Thursday, April 17, 2014

3 Players and 1 Coach Make 2014 North-South Basketball Games

     A total of 60 outstanding junior student-athletes from across the state have been named to the 2014 North-South Boys and Girls Basketball All-Star squads for the 18th annual Alabama All-Star Sports Week competition scheduled in Montgomery July 21-25. Alvin Briggs, Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA), made the announcement Thursday.
        Sports Week, which also includes in-state all-star games in soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball and football, will also feature the Summer Conference with clinics and professional development sessions for coaches, principals, athletic directors, cheerleader coaches and officials. 

        Also, an All-Sports Equipment Expo and other related activities are scheduled throughout the week. Two of the highlights will be the Sportsmanship Banquet, which honors all schools that have not had an ejection or fine during the 2013-14 school year, and the Championship Coaches Awards Banquet, which also honors the 2013-14 Making A Difference Award winners as well as the Dr. Lemak Award recipients.
        Coaching the South girls’ all-stars will be Jarvis Wilson of Blount and Eric Bailey of Maplesville. Nigel Card of Saint James is the administrative coach.
        Coaches for the North girls are Ulysses Haynes of Center Point and Brenda Mayes of Muscle Shoals. Lauderdale County’s Brant Llewellyn is the administrative coach.
        The South boys’ all-star coaching staff includes Richard Dorsey of Luverne and S. Dwayne Drakeford of Beauregard. North coaches are Stace Tedford of Athens and Clifford Drummond of Handley. Card and Llewellyn will also serve as boys’ administrative coaches.
        Headlining the South girls’ roster is two-time Class 1A state tournament MVP Amahni Upshaw, a 6-foot forward, and 6-2 Carver-Montgomery center Tatyana Calhoun. Payton Burnett, a 5-11 forward, is also representing Class 1A state champion Brantley on the squad. Two Straughn players on the squad are guards Katelyn Kinsaul and Jacie Williamson.
      The North team lists two girls who played on state championship teams in 2014—6-2 center Makayla Liles of Class 3A Lauderdale County and 5-8 guard Alyese Givens of Shades Valley. Holly Pond forward Megan Gambrill also played in the 3A state finals with Holly Pond last season. Two Hazel Green players on the squad are 6-2 center Rayven Pearson and 6-1 forward Chloe Long.

        The South boys’ roster features three players who played in the 2014 state finals. The tallest is 6-9 center Donta’ Hall of Luverne, who led the Tigers to the Class 2A state finals as a junior. Tommie Burton, a 6-8 center, led St. Jude to the 1A state championship and 5-11 guard Jerrod Moorer helped Dallas County win the Class 4A state title.  The tall South squad also lists 6-7 Deion Dozier of McGill-Toolen and 6-8 forward Joseph Strugg of Carver-Montgomery.
      The North squad lists four players who stand 6-7 or taller with Luke Lena of Grissom at 6-10 the tallest. Kaleb Suggs of Colbert Heights is 6-8 while Dalton Barkley of Bob Jones and Gerron Scissum of Lee-Huntsville stand 6-7 each.
         The North swept last year’s competition at Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome with the boys winning 96-60 and the girls rolling to an 84-36 victory. The North leads the girls’ series 15-2 while the North boys hold a 45-25 edge in the series that dates back to the first contest in 1953.
        The AHSADCA operates under the auspices of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. Membership includes coaches of all AHSAA sports as well as administrators of member schools.

        The rosters:

2014 GIRLS BASKETBALL  ROSTER






NORTH




Player
  School
Pos.
Ht.

Vic. Baldwin
 Spain Park
F
5'10

Tailah Davis
 Center Point
G
5'9

TiarrDuncan
Talladega County
G
5'9

K Ellison
North Sand Mountain
G
5'6

H Evans
Hokes Bluff
G
5'4

M Gambrill
Holly Pond
F
5'10

El Gilliam
Madison Academy
C
6'1

A Givens
Shades Valley
G
5'8

Ta Hill
Huntsville
G
5'6

K Hudson
Clay-Chalkville
G
5'6

M Liles
Lauderdale County
C
6'2

Chloe Long
Hazel Green
F
6'1

RPearson
Hazel Green
F
6'2

V Sala
Lee - Huntsville
C
6'1

S Wade
Huntsville
G
5'11

COACHES
U. Haynes
Center Point



B. Mayes
Muscles Shoals



Llewellyn 
Lauderdale Co.




SOUTH





Player
School
Pos.
Ht.


P Burnett
Brantley
F
5'11


B Bussey
Valley
G
5'7


T Calhoun
Carver - Montgomery
C
6'2


A Chess
Choctaw County
G
5'7


L Aime'
Daleville
C
6'0


A Gipson
Lee - Montgomery
G
5'7


K Jackson
Rain, B. C.
G
5'6


K Kinsaul
Straughn
G
5'4


E Mhoon
UMS-Wright
G
5'5


Hope Moorr
Murphy
F
5'9


C Rogers
Ashford
G
5'9


A Upshaw
Brantley
F
6'0


A Uptain
Maplesville
G
5'6


K. Vinson
Loachapoka
F
5'11


J.Williamson
Straughn
G/F
5'11


COACHES

J Wilson
Blount, Mattie T.




E Bailey
Maplesville




N Card,
Saint James






2014 BOYS BASKETBALL ROSTER


NORTH





Player
School
Pos.
Ht.
Wt.

D Barkley
Bob Jones
F
6'7
185

A Cherry
Hoover
G
6'2
185

M Cook
Homewood
G
6'0
180

L Crowder
Vestavia Hills
G
6'1
170

C Crowe
American Christian
G
6'3
185

T Crumpton
Phillips
G
6'4
na

S Garner
Scottsboro
F
6'4
180

Luke Luna
Grissom
C
6'10
230

E McFarland
Randolph County
G/F
6'4
178

W Potts, III
Athens
F
6'5
210

D Robinson
Central - Tusc
G
6'0
150

G Scissum
Lee - Huntsville
F
6'7
202

Ethan Stair
Hazel Green
G
6'5
185

Kaleb Suggs
Colbert Heights
F
6'8
190

T Tolliver
Scottsboro
G
5'10
180


COACHES





S Tedford
Athens High




CDrummond
Handley










SOUTH




Player
School
Pos.
Ht.

Brandon Austin
Carver - Montgomery
G
6'5

T Burton
Saint Jude
C
6'8

Deion Dozier
McGill-Toolen
C
6'7

Rodney Gill
Theodore
G
6'2

Donta' Hall
Luverne
C
6'9

Dazon Ingram
Theodore
G
6'4

AJohnson
Francis Marion
G
6'1

W Jones, Jr.
Sunshine
G
6'4

A Moore
Central - Phenix City
F
6'4

J Moorer
Dallas County
G
5'11

C Pope
Sunshine
F
6'7

Dylan Smith
McGill-Toolen
F
6'4

J Strugg
Carver - Montgomery
F
6'8

J Thomas
Montgomery Academy
G
6'0

P Vickerstaff
Opelika
G
6'1

COACHES




R Dorsey
Luverne



D Drakeford
Beauregard



Nigel Card