By Rubin E. Grant
Hoover junior center DeWayne Brown is a firm believer in hard work.
Ask him how the Bucs were able to repeat as Class 7A boys basketball state champions and finish with a 30-3 record, he’ll say hard work.
Ask him how he was able to expand his shooting range beyond the 3-point arc, he’ll tell you hard work.
Ask him how he was able to average 15.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.6 blocks while shooting an incredible 70.5% from the field (201 of 285), once again he’ll respond hard work.
Brown’s work ethic and performance was visible whenever he stepped on the court, earning him the 2024 OTM Boys Basketball Player of the Year honor in balloting by Over the Mountain basketball coaches.
“I didn’t expect that,” Brown said. “I appreciate it. I think I played good, although there were some games I probably could have played harder.”
The final three games of the postseason certainly didn’t fall into that category. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Brown was dominant.
He scored 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Hoover’s 77-53 victory against Thompson in the Northwest Regional final.
“DeWayne is a nightmare matchup at the high school level,” Thompson coach D.J. Black said afterward.
Brown scored 28 points, sinking two 3-pointers, and grabbed eight rebounds in the Bucs’ 57-49 victory against Central-Phenix City in the Class 7A semifinals at BJCC’s Legacy Arena.
“He’s the engine,” Central coach Charles Burkett said. “If you take him off the floor, I think we are the better team. He brings that much attention.”
Brown scored 15 points, making six of seven shots from the field, collected 11 rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked three shots as the Bucs routed Enterprise 59-34 in the championship game. Brown was named the Class 7A tournament MVP.
“I just wanted to win, and for us to win I needed to play a little harder,” Brown said. “I was doing whatever the team needed for us to win.”
Brown is a difference-maker, according to Hoover head coach Scott Ware.
“When DeWayne is the court, we’re obviously a better team,” Ware said. He’s an incredible talent and he continues to grow and grow his game.
“Because of his basketball IQ, we run a lot of things through him. Our guys trust him to make plays.”
With another year left in high school, Brown is already approaching 50 offers from colleges, including just about all the schools in the Southeastern Conference. Brown’s dad, DeWayne Brown Sr., played at UAB in the late 1990s.
“I haven’t made any decision yet,” Brown said. “I might have some more offers coming in.”
All-OTM Team
Brown heads up the 2024 All-OTM Boys Basketball Team. He is joined by two of his teammates, junior guards Salim London and Jarrett Fairley. London averaged a team-leading 17.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals. He shot 40.8% from 3-point range (58 of 142). Fairley averaged 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Homewood landed two players on the team, senior forward David Stone and sophomore guard Kaleb Carson. Stone averaged 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and Carson averaged 7.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals. Stone is headed to Maryville College in Tennessee to play in college.
Vestavia Hills placed two players on the team, senior guard Jackson Weaver and senior forward Jordan Ross. Weaver averaged 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He is headed to the University of Alabama in Huntsville to play in college. Ross averaged 11.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.5 blocks. He is going to Tennessee to play football.
Spain Park also had two players voted to the team, senior forward T.J. Lamar and senior guard Korbin Long. Lamar averaged 13.0 points and 6.9 rebounds. Long averaged 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
Senior guard Ty Davis was Mountain Brook’s lone representative. Davis, who is headed to Creighton, averaged 17.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals, leading the Spartans to the Class 6A championship game before a heartbreaking 52-51 overtime loss to Buckhorn.
Rounding out the team are Briarwood Christian sophomore guard Drew Mears and Oak Mountain senior guard Grey Williams. Mears was the area’s top scorer, averaging 23.6 points. He also averaged 3.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 steals. Williams averaged 12.5 points and 2.3 assists.
Coach of the Year
Homewood’s Tim Shepler was voted 2024 OTM Boys Basketball Coach of the Year after leading the Patriots to a 24-9 record and their first regional final appearance since 2016.
Homewood lost 55-49 to Mountain Brook in the Class 6A Northeast Regional final, coming up a win short of reaching the Final Four.
“It’s always honoring whenever your peers vote for you for such an award,” Shepler said. “As a team, we didn’t talk about win-loss expectations. We talked a lot about being the best version of yourself and if that happened, we’d be satisfied.
“We had some guys who really wanted to play hard to get better. I give the kids a lot of credit for what we accomplished and my coaching staff.”
