Photo by Todd Lester.
Izaiah Jones (11) will ascend to a starting role for the Lions this season.
In the fall, much of the focus of Briarwood Christian School’s boys basketball team is with the football team.
Head coach Bobby Kerley serves as the football team’s offensive coordinator. Quarterback Michael Hiers, defensive back Carson Donnelly and many others are key players for both the football and basketball teams.
As for the basketball players that don’t play football? They’re leading the charge in the student section at each game, no matter how near or far.
“They love those guys and they don’t look at it as, ‘we’re basketball guys, they’re football guys.’ They look at it as, ‘we’re Briarwood,’” Kerley said.
With the distinct groups that the basketball team is split into in the fall, Kerley hopes to avoid factions forming between the ones that play football and the ones that don’t.
“We’re trying to accomplish relationships,” Kerley said. “The thing that can derail us — where half of our team plays football and half doesn’t — you can really have some jealousy, some rivalry, some animosity. That could take root into your team if you haven’t built the relationship and the unity the guys have.”
Watching the Lions on the floor in recent years has made it apparent that the team has come together each season.
They have found a way to progress each winter and become a cohesive unit, in part because of the bond formed during football season.
“In football, a lot of the guys having great seasons are basketball guys,” said Kerley. “If you look at the student section, a lot of the guys leading it are the basketball players that aren’t playing football.”
With the hope of the football team playing deep into the state playoffs like it did last year, Briarwood chose to start its season about 10 days later than most teams, given how many football players are on the basketball team.
On the hardwood, the Lions are attempting to put together a successful season. To Kerley, that simply means going as far as the constructed team can.
“What any coach wants to see is their team maximize its potential,” Kerley said. “Whatever that is, maximizing our potential is something where, at the end of the year, you say that’s as long as we could’ve possibly played.”
In order to advance out of the Class 5A, Area 8 tournament, the Lions have to navigate an area of Moody, Shelby County and Sylacauga. While they were unable to do that last year, Kerley hopes this year’s unit can build on the identity that last season’s group forged.
“Last year’s team was a tough, grind-it-out, feisty group,” Kerley said. “We’re going to need all of those things.”
Kerley sees this year’s group being able to score easier than last year with Carson Donnelly and Izaiah Jones as prominent players in the backcourt. One guy that Briarwood will miss for at least the first part of the season is Brayden Blythe, a quality returnee who is recovering from a knee injury.
Without Blythe, the Lions’ tallest player, it will be even more important for Briarwood to rally together to do the little things, such as rebound and play defense.
“It’s attitude, effort and technique, and these kids have it. You’re going to see a feisty group of guys that play really hard and are unselfish,” Kerley said. “A group that people can be really proud of.”
