from the heavy sweat that he breaks into after just the first minute or two. But he’s also conditioned, as evident from the number of minutes he has accumulated despite going all-out in every play.

It’s true that he certainly wasn’t the only good ball player on the team. This year he combined with Kevin &#8220Beau” Branch, a junior, and fellow seniors Justin Porter, Daniel Johnson and Tino Brozos, each of which who would legitimately star on any other local teams. And

Tweety has seen his share of cold-shooting stretches. He is, in fact, only human.

But if anything is a fluke in his game, it’s the off-nights.

Baylor will soon be singing his praises. And the River Parishes will soon have a model representative dead-center in a national spotlight.

In the meantime, there are two more chances to catch him in action. On March 29 he has been invited to play in the McDonald’s All-American game in San Diego which will air on ESPN. On April 22 he’ll be in the Michael Jordan All-American game at Madison Square Garden in New York City. That game is set to air on ESPN2.