By Rubin E. Grant
From the moment John David Smelser took over as Vestavia Hills’ girls head basketball coach in the spring of 2019, Emma Smith was the one player he could always count on.
But now in his fourth season, Smelser no longer has Smith around to turn to. She is a freshman at the University of Denver after finishing her high school career as the Rebels’ all-time leading scorer with more than 2,000 points while also collecting more than 1,000 rebounds.
Smith led Vestavia Hills to a 33-3 record and Class 7A runner-up finish last season.
“You can’t replace a player like her,” Smelser said. “But that’s part of being a high school coach. Kids graduate and move on. You miss them ‘cause you love them. We love Emma.”
As much as he loves Smith and his other former players, Smelser has turned his full attention to his current team.
“We try not to emphasize what we’re missing basketball-wise without Emma or Ally (Smith, Emma’s twin sister) or Carly Smith (no relation),” Smelser said, referring to the other two starters who graduated. “This is a new year and a new team with a new look.
“We’re a young team with mostly sophomores, two juniors and only one senior. We’ve even got an eighth grader on the team. But our youth has a lot of experience. Five or six of them saw a lot of playing time last season.”
The youthful Rebels haven’t missed a beat. They entered the Thanksgiving break with an 8-0 record while outscoring their opponents by a plus-22 margin (63.5 to 41.0).
“We’ve got a talented group who likes to compete and win,” Smelser said. “I’m not shocked that we’ve started the way we have.
“We’re getting better every day which is one of the benefits of having a young team. You get to see them improve daily, as players and as individuals.”
Starting Lineup
The Rebels start three sophomores, 5-foot-11 forward Sarah Gordon, point guard Jill Gaylard and guard Grayson Hudgens. Senior guard Anna Towry and 5-11 junior forward Mallory Cowan round out the starting lineup.
Junior Ally Perry, 5-11 sophomore Jordan Madsen, eighth grader Ryleigh Martin, sophomore Rosemary Gill, and sophomore Emma Gordon, Sarah Gordon’s twin sister, are also receiving plenty of playing time. Sophomores Jule McMillan and Ava Robinson complete the varsity roster.
“We’ve got 12 on the team and we rotate 10 in consistently with our style of play,” Smelser said.
Gordon is the team’s leading scorer, averaging about 15 points per game, and Towry is right behind her, averaging nearly 14 points per game. Gaylard also is averaging in double figures.
“All three of them are playing really well, but all of the girls are playing hard and playing good defense,” Smelser said. “We’ve just got to get some more games under our belt. We’ve played some pretty good teams, but we’ve got some tests coming up.”
The Rebels are back in the same area (Class 7A, Area 5) with Hoover for the first time in three seasons.
The teams played only once during the regular season last year with Hoover posting a 64-55 victory, then the Bucs turned back the Rebels 73-64 in the state championship game.
“It’s not a great feeling to be back in the same area with them, but you’ve got to go through them at some point, so we’re going to embrace it,” Smelser said. “We’ll get more shots at them instead of just one (during the regular season). We’ll probably see them three or four times this season.
“It’s a bit exciting because it’s a pretty good rivalry, something both communities enjoy.”
