South Lamar High School boys and girls basketball coach Tony Seals got a surprise earlier this year when the Alabama High School Athletics Association realigned the state’s athletic boundaries.
Seals’ teams picked up a new district opponent when Pickens County dropped from Class 2A into Class 1A, South Lamar’s classification.
All of a sudden, the Stallions now have a defending state champion Tornadoes in their region. Pickens County went 27-2 last season and defeated Houston County 88-86 in triple overtime in the finals.
Seals, whose Stallions are 1-3 and Lady Stallions have opened 0-4, said his teams “are scrambling” because no one is taking the lead consistently.
“We really haven’t had any players stand out,” Seals said. “One game somebody will play well, then somebody else will play well the next game. It’s really been a team effort.”
Most of his players have moved from the football team to the basketball squad with just a little break.
“All of them are football players but one,” he said. “They get a couple of days off before we get started.”
Because of Pickens County’s move to Class 1A, Seals said the rest of the region is playing for second. The rest of the district, however, is compared equally, Seals said.
“We’ve got just as good a chance to finish second as anybody else,” he said, adding this week’s games will give him an idea of his teams’ potential.
“We haven’t played in the district yet, and we have two area games this week — Hubbertville and Berry,” Seals said. “We’ve got a chance to win both games. It will give us a clearer picture of how we’ll be in the district.”
Pickens County
Russ Wallace looks like he has reloaded for a run at another state championship. This time, he has more weapons.
“We’ve added four or five young guys with a lot of ability,” said Wallace, who’s been coaching at Pickens County for 17 years, 14 as head coach. “By mid January, we should be hitting full stride. I feel like we’ve got a good shot for another (championship). We have the potential to be better than last year.”
Depth isn’t a problem, either, Wallace said, although he has 18 ninth-graders in the program.
“We’ve got two groups of five that could start,” he said. “We’ll be putting in five players at a time and try to wear the other teams out.”
Pickens County fields four teams with about 50 kids, “which is really good for 1A school,” Wallace said.
“It’s just like (the University of) Alabama. A target is going to be on our backs,” he said.
The varsity boys team will have five seniors, five juniors, and three sophomores. Returning starters Deion Curry, a senior point guard, and juniors Lajuan Doss and Nick Stewart will lead the way.
Curry, the Class 2A player of the year, was the most valuable player in the regional and state finals. Doss and Stewart — who hit the winning points in the state championship finals — were named to the state tournament team.
Wallace hopes he won’t have to deal with a different obstacle — overconfidence — this year.
“Last year is last year,” Wallace said, adding the Tornadoes will emphasize defense. “Defense is going to keep you in games, even when not shooting ball really well.
For the Pickens County girls, coach Ike Gipson hopes to return to the playoffs, where his team lost in the sub-regionals after a 14-7 season.
They opened the season this week with a 49-45 victory against Gordo. The difference in the game was stamina.
“We had a good first half,” he said. “We were able to last four quarters and shoot free throws down the stretch.”
Gipson said he has “most of the players from last year’s teams, but we don’t have many true basketball players.”
One of the key returnees is junior center Kelsey Stewart. On defense, the Lady Tornadoes will mostly run a 1-2-2 defense and then can run a 2-3 zone out of that.
Gipson expects R.A. Hubbard, Berry, and Hubbertville to be the Lady Tornadoes’ toughest competition.
Sulligent
The boys team opened the season Monday with a 54-50 victory against Winfield, but coach Tommy Chism said the win wasn’t pretty.
“It looked like we were still playing football,” Chism said.
That’s to be expected when the top returnees are point guard Ryan Reeves (defensive back) and forwards Ishmael Riggins (running back / defensive lineman) and Tony Johnson (offensive lineman / linebacker).
“They are good, solid kids, strong as bulls,” said Chism, who had to wait for the football team to finish its Alabama High School Athletic Association season. “It was a good problem to have.”
Reeves is sidelined with an ankle injury.
“We hope he’ll be back soon,” said Chism, who added Lamar County has been one of the Blue Devils’ top competitors. “We miss him.”
One example of Sulligent’s “football nature” happened Monday when Riggins set a pick.
“A little kid from Winfield ran into Ishmael the other night,” Chism said, “and he just bounced off. It should have been called charging, but Ishmael didn’t move.”
The Sulligent girls team finished 23-5 last year, falling to Red Bay in the sub-regional. Coach Ronnie Hubbert, the Blue Devils’ head football coach, has 10 returnees from 2009, including three starters.
Hubbert said he likes to run “five in and five out. But I don’t know if I will be able to do that this year.”
Injuries already have sidelined three starters, including two point guards, and could hamper the team’s ability to play a pressing, up-tempo style.
Paige Dean, a senior point guard, has been wearing a brace since injuring her back during summer ball. Laura Ashley Dean, a sophomore point guard, has been dealing with torn ligaments. Hubbert said he hopes to have her back by January. Forward Kristen Colvin, who injured her ligaments playing volleyball, is about 70 percent recovered, Hubbert said.
Hubbert said Area 12 is filled with competitive teams like Phil Campbell, Lamar County, and Red Bay.
Pickens Academy
The Lady Pirates, who went 28-3 last season, return to defend their Alabama Independent School Association’s Class 2A state championship, but coach Wade Goodman’s program will have a different look.
“We had three seniors on the team and one of the juniors moved away,” said Goodman, who is in his fourth year. “I only have two returning starters this year. I’m not sure what I’ve got.”
Goodman starts the season with no seniors, one junior, and seven 10th-graders. But it’s not all bad.
“We’ve got the talent to win this year,” Goodman said. “But when you’re in the 10th grade, you don’t believe they can win. … We ought to be able to play defense.”
First-year boys basketball coach Justin Thompson has a close relationship with Pickens Academy. He graduated from the school in 2000.
Although the team depth is slim — especially this week — he knows he has leaders on the court.
“We have 10 varsity players, and five of those are seniors,” Thompson said. “We lost a lot of skills guys last year, but the point guard is returning.”
Jacob Acker, who led the football team as quarterback, switches uniforms as the point guard. Thompson said Acker uses his football leadership on the hardcourt.
“He does a great job,” Thompson said. “He’s savvy, has a lot of leadership, and helps out immensely.”
Two other seniors also will offer help on the court with leadership qualities. Daniel Lee “played a significant number of minutes” last year, Thompson said. Judson Smith was a receiver and defensive lineman on the football team.
Other football players on the basketball team are Brad Lowery and Andrew House — both linemen.
This week, however, Thompson will be down to seven players on varsity after three players participate in the AISA All-Star Football Game Thursday night.
“Acker, Smith, and Lowery will be in Prattville Tuesday night for the All-Star game,” Thompson said.
The Pirates’ area competition — Marengo, Southern and Patrician — are no strangers to Thompson. He said he expects Southern to be the Pirates’ top competitor.
Aliceville
Coach Joe Hurst returns seven players from the
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