Local Sports
TALKIN' PREPS: Looks like more basketball parity this season
ADDISON — No juggernauts. No clear-cut favorites. Just a bunch of basketball teams that could beat every other team in the area.
Parity was the name of the game last season when it came to Cullman County basketball in the prep boys ranks.
Will that change this year?
It’s hard to tell, especially since the season is only a few weeks old. The only thing that’s certain at this juncture is there’s some improved teams in the area.
Even though last season brought parity, it didn’t translate into success outside of the Cullman County borders. It was the first time in years that a county team didn’t advance to one of the Alabama High School Athletic Association regional tournaments.
That should change this season. There’s a few teams in the county capable of making postseason runs.
Teams like Fairview, Good Hope and Cold Springs. All three have promise … All three could be sitting in a regional this coming February.
Fairview may be the most complete team in the county. The Aggies have talented post players, steady guards and are always one of the better coached teams in the area.
But this isn’t the first time a Fairview team has been talented enough to reach a regional. The Aggies have had several strong squads in recent years.
The only problem was that those teams were placed in some of north Alabama’s tougher Class 4A areas. That hasn’t changed this season.
Columbia took eventual Class 4A runner-up Dora to the wire during last season’s Northwest Regional. The Eagles will be strong again this year.
Combine Columbia with Priceville — a team that always plays Fairview tough — and Douglas, and Fairview has a tough battle ahead in Area 13. But if the Aggies can advance, they have a strong enough team to make it to the Northwest Regional at Wallace State.
Same can be said about Good Hope and Cold Springs — arguably the most improved local team. Both have talented players … Both have the potential to reach the Northwest Regional.
But will one of these three teams emerge as the season’s local juggernaut, steamrolling through the local competition like the 2002-03 Vinemont team did? Or will this be another season of parity?
In this county, where basketball is a big deal, I’d put my money on parity. There’s too many good programs, too many good coaches and too many good players this season to have one dominant team.
But that regional shutout that occurred last season, there won’t be a repeat of that. At least two Cullman County teams should advance past the sub-state round.
Which ones will it be? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
But before you count a team out, just think back to what that underdog Hanceville team did in 2007, reaching the Northwest Regional with a mediocre record after pulling off upset after upset.
Now that was Cullman County basketball at its finest.
Justin Graves can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.
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CHAMPS AGAIN
Isaac Yarbrough wanted the ball in the final inning.
And once he got it, he wanted to face the top of Fairview’s lineup.
Yarbrough got both of his wishes. And once he did, Vinemont High got one of its own — its first Cullman County baseball title in three years.
“I was looking forward to it,” said Yarbrough, who struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh Tuesday afternoon to seal Vinemont’s 8-3 win over Fairview in the championship game of the Cullman County tournament at Hanceville High.
“My arm was kind of bothering me, but I got my three strikeouts.” - Meyer pitches Vinemont past Good Hope
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WORTH THE WAIT
Larson Howse didn’t spend much time celebrating, even after his second homer of the day.
With Gregory Smith on the mound, he didn’t have to.
Howse swatted two homers and Smith tossed a complete-game one-hitter as Fairview High defeated West Point 11-1 Monday afternoon in the semifinals of the Cullman County baseball tournament at Hanceville High. -
THE TIMES ALL-AREA PREP BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM: Good Hope triple-double threat Aycock enjoyed breakthrough season
Kyle Aycock watched with pride as his father, Greg, was recognized with the Good Hope High 1988 Cullman County basketball championship team this past season.
For Aycock, it was a moment of realization. The Good Hope point guard understood why his father had been pushing him for years.
“My dad wants me to be able and enjoy the same things he did when he was a player,” said Aycock, who has been selected as The Times Prep Boys Basketball Player of the Year. -
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During her record-breaking prep basketball career at Cold Springs High, Georgia Myrex piled up enough individual awards and records to warrant an extra wing at the Myrex household.
But if the Cold Springs High senior had her way, she’d trade them all in for just one more piece of Alabama-shaped blue hardware in the trophy case at Jesse George Gymnasium.
“I would definitely trade it all in,” said Myrex, who led Cold Springs to within three wins of its third straight Class 2A state title this past season. “I’m very appreciative of all my individual honors, but nothing compares to the feeling of winning a state championship.”
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Burleson coaches Cold Springs up on way to turnaround
Sitting behind the table in a cramped interview room, a disappointed Tim Burleson broke down the Xs and Os of a heartbreaking Northwest Regional loss.
Descriptive and to the point, Burleson left no question unanswered.
And then the Cold Springs High coach answered one of his own — rattling off the most important stat of all.
“This team right here, 12-17, that’s what they were a year ago,” said Burleson following the Eagles’ 42-41 loss to Mars Hill in the Class 2A Northwest Regional semifinals. “Six of them were on that team, and they worked their tails off in the offseason.” -
BRINGING BACK PRIDE
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