Former 280 athletes to return for Gulf South Championship
This week, the Raymond James Gulf South Conference (GSC) Basketball Championship is coming back to Birmingham, and with it return three former high school players from the U.S. 280 area.
Two former Oak Mountain High School players, Garrett Cosgrove and Ronnie Mack, will represent the UAH Chargers in the tournament, and former Briarwood Christian player Jason Laatsch returns with the University of West Florida Argonauts.
Mack, a redshirt junior guard with the Chargers, ended his career at OMHS as the program’s highest-scoring player. Last year with UAH, he started 30 of the team’s 31 games and led the GSC in three-point field goal percentage, according to uahchargers.com. During this year’s season, through Feb. 4, Mack was averaging 14.3 points per game.
Mack’s teammate Cosgrove, a redshirt sophomore forward at UAH, also played high school ball at OMHS. At Oak Mountain, Cosgrove averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds per game. Last year, he appeared in 20 games with UAH and shot 45 percent from the three-point line. For the 2013-2014 season, as of Feb. 4, Cosgrove was averaging 5.7 points per game.
West Florida’s Laatsch, a sophomore guard, was a three-year starter at Briarwood Christian School, according to goargos.com. During his career there, he set school records with 1,404 points. As a senior, Laatsch averaged 18.2 points, five assists and four rebounds per game.
Last season, Laatsch was West Florida’s only freshman to see significant playing time and the Argonauts’ only true freshman to play. Over the season, he scored 138 points, earned 51 rebounds and handed out 45 assists.
The tournament, which begins March 6 at Samford University, will stretch over four days and include 14 games — seven between collegiate men’s teams and seven between women’s. The conference championships are scheduled for Sunday, March 9.
GSC Commissioner Nate Salant said last year’s move to Samford’s Hanna Center was a hit with the conference’s coaches and student-athletes.
GSC’s headquarters is located in Shelby County. Salant said the Birmingham area is the geographic center of the conference, which includes schools from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida.
2014 GSC Tournament Schedule (tentative)
March 6
Women’s Quarterfinals: 12:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Men’s Quarterfinals: 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
March 7
Women’s Quarterfinals: 12:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Men’s Quarterfinals: 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
March 8
Women’s Semifinals: 12:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Men’s Semifinals: 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
March 9
Women’s Championship, 1:30 p.m.
Men’s Championship, 4:30 p.m.
All tickets to the 2014 GSC Basketball Tournaments are general admission and are provided on a per-day basis.
• Adults, $8
• GSC students, senior citizens (60 years or older) and active military, $5 (Proper identification is needed for $5 ticket access)
• Children under 5 admitted free