Strikingly Good Strikingly Good

By RuBin E. GRant

Bowling wasn’t on Michael Kimble’s radar a few years ago. He wanted to play basketball at Spain Park, but when the Jaguars held tryouts during the spring of Kimble’s eighth grade year at Berry Middle School, he didn’t make the cut.

His friend Luke Eaton suggested Kimble try bowling, something Kimble had never done. So, he joined the Jags’ middle school bowling team. The initial results were predictable.

“I wasn’t that good,” Kimble said.

That’s when Kimble’s dad stepped in. With students at home and learning virtually in the spring of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kimble’s dad took him to Oak Mountain Lanes, one of the few things open for business, almost daily to teach his son the fundamentals.

Kimble didn’t only learn the fundamentals, he became strikingly good. Spain Park volunteer bowling coach Lillian Singleton took notice.

“Coach Singleton said, ‘What happened to him? You’ve got a darn bowler,’ and she just walked off,”

Kelly

From page 24 ration. She scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out five assists to lead Alabama to an 88-74 victory in the AlabamaMississippi Girls Classic at the Mitchell Center on the campus of the University of South Alabama. She was named the Alabama All-Stars MVP.

Kelly handled her coach’s assessment of her being the GOAT just as smoothly as she does one of her pull-up jumpers off a cross-over dribble.

“I believe her,” Kelly said. “I’ve had a lot of success in this program to verify it. I’m very confident in myself and I think the work I’ve put in shows I’m the greatest.”

Over the Mountain basketball coaches didn’t dispute that, making Kelly the unanimous choice as the 2023 OTM Girls Basketball Player of the Year. It’s the second consecutive year she’s been chosen for the honor.

“I’m blessed,” Kelly said. “I think it shows the consistency I’ve had for five years.” Johnson had little to add.

“There’s not much more for me to say,” Johnson said. “Her resume speaks for itself.”

Kelly, a North Carolina signee, averaged 15.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.4 steals this season. She also became Hoover’s all-time leading scorer, finishing with 2,272 career points. In her five seasons on the varsity, Hoover posted a 168-10 record.

Kelly also has been named the Gatorade 2023 Alabama Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

“Reniya is elite,” Vestavia Hills coach John Smelser said in a Gatorade press release. “She is looking to create for teammates, but she is also capable of getting a bucket whenever she wants. It is no fun trying to gameplan to stop her because she can do so much more than score.”

Kelly was one of four Hoover players voted to the 2023 All-OTM team, joining senior forwards Kristen McMillian (6.8 average points per game and 5.5 rebounds) and Alanah Pooler (7.5 points, 4.1 rebounds), and senior guard Layla Etchison (12.5 points).

Kimble’s mother, Sandy Kimble, said with a laugh.

“We were just coming up to Spain Park for ninth grade tryouts and he had changed so dramatically,” Sandy Kimble added.

Since then, Michael Kimble has developed into one of the top high school bowlers in the state. In 2022, he helped Spain Park win the Class 6A-7A state championship and in February he helped the Jags to a runner-up finish to Sparkman.

Kimble recently was selected the Alabama High School Athletic Association 2023 Boys Bowler of the Year by AHSAA bowling coaches.

“It was a surprise,” Kimble said upon learning he had been chosen. “I feel proud, but I feel it’s a team award as well as an individual award.”

Kimble, a junior, finished second to teammate Ethan Lee with 606 pins over three games at the Class 6A-7A state bowling tournament in February. Lee, a senior, had 615 pins.

For the season, Kimble had the highest scoring average on the Jags’ team with a 211 total.

Spain Park coach Stephen Hobbs raves about Kimble’s development.

OTMJ’s 2023 High School Basketball All-OTM Teams

2023 ALL-OTM GIRLS TEAM

Reniya Kelly, Hoover, Sr., 5-8 G

Kristen McMillan, Hoover, Sr., 6-1, F

Raegan Whitaker, Oak Mountain, Jr., 5-9 G

Sarah Gordon, Vestavia Hills, So., 5-11 F

Anna Towry, Vestavia Hills, Sr., 5-7 G

Emma Stearns, Mountain Brook, Jr., 5-6 G

Kayla Warren, Homewood, Jr., 5-6 G

Alanah Pooler, Hoover, Sr., 6-1 F

Mary Beth Dicen, Briarwood, Jr., 5-5, G

Layla Etchison, Hoover, Sr., 5-6 G

Jill Gaylard, Vestavia Hills, So., 5-2 G

Player of the Year: Reniya Kelly, Hoover Coach of the Year: Krystle Johnson

Vestavia Hills landed three players on the team, sophomore forward Sarah Gordon (17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds), sophomore guard Jill Gaylard (7.4 points, 2.9 assists) and senior guard Anna Lowry (13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists).

