Ready to make a run

The last time there were 10 seniors in the Homewood High School boys basketball program, the Patriots won their first state championship. 

The 2015-16 Patriots team had a couple elite players and boasted a great deal of quality depth. Head coach Tim Shepler would not go so far to say that the 2018-19 team — which also boasts 10 seniors — is on the same level as that championship team, but having that much experience is certainly a positive.

“That’s going to make a difference,” he said.

Homewood posted a 15-16 record last winter, going through some growing pains as a relatively inexperienced team. But the Patriots persevered and played some of their best basketball at the end of the season.

“We started getting into some tough battles and had a couple games we lost in early December,” Shepler said. “They got down, but were very resilient, very coachable.”

The Patriots went on to gut out a 31-30 win over Shades Valley in the area tournament and took Oxford to the wire in the Class 6A sub-regional round. Just six weeks prior to the 60-59 loss to the Yellow Jackets, Homewood had lost to Oxford by 16 points at home. 

Shepler said, “I thought really it was just one of those years where the guys got a lot better and grew up and I thought it was a positive year.”

Hopefully for the Patriots, that experience and growth will pay off and give way to a team equipped to make a run. This winter, Shepler nearly has two full lineups he feels comfortable playing.

“We’ve got so many kids competing for playing time,” he said. “You’ve got those three or four that you know are going to be on the floor, then five through eight or nine, somebody can step in there and really surprise.”

The Patriots’ top returner is senior forward Logan Padgett, who is committed to play college ball at Samford. Along with his leadership capabilities, Shepler said Padgett has gotten stronger and learned to play to his strengths even more. He’s even shown the ability to knock down outside shots.

Shepler said, “Logan has grown a lot in his leadership. Logan’s never going to be Ron Nored [a former Homewood and Butler University star who was an emotional and vocal leader]. That’s not who he is. But he’s shown a lot of leadership by the way he’s working and his approach.”

In the early days of the season, Homewood will be playing without a full deck of cards, as the Patriots wait on the likes of Larkin Williams, Marcus McGhee, Pate Owen, Wesley Williams and Ky Burdeshaw to return from the football team. Larkin Williams was one of three captains the team voted for in the preseason, along with Padgett and Jack Dorough. 

“It’ll be interesting to see how we get started, because I think we could play without our football guys for a while,” Shepler said.

Marcello Nanni and Bo Barber are two other players that Shepler noted could step into the limelight at times this season.

In the month of December, Homewood plays Pelham, Chelsea, Calera, Thompson and John Carroll before a trip to Orlando and the Metro Tournament. Area play begins in January, as the Patriots compete in Class 6A, Area 10 with Shades Valley and Huffman.