Jamirah Shutes makes lasting impact on Haywood Co. basketball

BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — When Haywood’s Jamirah Shutes steps on the basketball court, there’s one thing on her mind.

“It’s like you either eat or get ate,” Shutes said.

Averaging 33 points as a senior and gearing up to rock her Memphis Tiger gear next year, Shutes recalls how her career started.

“My mom and them were always like, you know, ‘you don’t need to play with those boys,’ ‘you know they’re too rough,’ ‘you’re going to get hurt’ and whatever, but then I kept on doing it even though they fussed about it,” she said.

Those days on the blacktop turned her into the prolific scorer she is now — breaking down defenses and getting to the cup while also showing her range beyond the arc.

Shutes is one teammate you can count on who doesn’t say she can’t. Her head coach, Patrice Boyd, said she doesn’t need to be asked much.

“We have hard practices. When nobody’s working hard, she’s going to make sure everybody is working hard, so she pushes them,” Boyd said.

Shutes is a junkie for the game — she takes no days off.

“A lot of people say ‘how do you coach her?’ And I tell them you really can’t coach that,” Boyd said.

Her relentless work ethic gives her a swagger on the court that is un-guardable.

“I’m never cocky because like I told you, it’s a God-given talent, and He can take it away at any time,” Shutes said. “I’d say I’m confident.”

That confidence and work ethic will leave a lasting impact in Brownsville, even long after Shutes hangs up the Lady Tomcats jersey.

“Jamirah Shutes means a whole lot to Haywood County basketball, and it’s not just Lady Tomcats but just basketball period in Haywood County,” Boyd said.

Shutes went on to say she has a few more goals she hopes to accomplish before leaving Haywood. One of those is to help lead her team to a state championship. The other is to reach the 2,500-scoring point mark for her career.