Hoops preview: Jags, Eagles have eyes set on state title

The campaign the Oak Mountain High School boys basketball team put together last season was one of the best in school history. The Eagles went 22-9, winning Class 7A, Area 5, and advancing to the state final four for the first time as a program.

But the mantra of Chris Love’s program won’t allow the 2020-21 version of the Eagles to dwell on last year’s success. Oak Mountain lives by a philosophy of, “It doesn’t matter, get better.” Resting on the laurels of a previous season will not benefit the Eagles in the future.

“We’re just trying to get better right now,” said Love, the Oak Mountain head coach. “If we do our job of getting better and take every day and every game and work to get better, then we’ll be playing our best basketball in January and February and feel like we’re going to have an opportunity to do something special.”

Much of the core of last year’s team returns, placing high external expectations on Oak Mountain to once again be in contention for a 7A state championship. The Eagles’ most significant loss was point guard Zane Nelson, a player that brought plenty to the table last year. He was Oak Mountain’s leading scorer.

“Zane had as good a senior year as I’ve ever been around,” Love said. “He put [the team] on his back and led us. The thing was Zane was our energy guy.”

It will be a team effort to replace all of Nelson’s contributions. Love said it starts with the Eagles’ three seniors, Noah Young, Colin Patrick and Connor Freel. Young will work his way into the mix beginning in mid-November, after helping the Oak Mountain football team to a quarterfinal playoff run. 

Patrick took advantage of the offseason improving all facets of his game, preparing for his increased role.

“I put on 15 pounds, worked on shooting and ball handling, and on the mental side you’ve got to bring the energy and leadership,” he said.

Freel was a junior varsity player a season ago, but Love said he has improved his game to the point he is expected to be in the Eagles’ rotation this season.

“I’m trying to be a better leader and I’m trying to bring a lot of energy,” Freel said.

Love said Oak Mountain will be more patient on the offensive end this season, with key players such as Wilder Evers and Evan Smith expected to have the ball in their hands more this season facilitating the offense.

“We’re going to have four or five guys that average seven to 10 points,” Love said.

Brady Dunn will bring a deft shooting touch to the Eagles and others such as Ryan Giegel and Matthew Heiberger will step into much bigger roles. That’s before considering the emergence of forward Will Shaver, a highly-recruited junior. 

Love said Shaver dropped 40 pounds in the offseason and is in as good of condition as he has ever been. Shaver has become more athletic and able to do more things on the perimeter, like defending and shooting the 3-pointer. 

“He’s kind of taken his game to the next level,” Love said.

Oak Mountain will compete against the likes of Hoover, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County in Area 5.

“If we’re not ready to play, we’re going to finish fourth in our area,” Love said.

Jags also have high expectations

Chris Laatsch cautions against evaluating the progress of a program merely on the team’s win-loss record. Schedules are not created equally and many factors come into play in a given season.

But there’s no denying the immense progress the Jaguars made from year one to year two under Laatsch, as they improved from seven wins in 2018-19 to a 20-win team last winter. 

“The buy-in, the belief and the effort and them understanding what we’re trying to do, I was pleased with the atmosphere with our program,” Laatsch said.

Last season, Spain Park advanced past the area tournament and won its Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game. The Jags even gave eventual state runner-up and area rival Mountain Brook all it could handle in the regional final.

“Records are not a good test of the quality of a team, but I do think what I can judge is the atmosphere, buy-in, work ethic, passion and camaraderie of our kids and those things are definitely in place,” Laatsch said.

Four seniors from last year’s squad, but all five starters return (including two others who could be considered starters). The program has ascended in two years to one with expectations of being one of the top teams in the state this season.

Josh Harrington is back and a player Laatsch called the Jags’ most valuable player a season ago.

“He’s tiny but he’s mighty,” Laatsch said. “He just makes plays. If there was a play that needed to be made last year, he just always seemed to make it.”

Cam Crawford is garnering the most recruiting attention on Spain Park’s roster, as the guard’s explosive athleticism and skill give opposing teams nightmares. Junior forward Colin Turner is also back, adding muscle to his 6-foot-8 frame in the offseason to be an even better player.

J.R. Lambert can do a little bit of everything on the floor for the Jags. He had a big game against Mountain Brook in the regional final last year. Braden Diclemente is also a returning starter. Laatsch lauded his shooting touch and said he has also worked to improve every aspect of his game.

Blake Hay and Blake Floyd give the Jags two other players with plenty of experience as well. Hay started at the beginning of last season before suffering an injury, but he is back and healthy. Floyd moved to Spain Park for his senior year, coming over from Pelham, where his dad Joel served as the head coach. Joel Floyd is now an assistant on the Spain Park staff.

