Taste of title has players working for 2nd serving

There’s one goal that stands above the rest for the Homewood High School girls basketball team during the 2016-17 season: “6A state championship.”

Those were the first words out of the mouth of junior point guard Hannah Barber, who recently committed to the University of Alabama, when asked about the upcoming campaign earlier this fall.

“Our freshman year, we got a taste of it,” she said of Homewood winning its first basketball state championship in 2015. “We made it there. We know what it takes to get there. Last year, coming off winning one, we got back, but it was still very hard.”

After winning it all in 2015, the Lady Patriots got right back to the big stage in 2016 but faltered in the state title game against LeFlore.

“This year, we know how hard we have to work,” Barber said. “That’s all everybody wants to see. We’re not worried about the other stuff or things that aren’t important. Everyone’s focus is that 6A state championship.”

The most remarkable aspect of Homewood’s event is how the Lady Patriots boast one of the most experienced and successful core group of players yet will have just two seniors this winter in Shelby Hardy and Venice Sanders.

The Lady Patriots will go with a four-captain system this year, with Hardy and juniors Barber, Tori Webb and Ajah Wayne assuming the role of steering the ship.

“That kind of bond that us four have created just as far as that leadership role has definitely helped our chemistry as a whole,” Barber said.

There has been a change in leadership at the top of the program, however, as Homewood City Schools athletic director Kevin Tubbs takes over for JoVanka Ward, who is now the girls basketball coach at Thompson High School. Tubbs assisted Ward the past two years and feels no need to shake things up too dramatically.

“I’ve been involved for two years, helping coach Ward put in a system,” he said. “That was one thing we wanted to keep. We didn’t want the kids to have to start over. What we were doing was working.”

That doesn’t mean the team will cease to strive for improvement.

“Believe it or not, I think we’ll play faster,” Tubbs said.

received well by the team, helped largely by the fact that Tubbs is a familiar face and has been entrenched in the program already.

“With him being one of our assistants last year, we’re definitely used to him,” Barber said. “There’s been a little bit of an adjustment … but not much.”

There are a few other storylines to track for the Lady Patriots as they matriculate through the season, beginning with Wayne, who suffered a knee injury early in the state final March 5.

“That was definitely hard for us, to see a teammate go down,” Barber said.

The transition to a new voice has been received well by the team, helped largely by the fact that Tubbs is a familiar face and has been entrenched in the program already.

“With him being one of our assistants last year, we’re definitely used to him,” Barber said. “There’s been a little bit of an adjustment … but not much.”

There are a few other storylines to track for the Lady Patriots as they matriculate through the season, beginning with Wayne, who suffered a knee injury early in the state final March 5.

“That was definitely hard for us, to see a teammate go down,” Barber said.

She was fully cleared before practice started Oct. 17, but Homewood will keep a close eye on how she progresses in her return to full strength.

“We’ll have to manage it a little bit,” Tubbs said before the season. “She hasn’t done a lot of playing. I think she’ll be fine. We’re kind of easing her into it.”

The core has been intact for the past two years, but other players are prepared to emerge and contribute to the team’s success, according to Barber and Tubbs.

Both singled out Kayla Mikula, whose length and timing will provide the Lady Patriots with a shot-blocking weapon to spell Hardy and Webb on the low block.

“She’s really tall, really long,” Barber said. “She has great timing on blocking shots. She’s worked a lot on her post moves this preseason, so I feel like we’ll definitely be able to see more of her.”

Another player who could make an instant impact is Zoe Watts, who is home-schooled but will take advantage of new AHSAA rules that allow her to participate with the school team.

“People will definitely notice her,” Tubbs said of the sophomore guard. “She’s going to bring a lot to the table, and we’re excited that the state’s allowed that to happen. It’s good for her and it helps us.”

Those two will join other returners Lia Roberson, Kassidy Crawford, Maya Maxwell  and Alexia Hood.

Perhaps the biggest weapon the Lady Patriots have is versatility on offense. Tubbs said he does not want teams to be able to single out individual players to shut down and take Homewood out of its rhythm. He believes he has the team to accomplish that.

“Every night, it could be a different person scoring points, playing as fast we do,” he said.

As with most teams, and for a Lady Patriots squad looking to get back to the pinnacle of the sport, it starts with the intangibles.

“It’s going to be the focus that we bring every single day to practice,” Barber said. “It’s going to be getting better every day. That’s one of the things that coach Tubbs emphasizes to us is that focus every single day. If we bring that, we’ll be able to do great things and accomplish what we want to accomplish.”