By Lee Davis
Homewood’s boys basketball tradition goes back to the days of the high-scoring Ronnie Greathouse in the 1970s and the successful coaching tenures of Dave Beason, David Jones and Tim Shepler, but for some reason a state championship always alluded the Patriots.
Until last week.
Homewood’s 54-51 victory over Muscle Shoals at the BJCC finally brought the blue hardware to the school’s already-crowded trophy case as the Patriots claimed the Class 6A title. For Shepler, the championship had to be particularly satisfying after runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2010.
“I’ve aged about 10 years in the last six weeks,” the 56-year old coach joked last week, referring to his team’s penchant for playing nail-biters. “But this is so sweet for our guys.”
Certainly it was, and while nobody around Lakeshore Drive would dare mention the word “repeat” so soon, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility. After all, Homewood claimed the title this season despite the graduation loss of all-state guard Malik Cook.
The Patriots lose five players who saw action in last week’s Final Four but return a solid nucleus. Luke Touliatos, the MVP of Homewood’s championship week who put up an incredible 31-point performance in the semi-final win over Huffman, will return for his senior season. Also returning is sophomore center Trey Jemison, a 6-9 giant who wears a size 17 shoe and is already a superb rebounder. That’s a pretty good start for next year.
But talk about next year can and should wait. After decades of coming close, the Patriots finally own a boys basketball state championship. It’s time for the town to celebrate.
Lady Patriots Come Close
Not all the news coming out of Homewood was good, as the Lady Patriots fell just short in their bid to earn a second straight girls Class 6A crown. Their 80-65 loss to an undefeated LeFlore team wasn’t as bad as the score indicates, considering Homewood played most of the game without star forward Ajah Wayne, who was injured in the first half and made only spot appearances for the rest of the game.
Coach JoVanka Ward’s disappointment has to be soothed by the fact that the entire Lady Patriot roster returns for 2016-17.
“It’s tough to lose but we will be back,” Homewood guard Hannah Barber said. “I’m not sure we needed any more motivation, but this will help.”
Don’t be at all surprised to see the Lady Patriots in their third consecutive championship game in 2017.
Hatchett Job
As Shepler celebrated his first state championship this week, another veteran coach with two titles under his belt was announcing the end of his career. George Hatchett is retiring after 38 years as head coach of the Vestavia Hills Rebels. Hatchett also coached at Mortimer Jordan and Fairfield before coming to Vestavia in the early 1980s.
“It’s just the right time,” Hatchett said when contacted last week. “My health is good and I’ve had a great experience at Vestavia. Coaching is a young man’s game so I felt it was time to go.”
Hatchett plans to spend some of his retirement on the golf course, but he also has a much higher priority.
“I’m already in the top 10 of grandparents who spoil their grandchild,” he said, laughing. “But now I’m aiming to be number one.”
For years, many thought of Vestavia as a football or baseball powerhouse, but Hatchett put basketball on the map by winning state championships in 1992 and 2009.
“The first thing we had to do was establish a place for ourselves. We were able to get some of the school’s best athletes to come out for basketball, even if their college future might be in another sport,” Hatchett recalled. “That way, we made basketball important.”
Hatchett said the biggest change in the game came with the advent of the three-point basket.
“There’s far more emphasis on outside shooting now,” he said. “You don’t see as many offenses where kids play with their backs to the basket anymore. Whether that’s good or bad, it’s the state of the game now.”
While the game has changed, Hatchett said players haven’t.
“Teenagers are amazingly adaptive,” he said. “They all have cell phones and video games and access to all sorts of information, but they can still come in and work hard and be dedicated to something bigger than themselves.”
Hatchett said he had no regrets. “I feel like I gave an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay,” he said. “It was a great ride.”
Vestavia basketball can say the same thing to George Hatchett.
Edgar’s Honor
Mountain Brook’s Edgar Welden has been a fixture on the Alabama sports scene for decades and is finally being honored accordingly. The board of directors of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame has announced that Welden has been named the 2016 Distinguished Alabama Sportsman.
Welden, who now is chairman of the board of the Hall of Fame, has long been active in supporting high school athletics.
He is president of the Bryant-Jordan Student Athlete Scholarship Program, which annually awards more than 100 scholarships to high school seniors based on athletic and scholastic achievement. Welden founded the Birmingham Athletic Partnership, a non-profit organization that supports Birmingham’s high school and middle school athletic programs. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the present Final Four format for determining high school basketball champions and the Super Seven format for choosing high school football champions.
Welden will be formally inducted at the ASHOF’s Annual Induction Ceremony on Saturday, May 21, 2016.
