When Tellico Village resident Bob Brackenridge visited his daughter and granddaughters in Argyle, Texas, he didn’t think he would be there to witness a unique moment.

His granddaughter, Jesse Sheridan, the starting point guard for the Argyle High School Lady Eagles stole a pass and converted it for a layup during the Allen Lady Eagle Hoopfest basketball tournament in Allen, Texas. That basket boosted her career point total beyond the 1,000-point mark.

That itself is a personal benchmark, but what made it even more special is that Sheridan became the third generation in the Brackenridge family to reach that milestone, a feat that began with her grandfather.


Brackenridge became the first player in the history of the Saugatuck High School basketball program in Michigan to score 1,000 points, doing so as a senior and earning all-state honors in the process.

“I guess I didn’t think too much about it,” Brackenridge said. “At the end of the year at the athletic banquet my coach indicated that I had accomplished that.”

After leading the district in scoring for two seasons, crossing the 1,000-point mark wasn’t too much of a surprise for Brackenridge, “But the surprise was I was the first one in Saugatuck history to do it,” he said.

The next person to accomplish the feat was his daughter and Jesse’s mother, Julie Sheridan, who did so in 1987. She also became the first in her program’s history to accomplish the benchmark, doing so at Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Mich.

“My wife and I had an elementary school products publishing company,” Brackenridge said. “To raise money for the kids we typeset their basketball program. The coach provided us with information so he provided information on our daughter as we did this for three years.

“Son of a gun little girl beat dad,” he added. “I had a little over 1,100 points and Julie became the first Lakeshore Lancer lady basketball player to score 1,000 for Lakeshore, and she scored a little over 1,200.”

Julie finished her career with 1,207 points. She said it was never a goal or a plan to outscore her father, and she certainly didn’t imagine her daughter would eclipse the 1,000-point mark as well.

“When I was in high school, I knew my dad had scored more than 1,000 career points in basketball, but we never talked about me doing the same thing,” she said. “So when Jesse began her basketball career, the thought of her scoring more than 1,000 points wasn’t even on my radar.”

Brackenridge said the family isn’t necessarily a basketball-only group. While Julie went on to play basketball at Princeton, she had a love for volleyball in high school as well and achieved all-state honors in both sports, while Brackenridge played football in the fall and ran track in the spring and actually went on to run track and cross country at Kalamazoo College in Michigan.

But Jesse and her younger sister, Molly, who is the point guard for Argyle’s reserve team, both developed a love for the sport on their own.

“Basketball has been something the family has enjoyed,” Brackenridge said.

Jesse was named to the all-state team in Texas as a junior and her team finished runner-up in the class 3A state tournament. Her team is among the favorites to win the championship this season.

Like her mother and grandfather, hitting the 1,000-point mark was something of as surprise.

“I had no idea that I was approaching 1,000 points in my high school career,” she said. “So when my mom told me I had done that, I was very surprised. Then when grandpa told me he and mom had both done it, I was shocked. I think it is a really cool thing, but if I have kids, I won’t be expecting them to continue the streak.”

As of now, Jesse hasn’t figured out what her future in basketball will be. No matter what she decides, Brackenridge said he was a proud grandfather.

“We’re very proud of her, and she’s quite an involved gal in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,” he said. “Jesse realizes that she’s about 5’6.” She realizes like her mom she’s probably not big enough to be a division one player so she’s looking at division two, NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), probably a strong Christian background. ... She hasn’t made up her mind at this point in time.”