Davis credits players, assistants for award

Patrick Davis’ name will be forever etched on the trophy recognizing him as the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 7A boys basketball coach of the year, but the first-year Vestavia Hills High School coach said he believes there is more to it.

“First and foremost, it is without a doubt a team and staff award. The recognitions are certainly for the entire organization and staff,” Davis said. “They don’t give this award out to anyone that has a bad team or to anyone that is in it by themselves.”

In his first year replacing longtime coach George Hatchett, Davis and his staff led the Rebels to the Final Four, where Vestavia Hills fought Auburn to the end in a loss in the State Semifinal. Making it to Birmingham as one of the last four 7A teams still standing was quite an accomplishment for the Rebels.

Davis will leave his initial campaign with memories that will last many years.

“We’re extremely grateful for the recognition for our program,” he said. “We were able to put a little run together that some didn’t see coming, but we felt like that was where we would be at the end of all of it.”

Davis has told the story many times. When the season started, the Rebels were a far cry from what they became. But through dedication and commitment, the team stayed together and continued to keep its nose to the grindstone.

“Some of our guys really started figuring out that we had a chance to put a run together about halfway through the year,” Davis said.

To reach the Final Four, Vestavia had to go through a familiar foe that had toppled them three times previously: Hoover. The Rebels led for much of the first matchup between the two teams, but the Bucs controlled play in the second and third matchups.

In the Northwest Regional Final, the Rebels held Hoover to 26 percent shooting and knocked off their area rival to reach the BJCC for the first time since 2011.

Once the team got to that stage, Davis made sure his guys remembered the moment.

“We talked about leading up to the Final Four; it’s something that you’ll never forget,” he said. “There’s a lot of things, as years go by, that fade in your memory when it comes to things that you achieve. Details become fuzzy, but they’ll never be fuzzy on that part.”

Leading up to the big stage, the Rebels kept as much of a normal routine as possible, but Davis told his guys to use the first two minutes of warmups before the Auburn game to “take it all in.”

“I wanted them to make sure to take it all in and enjoy it,” Davis said. “It doesn’t happen all the time. It’s a goal, and something you want to achieve. You’ve got to have a lot of things go right.”

Davis’ first group at Vestavia Hills has set a standard and expectation for future teams to strive toward. Davis credits his players, assistant coaches and other support staff for the team’s success. As far as the coach of the year award goes, reaching the big stage always increases one’s candidacy.

“When you put a little run together, you’re bound to get some accolades,” he said.