When the final bell would sound in T.C. Williams'

gymnasium, signifying the end of each school day, girls basketball coach Jim

Lewis often found himself waiting for his players, chatting with collegiate

coaches that had traveled to see his junior sensation, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt.

Lewis,

who has coached at Duke, Tulane and George Mason, as well as with the WNBA's

Washington Mystics and Minnesota Lynx, would routinely gleam with excitement

when discussing his 6-foot guard, praising her work ethic and repeatedly

offering the cliché that, "She's always the first one in the gym."

No

sooner than Lewis would utter the statement, into the gymnasium came bounding a

basketball-wielding assertion to the coach's claim.

"I

just want to go all the time, and not settle for the 'now,'" said

Ruffin-Pratt, who has been chosen as the 2008 Times Player of the Year. "I

need to keep working because I know there's always someone out there that's

better than me."

Nearly

as humble as she is talented, Ruffin-Pratt averaged an NBA-like 26 points, 15

rebounds and seven assists per game this season, leading the Titans to a 22-1

record.

Ruffin-Pratt

adjusted to her first-year coach's complicated playbook, consistently running

sets that very few high school players are able to comprehend, let alone

execute.

"Perhaps

her greatest skill is her ability to think and execute plays, particularly

passes," added Lewis, at one point comparing his star to the NBA's LeBron

James. "She's an uncanny passer."

Added

Ruffin-Pratt, "When I was a freshman, I used to think that everything was on

me. But as I've grown, I've found that the team would support me more by [being

a team player]. From my freshman year until now, there's been a big change."

T.C.

Williams suffered a heartbreaking end to its recently concluded season. The

Titans defeated West Springfield to win their third straight Patriot District

title, but the victory came at a cost.

Ruffin-Pratt,

who hasn't yet divulged a list of schools that have piqued her interest, popped

her left shoulder out late in the third quarter, rendering her unavailable in

the opening round of the Northern Region tournament. T.C. Williams was

eventually upset by Robinson, 58-45, ending a once-magical ride a few games shy

of the Titans' – and Ruffin-Pratt's - ultimate goal.

"We're

looking at a young player that does what she has to do for her team to win,"

Lewis said. "We won all 22 as a team, and we lost one as a team ... but she

won every game she played."

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