Lack of experience hasn’t stopped Oldacre’s youthful Good Hope girls

By Justin Graves

BLOUNTSVILLE — Michael Oldacre didn’t know what to expect from his team.

One senior, no juniors, a gaggle of underclassmen and, oh yeah, very little varsity experience.

That’s what Oldacre had inside his lockerroom — what the Good Hope High girls basketball coach would be putting on the floor this season.

So who can blame Oldacre for being a little leery? He honestly didn’t know what to expect from this very young team.

Neither did his players. After all, varsity basketball was new to almost all of them.

“I thought we would struggle at first, but get better as the season went along,” Good Hope sophomore Kayla Elrod said.

Well, that’s partially correct. The Raiders have shown improvement throughout the season.

But that whole thing about struggling at first, well, Good Hope’s season didn’t exactly start out that way.

Good Hope opened the season with six straight wins, not losing a game until Class 5A Brewer defeated the Raiders at a Thanksgiving tournament.

It’s been that type of season for Oldacre’s Raiders. Apparently someone forgot to tell this group that young and inexperienced teams are supposed to take a few lumps along the way.

Now 20 games into the season, Good Hope has already won 14 times. The Raiders have also secured the No. 2 seed in the Cullman County tournament, not to mention home-court advantage in Class 3A, Area 12.

“This team has really come a long way,” said Oldacre, who has led the Raiders to three straight Northwest Regional tournament appearances. “They’ve been able to accomplish so much so fast because of unselfish play. I think that’s why they’ve done so well.”

Oldacre may be right.

Good Hope isn’t loaded with star power, but the Raiders have proven that you don’t need an all-star cast to win games. Five players — all working towards the same goal — will usually do the trick, according to the Michael Oldacre/Scotty Cofer School of Basketball (Cofer is the Raiders’ assistant coach).

“Someone different may lead us in scoring every night,” Oldacre said. “But I think the girls are fine with that. They don’t care who takes the shot as long as we win.

“Playing unselfish, team basketball, this group has been able to accomplish more than most people would’ve thought.”

Oldacre attributes Good Hope’s success to unselfish play. The players, well, they say their recent success has something to do with the team’s chemistry.

If you think about it, those two things go hand in hand.

“Most of us have played basketball together for a long time,” said freshman point guard Nina Mills, who started for the Raiders as an eighth grader. “We’ve all played together on the JV team, and some of us before then.”

For most of Good Hope’s players, what Mills said is true. The underclassmen have been playing on the same team for years.

But what about Erica Speegle — Good Hope’s lone senior? How does she like having teammates that are at least two years younger than her?

“At first, I was a little bit worried about it,” Speegle said. “But to be honest, I actually like it now. There may be a lot of young players on our team, but we’re all the same. They push me just like I push them.

“So yeah, everything has worked out just fine.”

Knowing that Good Hope would be one of the youngest teams in the area, not many people expected much from the Raiders — at least not early in the season.

Luckily for Oldacre, his players weren’t willing to buy into the whole rebuilding year theory. The Raiders had slightly different plans.

When Good Hope opened the season strong, the players set a goal for themselves. They want to win 24 games, which would be a new school record.

At the time, 24 wins sounded like a lofty goal. Now, it feels like a obtainable mark.

“We’d want to reach the Sweet 16 and win 24 games,” Speegle said. “Those are two goals we want to reach, especially the Sweet 16. We don’t want to be the ones who end that streak.”

As for the whole “overachiever” concept, Good Hope’s players have heard those discussions a few times this season, too. And to be perfectly honest, the Raiders don’t mind the label.

“‘That team’s too small. You’re too young.’ We’ve heard them all,” Ashley Stanley said. “It’s just motivation to do more.”

• Justin Graves is the sports editor at The Times. He can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.