7A Area 5-6 Tournament Preview
With the regular season coming to a close, area tournaments are next. Area 5 and 6 are primarily Birmingham metro schools. Hoover, Oak Mountain, Thompson and Tuscaloosa Co. are area 5. Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Spain Park, and Hewitt-Trussville are…
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Continue ReadingWith the regular season coming to a close, area tournaments are next. Area 5 and 6 are primarily Birmingham metro schools. Hoover, Oak Mountain, Thompson and Tuscaloosa Co. are area 5. Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Spain Park, and Hewitt-Trussville are in 6. The host sites for the tournaments are Hoover and Mountain Brook. All teams that make area championship games earn a state playoff bid.
Area 5
Hoover (18-6): Hoover went 6-0 in area play. Presbyterian signee, CJ Melton, and fellow 2019 prospect, Ahman Ellington, are key players for Hoover. The Bucs’ senior leadership and home court advantage will play a big role in the tournament.
Oak Mountain (19-8): Oak Mountain finished area play with a 4-2 record. Senior guards Drew Dunn and Turner Youngblood are two to watch, but a younger prospect to keep eyes on is 6’8 Will Shaver (2022). The Eagles need to play their game and focus on getting the first win.
Thompson (17-10): Thompson finished area play at 2-4. The Warriors are lead by a trio of 2021 guards: Tre Roberson, Zack Littleton, and Jack Dorolek. In order to make some noise, the Warriors need their perimeter players to have all cylinders firing.
Tuscaloosa Co (10-16): Tuscaloosa Co. went 0-6 in area play. Marcus McCants (2020) and Bryson Hall (2021) are two players to watch for TC. Tuscaloosa Co. needs to go into the game with nothing to lose. There are always upsets in area tournaments.
Area 6
Mountain Brook (25-3): The Spartans went 6-0 in area play. Trendon Watford (2019) will draw all the attention in the gym. Alex Washington (2019), Lior Berman (2019), and Colby Jones (2020) are other players Mountain Brook needs playing at a high level. When the “other” Spartans are at their best, Mountain Brook can’t be beat.
Vestavia Hills (19-9): The Rebels finished 4-2 in the area. Vestavia has a senior lead roster and the size to compete with anyone in the state. Paul Michael Hargrove (2019) is a skilled post and Luke Couch (2019) is a gun slinger on the perimeter. These two players need to have big games in order for the Rebels to advance.
Spain Park (7-22): Spain Park finished area play at 1-5. The Jags have been on the wrong end of close games this season. Seniors Austin Laatsch and Parker Boswell are two players that Spain Park needs big performances from, in order to make an upset happen.
Hewitt Trussville (7-15): Hewitt went 0-6 in area play. The Huskies had some games this season that came down to wire. Jaxon Hunter (2019) and Cameron Glover (2020)are two players to watch for Hewitt. A team that competes hard and has nothing to lose, is a dangerous team to face in tournament play.