Top 5 Teams To Watch For This Season

<p>I said I would talk about it in my last article. I feel like now’s a great time before the season starts to look at 5 schools that are loaded with talent and talk about how well they play together. This will be a great way to refresh some memories about who can compete for the state championship while also highlighting some great players. We might as well talk about one of the best stories from the tournament last year and the team that has our #1 ranked player in the state.</p> <p><strong>Calhoun</strong></p> <p>If you recall it took Calhoun every single second to pull out the win against Barbour County to win the 2A State Championship. [player_tooltip player_id="763031" first="JD" last="Davison"] hit a very impressive step-back three to win the game at the buzzer. I expect Calhoun to compete as well this year. [player_tooltip player_id="763031" first="JD" last="Davison"] is the best player in the state for a reason and can definitely lead this team to another championship. The question is where will some of the lost production come from. Spencer Johnson and Trayvon Brown were solid seniors last year for Calhoun. Losing these guys means some other players will be stepping up to replace them. Keep an eye on Ladarren Mason to make some strides and post good numbers this season. It’ll be interesting to see how this smaller school can restock its team.</p> <p><strong>Pinson Valley</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="801047" first="Greedy" last="Williams"], [player_tooltip player_id="763034" first="GaQuincy" last="McKinstry"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1040678" first="Jojo" last="James"] headline an always competitive Pinson Valley team. This could be a very fun trio to watch for this year. That is if they all play together. Mckinstry has just accepted a scholarship from the University of Alabama to play football. He says that he wants to play both basketball and football for the university. That’s asking a lot from this kid. He absolutely has the skill and talent to do it, it’s just that he might not be able to commit 100% to both sports his senior year of high school. I’m in no way saying he can’t do it, he’s been doing it all his life, but it just seems like a tall task especially this year. If they all play together though they can easily challenge for another state title.</p> <p><strong>Oak Mountain</strong></p> <p>Oak Mountain is probably the team I’m most excited to watch. This is a team with great height and skill that will be fun to watch compete in 7A. [player_tooltip player_id="890740" first="Will" last="Shaver"] and [player_tooltip player_id="725152" first="Wilder" last="Evers"] make a devastating 1-2 punch. I’ve talked in previous articles about what I like in [player_tooltip player_id="890740" first="Will" last="Shaver"] so check those out. I haven’t talked enough about [player_tooltip player_id="725152" first="Wilder" last="Evers"] however. If Shaver is the bread to this team than Evers is the butter. He’s a junior who looks like he’s already on a college team. He plays so intelligently and has a silky smooth jumper. I can not wait to see these two play together on a team with great depth and size.</p> <p><strong>Lee-Montgomery</strong></p> <p>The defending 7A champions are looking to repeat this season. They’ll give teams like Oak Mountain a run for their money also. Look for [player_tooltip player_id="963462" first="Jamal" last="Albritton"] to be the leader for this team. The senior should expect good minutes and could see an increase in usage. This team will also look to juniors [player_tooltip player_id="965774" first="Demontae" last="Washington"] and [player_tooltip player_id="965872" first="Christopher" last="Dillihay"] to offer more support for the team. Lee-Montgomery is setting up for another great season.</p> <p><strong>Hoover</strong></p> <p>One of the most dominant overall programs in the state, Hoover looks to bounce back from an early exit in the state championships last season. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="887008" first="DJ" last="Fairley"], [player_tooltip player_id="887033" first="Colby" last="Carter"], and [player_tooltip player_id="887035" first="Shun" last="Sheffield"] look to bring the Bucs back to glory. The players are ranked #26, #76, and #79 respectively in our state rankings. This team has real firepower we’ll see if they have enough support from some of the younger players to compete with the big boys in the class like an Oak Mountain or Lee-Montgomery.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>