Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Savannah McDonald (11) dribbles the ball toward the goal in a game against Parker at Homewood High School on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024.
Lady Patriots ready to make their mark
The identity of the Homewood High School girls basketball team in recent years has revolved around offensive pace and full-court defense.
That won’t change entirely this season, but the Lady Patriots will likely look a little different on the floor.
Head coach Gavin King said his team will be shifting to more of a five-guard look, without having a prototypical forward or center to play inside.
“We’ve got a lot of girls that can shoot, so you want to give them freedom. We’ve got some girls that can really get to the rim, so we want to give them space,” King said.
Last winter, Homewood posted a 23-7 record, falling short in the area tournament by two points. It was the second straight season the Lady Patriots lost fewer than 10 games total.
This year’s team enters the season with plenty of returning experience, which lends itself to plenty of versatility in the different ways Homewood can play. There are no excuses about youth or inexperience, King said. This year’s team is one with lofty goals that are attainable.
Ava Robinson, Savannah McDonald and Laine Litton are the three seniors on the team. Robinson recently signed to play college basketball at Snead State Community College. McDonald has improved her shot-making and possesses great skill, while Litton is a high-percentage 3-point shooter.
Lane Crowe picked up some offers over the summer and seems destined for a strong junior year. Ellis McCool is a tall guard who can stretch the floor. Ryanne Ezekiel will be in the mix as well.
Vivy Mooney, Chloe Warren, Hailey Jennings and Reagan Gray are among others who will see plenty of playing time this year.
There will inevitably be challenges throughout the year for the team, one of which could be rebounding with the Lady Patriots playing exclusively with guards on the floor.
“We’ve got November and December, and hopefully by January we’ve kind of figured out rotations, what defense we feel like we’re stronger at,” King said.
Homewood plays in Class 6A, Area 9, with Minor, Parker and Jackson-Olin. The Lady Patriots last made it out of the area tournament in the 2020-21 campaign and have suffered heartbreaking defeats to Minor in the area tournament each of the last two years.
In November, the Lady Patriots got the season going with games against Midfield, Ramsay, Pinson Valley, Helena, Chelsea, Briarwood, Calera, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa and Hartselle.
Homewood next prepares to play Oak Mountain, Vestavia Hills, McAdory, Briarwood, Pinson Valley, Spain Park and John Carroll before heading to the Big Orange Classic in Hoover, which will challenge the Lady Patriots.
The Lady Patriots cap off December with a game at Moody before the turn of the calendar. They will take on a team from Georgia, Huffman, Hayden and Altamont surrounding their six area games.
“We feel about some, trying some new things out, but also not panicking if things don’t just look perfect when the season starts,” King said. “We want to be our best when we get to Jan. 7 when we play Minor.”
Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Latham Binkley (4) shoots a layup guarded by Huffman’s Timothy Austin (12) in the second half of the boys Class 6A Northeast Regional semifinal at Jacksonville State University’s Pete Mathews Coliseum on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. The Patriots defeated Huffman 60-47 to advance to the Northeast Regional final for the first time since 2016.
Garrison aiming to continue Shepler’s legacy with Patriots
Elijah Garrison has been a head coach before. And he’s been at Homewood High School the last two years.
But Garrison still feels the gravity of the boys basketball program he is taking over, following the retirement of longtime coach Tim Shepler.
“There are some high school jobs that set themselves apart, and this is one of them,” Garrison said.
Garrison is only the program’s fifth head coach. Shepler was at Homewood 29 years and there were only three before him, dating back to the early 1970s.
“One thing I absolutely love about where he left this program is there’s no question that he’s a high-character guy, his players and teams played hard and they were going to be [the] hardest playing, grittiest team every night,” Garrison said.
When Shepler retired in the spring, he publicly campaigned for Garrison to succeed him.
“I’m appreciative of that,” Garrison said. “He has coached me into knowing how this community operates and works, and how inside this building operates and works.”
Garrison has great respect for what Shepler built at Homewood and makes that known at every turn. He wants to keep that identity intact, with a small caveat: he wants to pick up the pace offensively.
“I know the tradition of Homewood basketball and that doesn’t change. We just want to play faster offensively,” he said.
The Patriots have a few key returners to lead the way. Latham Binkley and Kaleb Carson had productive campaigns last winter.
Carson will be coming off the football field after leading the Patriots to a playoff season. He was the starter at point guard last year and put together a strong year.
Binkley is a Trevecca Nazarene University signee. He had several breakout games last year, but Garrison has challenged him to deliver a more consistent impact for his team this year.
Daniel Vinson led Homewood in minutes played last season and Charlie Sims is another returner. Sims is a forward but is adept at shooting from the outside and is classified as a “stretch big.”
Binkley, Sims and Phin Mullins are the three seniors on the team this year.
Homewood has 10 juniors to make up the majority of the roster. But there is not much previous varsity experience amongst that large group.
Carson and Vinson have played, but Drew Vail, David Walden, Drew Susce, Jace Harden, Hayes DeCoudres, Sam Welch, James Kellen and Royce Bitten will get their opportunities to crack the rotation in a meaningful way.
Davis Lee and Keenan Limo are sophomores being pulled up to the varsity team as well.
Homewood plays in Class 6A, Area 9, against Parker, Minor and Jackson-Olin.
Following a November with three home games and playing in Spain Park’s tournament, the Patriots set forth on a tough December slate.
In December, the Patriots travel to Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills, two quality Class 7A programs. Home games against McAdory, Spain Park and John Carroll lead to a couple of games at Decatur High.
Homewood wraps up the month with its annual Metro Tournament. In January, the Patriots will play Cullman, Hartselle, Hayden and Altamont in addition to two games against each area foe.
