Hartselle Enquirer
BASKETBALL P R EV I EW S C-SECTION November 24, 2021
Hartselle
Brewer
Danville
Falkville
Priceville
HARTSELLE TIGERS
Head coach: Faron Key, 16th year overall, eighth at Hartselle Area: Class 6A, Area 14, with Cullman, Decatur and Muscle Shoals Past season: 25-4, lost to Pinson Valley in the subregional Returning starters: Senior Luke Ward and juniors Kiah Key and Ryan Dunn Returning players: Senior Dominic Simmons and junior Treyce Oden Newcomers: Junior Thomas Itsede, sophomores Kohl Key and Rylan Smothers and freshman Ty Odom Outlook: Finding replacements for Brody Peebles, the school’s all-time leading scorer, and Trent Wright will be critical to the success of this year’s team.
The Tigers will look different this season, as they have a little more size than in this past season in the post. In addition, the scoring will be spread out more this season, making Hartselle tougher to defend. Look for the Tigers to play different defense styles, rather than just their patented 1-3-1 look. Ward is the team’s leading returning scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game this past season. He hit 41 percent from the three-point range. Kiah Key, a three-year starter, will be called on to fill the shoes of Wright as the jack-ofall-trades. He averaged 8.7 poins, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game this past sea-
Head coach: Gary Orr, 13th year Area: Class 6A, Area 14, with Cullman, Decatur and Muscle Shoals Past season: 25-3, lost to eventual state champion Hazel Green in the Northwest Regional finals Returning starters: Seniors Masyn Marchbanks, Maggie McCleskey and Alyssa McMinemon Returning players: Senior Leyanne Cera and juniors Karleigh Shipley, Emma Roden and Sage Patrick Newcomers: Senior Kaitlyn Hogan, junior Andra Pleasant and freshman Mary Frances Itsede Outlook: The key to this season will be how well the Lady Tigers can shoot from the outside and their ability to play great defensively. Finding ways to rebound the ball will be necessary, especially on the defensive side of the floor. In addition, building depth for the stretch run is essential. Marchbanks, who recently signed with Samford, led the team with 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, three assists and four steals per game this past season. McMinemon averaged
No. Name Year 1 Kiah Key G/F 2 Ryan Dunn G 3 Thomas Itsede G 4 Ty Odom G 14 Kohl Key G 15 Treyce Oden C 20 Luke Ward G/F 22 Dominic Simmons F/C 23 Rylan Smothers F/C Assistants: Jake Miles, Issac Taylor, John Landers and Blake Harbin
son and looks to see those numbers increase this season. Dunn is returning as the starting point guard for his second season. He averaged 5.7 points and three assists. The Tigers play in Class 6A, Area 14, with Cullman, Decatur and Mus-
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION Nov. 16 Austin Home Nov. 19 Vestavia Hills Home Nov. 22 Stewarts Creek (Tenn.) Bob Jones HS Nov. 23 N2Hoops Invitational Bob Jones HS Nov. 24 N2Hoops Invitational Bob Jones HS Nov. 29 Hazel Green Home Dec. 3 Mountain Brook Away Dec. 7 Madison Academy Home Dec. 10 Austin Away Dec. 11 Oxford Dekalb County Schools Coliseum Dec. 13 Mortimer Jordan Away Dec. 14 Huntsville Home Dec. 17 Columbia Home Dec. 20 Florida Classic Daytona Beach Dec. 21 Florida Classic Daytona Beach Dec. 22 Florida Classic Daytona Beach Dec. 29 Metro Tournament Homewood HS Dec. 30 Metro Tournament Homewood HS Dec. 31 Metro Tournament Homewood HS Jan. 4 Decatur Away Jan. 7 Cullman Home Jan. 11 Muscle Shoals Away Jan. 14 Decatur Home Jan. 17 Auburn Vestavia Hills HS Jan. 18 Columbia Away Jan. 21 Springville Away Jan. 25 Cullman Away Jan. 28 Muscle Shoals Home Feb. 1 Huffman Home Feb. 4 Mae Jemison Away *Bold denotes Area game
cle Shoals. Hartselle won the area tournament and lost in the subregional to Pinson Valley. Muscle Shoals finished second in the area and lost to Clay-Chalkville in the subregional. Coach Key has said this will be the most challenging schedule
the Tigers have ever faced. They will take on two teams that played in the state semifinals or finals, three teams that played in the regional finals, two teams that played in the regional semifinals and five teams that played in the subregionals.
Coach speak: “It’s been a lot of fun this offseason, developing our identity and coming together on and off the court. This is a very skilled and highIQ group of young men who compete extremely hard.”
Date
Opponent
Location
Nov. 14 Nov. 17 Nov. 21, 24-25 Dec. 1 Dec. 11 Dec. 14 Dec. 15 Dec. 18
Ramsay Austin Encore Classic Grissom Austin Fairview Priceville Grissom
Mortimer Jordan Home Home Home Away Home Away Away
Dec. 21-23 Spain Park Christmas Tournament Spain Park High School
five points and four rebounds, while McCleskey averaged five points, two rebounds and two assists. The Lady Tigers play in Class 6A, Area 14, with Cullman, Decatur and Muscle Shoals. Hartselle won the area this past season and advanced to the Northwest Regional finals, where they lost to eventual state champion Hazel Green. Muscle Shoals finished second and lost to Mortimer Jordan in the subregional. Outside of area play, the Lady Tigers will face a challenging schedule, taking on two teams that played in state championship games this past season, four teams that played in
2 3 10 11 12 20 21 22 24 25
Maggie McCleskey Maysn Marchbanks Emma Roden Hailey Holshouser Leyanne Cera Alyssa McMinemon Millie Evans Sage Patrick Lillyanna Cartee Karleigh Shipley
Head Coach: Gary Orr Assistants: Bucky Garner and Alice Anne Glasgow
regional finals and five teams that played in regional semifinals.
Dec. 28-30
DOC Tournament at Decatur High School
Jan. 5 Jan. 8 Jan. 12 Jan. 15 Jan. 19 Jan. 23 Jan. 26 Jan. 29 Feb. 1 Feb. 4 Feb. 5 Feb. 8-12 Feb. 15
Decatur Cullman Muscle Shoals Decatur Fairview Florence Cullman Muscle Shoals Priceville Florence Homewood Area Tournament Subregional
Coach speak: “We have an opportunity to be successful this year. We have sev-
Home Away Home Away Away Home Home Away Home Away Away TBA TBA
eral players returning from last year that have game experience.”
Give Us a Shot
You ll score a great mortgage! You’ll Wishing all teams a slam dunk season!
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110 Main Street W., Hartselle, AL 35640 • 256-502-9800 • Fax 256-502-9907 446096-1