Photo by Erin Nelson Starnes Media
HW at McAdory Boys Bkt
Homewood head coach Tim Shepler talks with his team during a timeout in a game between the Patriots and Yellow Jackets at McAdory High School in McCalla on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. Homewood defeated McAdory 67-64. Photo by Erin Nelson
Style points mean nothing to Tim Shepler.
The Homewood High School boys basketball coach is relaying that message to his players as well. The Patriots have a roster this winter almost completely devoid of varsity experience, and wins certainly won’t be easy to come by against their schedule.
Homewood will be doing quite a bit of learning as the season goes, with the objective being to pick up some victories along the way.
“Whether we’re in the 30s [points scored] or the 60s, that’s all good,” Shepler said. “You just want to score more than the other guys.”
There’s only one senior on the Patriots roster in Tripp Chapman, a 6-foot-3 forward. On top of that, sophomores Woods Ray and Carter Vail are the only two returners with any significant varsity playing time from a season ago. Bo Barber, one of the Patriots’ top players last year, transferred to Mountain Brook following last school year.
“We’ve got a bunch of young, eager players who are working their tail off,” Shepler said. “They’re doing a good job, and they’re fun to coach.”
The Patriots do have a little bit of size on the team, though. Christian Thompson stands 6-6, and Brady Donlon is 6-5, with both expecting to provide a great deal to the Patriots’ inside game on both sides of the floor. Ray, Chapman and junior Donte Bacchus each stand over 6 feet as well.
Homewood is also looking for contributions from the likes of Charlie Reeves, Brian Condon, J.C. Daniel, Cedric Dixon and Louie Nanni.
Shepler likes the team he has and believes it has potential to morph into a strong, cohesive unit. But with a team lacking so much experience, the lack of play dates in the summer due to COVID-19 precautions hurt Homewood as much, if not more, than other teams.
“I’ve learned how valuable that is,” Shepler said of the normal opportunities to play throughout the summer. “It may be Christmas time before we’re where we would’ve been coming out of summer, knowing which kids can step up and that kind of thing.
“We don’t know what to expect.”
One thing Shepler expects to be there regardless is the team’s ability to sit down and guard the opposition. He believes the Patriots have the athletes and chemistry to play sound defense, which can help make up for any offensive inconsistencies early in the season.
On the offensive end of the floor, Shepler wants his team to run the offense with urgency. That is not to be mistaken for an offense in which the Patriots rush the ball up the floor and throw up a shot as quickly as possible, but Shepler wants the pace in which the team runs its offense to be at a swift pace.
“We’re tweaking our offense a little bit, but we want to play fast,” he said. “We want to run the offense fast. We want to look for opportunities to attack.”
Homewood is now in Class 6A, Area 9, with the likes of Mountain Brook, Briarwood and Chelsea. On paper, Mountain Brook seems to be the clear favorite to win the area, and Shepler expects one of the other three teams to emerge as the season progresses.
He hopes it is his team that takes that step.
“What are they going to be good at? Sharing the ball, they’re committed to play defense. That’s kind of who we are. In time, some of these kids have a chance to be really good,” he said.