Rounding out the team are Oak Mountain junior guard Raegan Whitaker (18.0 points, 9.8 rebounds), Mountain Brook junior guard Emma Stearns (10.1 points), Homewood junior guard Kayla Warren (9.0 points) and Briarwood junior guard Mary Beth Dicen (7.6 points, 3.5 assists).

Coach of the Year

Johnson was voted 2023 Coach of the Year after leading Hoover to a 35-1 record and the three-peat. She also surpassed 300 victories for her coaching career.

“I’m shocked,” Johnson said. “I don’t think I’ve won it but once before. Because we’re Hoover and we have a lot of talent, people assume that we’re going to win and don’t give us credit for keeping our program at the top.

“Me and my coaching staff work day in and day out to help our players be successful not just on the court but off. It’s a collaboration. I get the awards, but everybody plays a part, including the players.”

2023 ALL-OTM BOYS TEAM

Win Miller, Vestavia Hills, Sr., 6-3 G

Matt Heiberger, Oak Mountain, Sr., 6-3 G

Ty Davis, Mountain Brook, Jr., 6-5 G

DeWayne Brown, Hoover, So., 6-9 C

Salim London, Hoover, So., 6-4 G

Sam Wright, Spain Park, Sr., 6-9 C

Zach Gray, Spain Park, Sr., 6-7 G

Julius Clark, Mountain Brook, Sr., 6-6 F

Jackson Weaver, Vestavia Hills, Jr., 6-2 G

Canon Armstead, Homewood, Sr., 6-2 G

Player of the Year: Win Miller, Vestavia Hills

Coach of the Year: Scott Ware, Hoover

Miller

From page 24

He also became the Rebels’ all-time leading scorer with 2,011 career points.

For his performance, Over the Mountain basketball coaches voted Miller the 2023 OTM Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“That’s pretty awesome,” Miller said. “Being a senior and playing the way we did as a team, that’s pretty cool.

“I wouldn’t trade this season for anything, playing with my teammates and playing for ourselves and coaches. We weren’t expected to do as well as we did. We were one of the best teams in the state throughout the year.”

Miller was a major reason for that, displaying a tireless work ethic that led to the player of the year honor.

“I think the honor is definitely characterized as a testament of his commitment to work,” Vestavia Hills coach Patrick Davis said. “I’ve been coaching for almost 20 years and I’ve coached good players and good kids, but Win is cut from a different cloth with the way he’s always working beyond what’s required, and we require a lot.

“No. 1, he loves the sport of bowling,” Hobbs said. “He lives, eats and breathes it. He works hard every day. He wants to continually get better.

“He throws plenty of strikes, but what he does best is he constantly makes spares. It’s rare when he leaves an open frame. He has a very high conversion rate.”

All-State Teams

The AHSAA bowling coaches selected All-State teams for the first time since the sport was restarted in 2015-16 after being discontinued for 37 years. The coaches selected eight top bowlers for the first and second team All-State squads.

Kimble, Eaton and Lee, who has signed with Spring Hill College in Mobile, were selected first team, and teammates Liam Hilson and Luke Mitchell were selected second team.

Vestavia Hills’ Michael Brewer also was selected first team and his Rebels’ teammate Chandler Long was chosen second team.

Oak Mountain’s Emma Hawkins was named to the girls first team AllState squad and her teammate Grace Smith was named second team.

“He just wants to maximize his God-given talent. He was so driven to not only make himself better but also make this program better.”

Miller will continue his career at the next level, playing college ball at Belmont in Nashville.

“I’m excited about it,” Miller said. “My goal is to help Belmont become a part of March Madness again.”

Miller heads up the 2023 All-OTM boys team that also includes his Rebels teammate Jackson Weaver, a junior guard who averaged 14.6 points per game.

Hoover, the Class 7A state champions, landed two players on the team, sophomore center DeWayne Brown (average 14.4 points per game, 10.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks) and sophomore guard Salim London (14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists).

Mountain Brook, the Class 6A runner-up, also had two players voted to the team, junior guard Ty Davis (18.2 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists) and senior forward Julius Clark (12.3 points, 6.1 rebounds).

Spain Park, which reached the Class 7A semifinals, had two players selected, senior center Sam Wright (16.4 points, 6.9 rebounds) and senior guard Zach Gray (16.0 points, 3,9 rebounds).

Rounding out the team are Oak Mountain senior guard Matt Heiberger (21.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 2.2 assists) and Homewood senior guard Canon Armstead (9.0 points, 42% 3-point shooting, 90% free-throw shooting).

Coach of the Year

Hoover’s Scott Ware was voted the 2023 OTM Boys Coach of the Year after leading the Bucs to a 31-4 record and their first state title since 2015.

“That’s a great honor because there are lot of great coaches around here, and for them to think of me in that way is humbling,” Ware said. “But it’s not anything I do but the players and my assistant coaches.

“It was an incredible season from start to finish. The kids stayed connected and locked in all year, and they didn’t worry about who would get credit. Whatever five guys were on the floor, they were willing to do whatever was needed to help us win.”