Thursday, November 30, 2017 • 39
SPORTS
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
SPARTANS,
Senior guards Hannah Barber, left, and Kalia Cunningham, right, are key players for the Patriots. Barber, who has been All-State the past three seasons, signed with Alabama during the early-signing period in November.
Tough Start Doesn’t Diminish Powers’ Optimism For Homewood Girls Basketball
By Rubin E. Grant
When Jazmine Powers accepted the Homewood girls basketball head coaching job last spring, it also meant she accepted the 2017-18 schedule that already was in place. “I couldn’t do anything about it,” Powers said. On a scale of one to 10, the opening three games rated a 20. The reigning Class 6A champion Patriots faced 2017 Class 7A champion Hoover in their opener, followed by 2017 Class 7A runnerup Spain Park and then 2017 Class 5A champion Wenonah in the first round of HewittTrussville’s Bryant Bank tournament. Homewood lost all three games, falling in blowout fashion to Hoover (66-40) and Wenonah (59-40) and coming up a little short against Spain Park (57-54). Despite the three losses – already one more than the Patriots logged last season, when they finished 34-2 – Powers believes such a difficult opening act will benefit the Patriots as the season progresses. “I’m glad to go through that early,” she said. “We can learn from it. “I didn’t figure we’d come out and dominate. I knew it would be a process with people adapting to bigger roles before we would jell and click. These girls are really trying. I feel we’ve made some progress and taken some steps forward.” The Patriots bounced back to win their final two games in the Bryant
Bank tournament, routing Fort Payne 72-44 and Briarwood Christian 69-24. Powers inherited a team that won two of the past three Class 6A titles and finished as runners-up in 2016. She also had a solid nucleus to build around, featuring senior guards Hannah Barber and Kalia Cunningham and senior forward Tori Webb. Barber, who has been All-State the past three seasons, signed with Alabama during the early-signing period in November. The 6-foot Webb also is being recruited. “Hannah and Tori have been solid to start the season,” Powers said. The Patriots are minus two key players from their 2017 championship team. Center Ajah Wayne, the 2017 Class 6A Player of the Year, transferred to Ramsay, and senior forward Lia Roberson suffered a season-ending knee injury during the summer. “We’re actually kind of thin right now,” Powers said. “We’re looking to build some depth.” Two players who have caught Powers’ eye are 6-1 senior forward Kayla Mikula and senior guard Kassidy Crawford. “Kayla is a tall, skinny post player who has been playing well,” Powers said. “She started our last two games. It doesn’t necessarily show up in the stats, but she plays as hard as she can. I’ve always thought she had a lot of potential. I’ve been very pleased with her consistency. “Kassidy has really stepped up. She made five three-pointers against Spain Park and scored 12 points against Briarwood.”
Powers is getting acclimated to coaching at the high school level. She starred at Austin High in Decatur, played at Samford, graduating in 2012, and was an assistant coach for the Bulldogs for four of the past five years, including their top assistant last season. This is her second high school coaching job. She spent the 2016 season at Cornerstone School. “I kind of missed the high school level because of the influence and impact you can have on younger girls,” Powers said. “I didn’t go out looking for the Homewood job, but they called me and I felt it was a good place for me.” Powers is following two highly successful coaches, JoVanka Ward, who led Homewood to the 2015 title then moved to Thompson after the 2016 season; and Kevin Tubbs, who resigned following the 2017 championship season to enter private business in Seattle. Powers, however, is not putting any added pressure on herself because of the Patriots’ recent success. “I feel that God put me here and since he put me here he will give me what I need to do the job,” she said. At the same time, she expects Homewood to contend for another title. “I was really excited when I took the job because we have some talented girls whose desire is to play college basketball and win,” Powers said. “I knew they’d be willing to work hard and be coachable. “It’s a long season and, dealing with teenage girls, I am not expecting it to be easy. But getting back to the state tournament is our goal.” ❖
our team to do so well against teams from a state that has such a plethora of talent – that felt good to represent our state.” The team returned home to face a daunting road schedule against some of the best teams in Birmingham. They’ll travel to Wenonah, Pinson Valley, ClayChalkville and Parker in succession before hosting Ramsay and Huntsville’s Randolph. They’ll spend the holiday break in Fort Meyers, Florida, at the City of Palms Classic and in Huntsville at the Huntsville Times Classic. McMillan’s team is still young. Just four seniors lead the group – Britton Johnson, Hamp Sisson, Sean Elmore and William Lineberry. Two of the Spartans’ top contributors are underclassmen. Junior Trendon Watford had 36 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 9-of-12 from the field with 29 second half points, and sophomore point guard Paulie Stramaglia dished out 11 assists. “As a freshman, (Stramaglia) was making plays in the fourth quarter of the state championship that helped us win the game,” said McMillan. “He can take over a game without ever scoring. He knows where the ball needs to go; he knows how to create for others.” It’s a talented young group that has gained a lot of valuable early season experience on its way to a hopeful state championship repeat. “Irons sharpen iron,” said McMillan. “We want to play against really tough opponents. At the end of the year when you’re in the tournament, if you haven’t seen that, if you haven’t been in any real fights, it’s not gonna be easy.” But as talented as the Spartans remain on the court, McMillan is most proud of his team’s character. It’s a group that has three players with ACT scores of 34, 34 and 35, and Johnson is a National Merit Finalist. “I feel very fortunate to be the coach of this team,” McMillan said. “They do everything right. They practice, they work hard, there’s no ego, there’s no selfishness. They’re just a bunch of dudes. It’s a fun group. When you’re in the grind, sometimes you don’t take time to enjoy it, but I remind myself every day that I need to enjoy this group. It’s a special group of players, and I don’t just mean talent; it’s a special group of people.” ❖
Journal file photo by Marvin Gentry
Journal photos by Marvin Gentry
From page 40
Britton Johnson, above, along with Hamp Sisson, Sean Elmore and William Lineberry are the only seniors on this year’s squad.
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