20-03-2025
Why Upperman star Ty Cobb is more than just TSSAA Mr. Basketball to the McWilliams family
MURFREESBORO ― To the Upperman basketball community, sophomore star Ty Cobb isn't just the boys team's best player and the TSSAA Class 3A Mr. Basketball.
He's like a member of the McWilliams family.
"He's been with us ... it's been vacations, been everything," Upperman boys coach Bobby McWilliams said. "Three of my sons are here, and they'll tell you that's a little brother to them. He's more like a grandson to me. He's just been around the program. It's all he knows. It's typical for these Upperman younger kids to feel that connected to the program. We're happy it's that way."
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The 6-foot-2 Cobb, who took home the coveted Mr. Basketball award Tuesday night, backed up that honor with a 28-point performance in Thursday's 54-40 win over Hume-Fogg in the TSSAA boys basketball state tournament quarterfinals at MTSU's Murphy Center.
The top-ranked Bees (30-3) will play in the semifinals Friday at 4 p.m. against Greeneville (26-11).
Like many of his teammates, Cobb grew up around the Upperman program. He was a ball boy for the boys team during state tournament runs when he was young.
His family connection also runs deep with the school and McWilliams family. Ty's mother, Amanda, played for Upperman girls coach Dana McWilliams in the late 1990s to early 2000s. His stepfather, Alan Asberry, played for Bobby McWilliams and is an assistant for the Bees.
"It's awesome," Cobb said. "I feel like everybody here has been family. I grew up around here since I was 2. I've been on the bench cheering. It's been special to be a part of it. I always dreamed as a little kid to be here. Hopefully we can get to the state championship game for the first time in history."
Dana McWilliams said Cobb is as good a young man as he is a player.
"He's been really good with our grandchildren," she said.
Cobb had outscored Hume-Fogg (29-4) by himself for the first three quarters of the game, including some dazzling moves and a thunderous dunk at one point. He was 12-of-12 from the free throw line and 2-of-2 from 3-point range, adding three rebounds and an assist in 29 minutes.
That effort didn't surprise many, particularly Bobby McWilliams.
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"I thought collectively as a group, we all played pretty well," McWilliams said. "Ty does what he does. The rest of the guys did what they're supposed to do."
Jack Torrence added nine points for Upperman. Michael Nwoye led Hume-Fogg with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@ and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025: Upperman, Ty Cobb advance
