Photo by Erin Nelson.
Homewood’s Kayla Warren (3) dribbles the ball towards the goal guarded by Calera’s Makenna Cooper (15) in a game at Homewood High School on Jan. 6.
There are no seniors on this year’s Homewood High School girls basketball team, but don’t mistake that for the Lady Patriots being a young, inexperienced squad.
Of the 14 players on this year’s varsity team, all of them garnered varsity playing time a season ago. Second-year coach Gavin King hopes to see that pay dividends for his team this winter.
“Last year, everybody got a ton of playing time, at the speed we want to play at,” he said. “With their experience, the confidence level being a little higher, having two summers of games now, varsity games are not a shock or surprise and everyone knows what to expect.”
Those factors mean a great deal in King’s system because of the unique style of his teams. The Lady Patriots play a relentless, pressing style of basketball on both sides of the court, combining a full-court press defense with an up-tempo offense.
That also means all 14 players on this year’s team will be needed. King is more than content with that, because he believes each of his players is good enough to contribute.
“That’s one reason we like to play fast and aggressive,” he said. “We’ve got a deep team and that’s going to help us over a long season. When we go to our bench, there’s no concern there. We’re going to have a solid, deep roster, where every girl can play every night.”
There also should be the natural progression of a team that got plenty of collective experience last season and has had another offseason to improve. King has been encouraged by individual improvements when it comes to players’ skill sets, as well as the team’s ability to run half-court offensive sets.
Homewood’s three juniors were big factors last season and will certainly be that once again this year. Kayla Warren is back as the team’s leading returning scorer, while Susie Whitsett and Mira McCool will be key pieces as well. In addition to their contributions on the court, King hopes to see them be leaders of the team as well.
There are eight sophomores on this year’s team. Charlotte Deerman, Laine Litton, Annie McBride, Ella Serotsky, Hollis Tangye, Madeline Alford, Savannah McDonald and Lydia Pope will all make their mark this season.
“Our whole sophomore class is really talented and we’re lucky that we’re going to have them for three seasons,” King said.
The Lady Patriots are also pulling up three freshmen onto the varsity team, as Ellis McCool, Molly Dorough and Ryanne Ezekiel were all part of a middle school basketball team that won the Metro championship in back-to-back years.
Homewood plays in a new area this year, featuring Minor, Parker and Jackson-Olin. Those six area games will be played in January, and King believes his team has what it takes to win that area.
“We’ve got October, November and December to keep working and figuring things out, but we’d like to give it a run,” he said.
Last year’s team was unable to advance past the area tournament due to playing in an area that featured Chelsea and Mountain Brook, two strong playoff teams. This year, King doesn’t know where this team’s record will rest when the dust settles, but he believes it will certainly be a team continuing a positive ascent.
“We’ll be fun to watch,” he said. “We’re going to play hard.”