“To have a chance to work alongside him, I’m learning from him every day. He’s going to be a tremendous asset to our program,” Laatsch said.

Jax Hovanec is a utility player capable of playing four of the five positions on the floor. Also on the roster are Deacon George, Dawson DeFalco, Jayson Webb, Pierson Cole and Zach Gray.

There are no secrets with a team coached by Laatsch. His teams will play a strong, fundamentally-based game on the offensive side and keep teams off balance on defense by featuring multiple looks.

Laatsch also has no shortage of confidence in his current team.

“Our goal is a state championship,” he said. “There’s a lot of really good teams. There’s a lot of teams with a lot of people back, but our team has a lot of people back, too.”

Hornets looking to gain experience early

The philosophies of Chelsea head coach Nick Baumbaugh haven’t changed. His Hornets teams have always hung their hats on playing tough half-court defense and being patient offensively as they search for the proper shot.

Once again, this season, that is what Chelsea will look like on the floor. Something Baumbaugh has had to adjust, though, is his level of patience in teaching the game to his young team. After graduating nine seniors and not having a normal summer due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Hornets do not have much experience.

But the coach has liked what he’s seen in the preseason and the early portion of the regular season.

“This fall has been really, really good with a new weight program, trying to get more explosive, quicker and more basketball central to what we’re trying to do,” he said. “It’s been productive so far and our kids have responded well to that. We’re trying to mesh a lot of young kids into what we’re doing.”

Holton Smith returns the most experience for the Hornets, and players Brady Arnette, Paul Lanzi and Alex Redd played last season as well. 

“We’re excited about this year,” Baumbaugh said. “It’s just been trying to figure out who’s really going to help us.”

One of Chelsea’s primary focuses this summer was shooting the ball, something that has carried over into the school year. Baumbaugh said several players show up before school to get shots up, impressing him with their desire to improve despite the tough circumstances of the offseason.

Based on what Baumbaugh has seen early on, he believes the Hornets will be effective at creating offensive opportunities by driving the lane.

“One of our strengths this year across the board is our kids getting to the rim,” he said. “Even though we want to be patient, I also want to take advantage of our strength.”

The Hornets have six seniors this season in Riley Edmiston, Josh Bass, Arnette Smith, Warner Jones and Luis Lopez-Miranda. Edmiston has taken the role as the Hornets’ top player early in the season. Bass got some playing time last year and will take on a much bigger role this season. Warner Jones has taken on the role of being a versatile center. Lopez-Miranda has never played organized basketball, but can really shoot, according to his coach.

Baumbaugh also noted the likes of Caden Cook, Cooper Griffin, Carson Camper, Thomas Simpson and Matthew Gray as players he expects to contribute in a big way. Kevin Legrand and Carter Abrams are also on the team.

Lions a tough bunch this winter

Over the last few years, the Briarwood Christian School boys basketball team has been able to utilize more of a free-flowing offensive game, taking advantage of the talent and experience on the floor.

The Lions are going to have to pull the reins back some this fall. After graduating several key players from last year’s group, Landon Nuyt is the returning player with the most experience.

“Landon’s an explosive guy,” Briarwood head coach Bobby Kerley said. “He can create a shot that we don’t have to create for him.”

Briarwood’s personnel is going to dictate a more deliberate and structured game this year. But because the Lions are emphasizing discipline and toughness does not mean they don’t expect to be competitive.

“I’m really hopeful this is a great team to watch,” Kerley said. “We’re going to have to share the ball a lot, we’re going to have to be incredibly disciplined, we’re going to play a more controlled pace of basketball and really try to excel on the defensive end.”

Early in the season, expect John Elliott to provide much of the secondary scoring for the Lions. There are several football players on the Briarwood basketball team and it will likely be December by the time most of those guys have settled into their roles for the Lions.

At the center position, Will Brewer, Miller Stubblefield and Tyler Smith will all contribute in a by-committee approach for the Lions. Stratton Ponder and Christopher Vizzina will take most of the minutes at power forward. Ponder has great length and can shoot the 3-pointer well, while Vizzina — also the quarterback on the gridiron — brings a high level of toughness and leadership.

Kerley also mentioned players such as Chandler Key, Brooks Donnelly and Jonathan Stevens who will help the Lions in a big way. The roster also includes Nicholas Frost, Baylor Gann, William Lloyd, Grant Mears and Buddy Campbell.

“We always try to be tough and be fighters, but we’re going to have to be a lunch pail type of team. It may not always be the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, but I hope people really enjoy watching those guys,” Kerley said.

Briarwood is probably not the favorite to win Class 6A, Area 9, with the likes of Mountain Brook, Chelsea and Homewood to compete against, but Kerley will take his team into every game with a sense of belief that it has what it takes.

“We really do have a fighter’s chance in every game we play,” he said.