Story By Heath Hambrick
This week, the 82nd DeKalb County basketball tournament gets underway at Collinsville High School's Jones Donny Jones Gym. The DeKalb County tournament is the longest-running tournament in the state of Alabama.
This tournament will feature two No.1 teams in the latest ASWA poll in the varsity girls bracket. The Plainview Lady Bears are ranked No.1 in Class 4A, and the Ider Lady Hornets are ranked No.1 in Class 1A. On the boys' side, the Plainview Bears are ranked No.2 in Class 4A.
“Going into the tournament this week, we must keep trying to get better, take one game at a time. We need to continue to improve in order to reach our goals. We still have a long way to go,” said Plainview Head Coach Cade Willingham.
Players to watch in this year's varsity girls tournament are Plainview's Sawyer Kate Hulgan. She may be the best player in 4A. She is scoring close to 30 points per game. Ider’s Makinley Traylor, last year's tournament MVP, is back and looking to repeat this season. Sylvania’s Mara Anderson and Aubury Morgan and the Rams look to make some noise this year. Geraldine’s Alice Jordan and Collinsville’s Carlee Davis are two young players to watch.
In the boys tournament, the Plainview Bears are led by three players who can do it all: Grant Nickelson, the Sand Mountain Tournament MVP, Owen Hope, and Sawyer Wilborn. Geraldine is led by Cooper Johnson, who has a scored of 1,000 points, and A.J. Carter. Ider is the fourth seed in this year's tournament. The Hornets have achieved their highest seed in 15 years, led by a young group of players. Freshman Braxton Traylor makes the team go; Blaze Ott and Bryant Traylor are eighth graders with big roles for the Hornets. Collinsville is led by Gavin Lang, Sylas Adams, and Sam Stewart.
“Plainview is obviously the favorite, but after that, there are several teams that could compete to be in the finals. Now is the time of year to start playing your best basketball and to stay focused on your goals. Some teams will use the county tournament as a springboard to propel themselves into the postseason. And there’s a lot of pride that still goes into the whole county gathering together to see what their individual school can do,” said Geraldine Head Coach Jeremy Smith.
Action begins Monday at 12 p.m. with Junior varsity boys action. Monday at 4 p.m., varsity action starts with the No. 2-seeded Ider Lady Hornets and the No. 7-seeded Valley Head Lady Tigers. At 5:30 p.m., the varsity boys hit the hardwood with the No.2 Geraldine Bulldogs and the No.7 Sylvania Rams, followed by the No. 1-seeded Plainview Lady Bears and the No. 8-seeded Crossville Lady Lions. The final game of the opening night features the No. 1-seeded Plainview Bears taking on the No. 8-seeded Valley Head Tigers.
On Tuesday at Collinsville High School, there will be four varsity games. Each division will feature the No. 3 seeds against the No. 6 seeds, as well as the No. 4 seeds competing against the No. 5 seeds. First at 4 p.m., the No. 3-seeded Sylvania Lady Rams take on the host No. 6-seeded Collinsville Lady Panthers. At 5:30 p.m., the No. 3-seeded Collinsville Panthers face off with the No. 6-seeded Crossville Lions. Then at 7 p.m., it will be the No. 4-seeded Fyffe Lady Red Devils against the No. 5-seeded Geraldine Lady Bulldogs. The final game of night number two is the No. 4-seeded Ider Hornets taking on the No.5 Fyffe Red Devils.
On Thursday, games move to the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum. Games will begin at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. with two junior varsity girls' semifinal games, followed by the first varsity girls' semifinal at 6:30 p.m. and the second at 8 p.m.Before the varsity girls' semifinals, the All-County Football and Cheerleader recognition will take place at 6 p.m.
On Friday, the junior varsity boys start the action with two games beginning at 4 p.m. The varsity boys' semifinals will start at 6:00 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m.
Championship Saturday begins at 4 p.m. with the junior varsity girls title game, followed by the junior varsity boys at 5:15 p.m. The varsity championship games will commence at 6:30 p.m. with the varsity girls, followed by the varsity boys at 8:00 p.m.
