Jim Tyler has been a constant at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament for 45 years. Or maybe it's 47. He can't exactly recall.

Those aren't the details Tyler focuses on, but if you ask him who the leading scorer was for Delta in the championship game of the annual holiday tournament in 1968, he can probably tell you.

"I spent 10 years in the Navy; before that I listened to ball games on the radio," Tyler said. "I just love high school basketball. I didn't play much, no; I just love high school basketball because the kids work harder at it than anybody else, at least I think they do. They have to show something, you know, that they're good enough to go higher than they already are. I love it."

For the past seven years, Tyler has acted as bookkeeper for Scott County Central, and during that time he's seen five state championship games.

Tyler began attending Braves game because his wife, Barbara, was a teacher at Scott County Central. One day, legendary coach Ronnie Cookson came to him and said the bookkeeper had quit, and Tyler volunteered to fill in since he was at all of the games anyway.

SCC's boys basketball team has seen three coaches in Tyler's time there: After Cookson, Kenyon Wright became coach and now there's Frank Staple, whom Tyler said "is doing a pretty good job, too, I think."

Tyler keeps score for Scott County Central during a championship quarterfinal of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament on Saturday at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

The Braves have earned more state championships than any other school in the state. Their fourth consecutive win was in 2012, bringing their total to 16 state championships at the time. They added a 17th title last season.

"A guy asked me one time, 'What do you do when they go nuts after winning the state championship?' I said, 'Hell, you just go out there and go right with them.' That's all you can do, and I've been through [five] state championships, and it's been fun on every one of them," Tyler said.

At 75 years old, Tyler's not letting anything get in the way of his love of basketball. He's had his share of ailments through the years, but he and his wife still love watching the games.

In September he learned that he has pancreatic cancer. Operations and radiation aren't options, but he's undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Still, he hasn't missed a game.

"Even with five bypasses, I never missed a game," he said. "I'm getting old, but I don't want to give up on it. I'm 75 now, and of course health problems are catching up to me, but I really don't care, I'm going to fight it as long as I can."

Tyler often can be seen at the end of the scorer's table closest to the Braves' side, his attention unwavering as he watches a play, and then scribbling down the result. Tyler said he enjoys being on the sidelines with the boys, and being that close you really get to know them. He said he loves them all, and even considers them family.

"[They're] just a bunch of loving kids. I've never seen anything like that in my life, and it's so much fun to be with them. And I guess they enjoy being around me, they talk about it all the time," he said with a laugh.

And it's the truth. Passing by the locker room at the tournament Saturday night, a group of the SCC varsity boys swarmed Tyler as he approached, giving him a hug and greeting him.

"To be around them in my later years, it keeps me going I guess," Tyler said. "It's even better for me [and my health]."

Tyler said he's come to know some great players over the years, and he follows them and tries to keep in touch the best he can. Two players he fondly mentions are Otto Porter Jr. -- now a forward on the Washington Wizards -- and LaRandis Banks -- now a guard at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland.

"I really enjoy when you get kids who grow up -- like Otto Jr. I just loved watching him play ball," Tyler said. "I would tell him, 'Give me one, Bubba,' and he would go up and do it, he'd dunk it for me. And we had a few other kids; LaRandis Banks, he could take it to them anytime, and Bubba's little brother, Jeffery, you know, he can get up there, too. He's not quite as tall, but he can get up there."

Jim Tyler gets ready to keep score for Scott County Central in the second half at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014. (Glenn Landberg)

Tyler never runs out of stories to share. As athletes walked by at the tournament, more than once he stopped mid-sentence to point out a great player or coach.

The Porters were a common name Tyler used in his stories; first with Otto Jr., then Dominique and now Jeffery. One story Tyler particularly enjoys is the story of the 2012 state championship.

"After Otto, that next year, we didn't have any height at all, and there was a kid down there by the name of Dominique Porter -- they're cousins -- and he kept telling me all year long, 'We're going to do it again, we're going to do it again, we're going to win it again.' And I said, 'Dominique, you have no height. I mean, I would love for you to, but you just don't have no height.' And he would keep telling me that and telling me that, so we went to the playoffs and got in the playoffs and we're in Dexter, and Dominique scored 45 points in that game. And he just told me, 'I told you we were going to win it.' And, by golly, they won the state championship," Tyler said with a wide grin.

In addition to the Porters, Tyler recalled stories of Fred Johnson, "a heck of a ballplayer from Oran"; Bobby Hatchet, a guard who was "out of this world"; and Terry Mobley, an "all-around athlete who could play just about anything and excel at it."

Tyler had stories to spare, but when asked if there was a particular favorite, he paused, shrugged and said, "They've all just been special to me. 'Course, I've had special kids on every single one of them."

Tyler is hopeful for his boys again this year, and said as long as his health prevails, he'll be back next year.

smaue@semissourian.com

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