Rebels fitting the pieces together
Every head coach has issues to sort through, and that’s no different for Vestavia Hills High School head basketball coach Patrick Davis.
But some problems are better than others, and one of Davis’ main ones at the outset of this season qualifies as a good one.
He has a varsity roster of 15 and needs to figure out how to properly divide playing time in a group of talented players.
“We’re faster and more athletic than we’ve ever been, top to bottom,” Davis said before the season. “We’re still trying to figure out who’s going to do what.”
Everyone knows about Win Miller, as the standout guard embarks on his senior season with the Rebels. He will likely be the Rebels’ leading scorer again this season, and the Belmont University commit is fully healthy entering the year after battling back from a knee injury at the outset of his junior year.
“He’s stronger than ever and has a good burst,” Davis said. “The thing for him is continuing to feel out, ‘When do I go get one or when do I move the ball and trust other people?’ He’s really good at that.”
Senior Nate Harris and junior Keown Richardson are both players who contributed last year, but Davis expects both of them to step up into starring roles this season.
Jordan Ross, a 6-foot-6 force of nature, is set to join the Rebels after wrapping up a postseason run with the football team. Ross and Richardson are both key players for the football and basketball teams, so blending them into the basketball team will give the Rebels a boost.
“He’s a player,” Davis said of Ross. “He just brings us something that we haven’t had, athleticism and physicality at the rim. He rebounds on both ends and can just go get them.”
Jackson Weaver is a junior guard Davis has high hopes for this year as well, after he spent much of last season on the junior varsity team.
Aside from Miller and Harris, the Rebels senior class includes William Worrell, Graham Uldrich, Ben Sawyer, Joshua Heald and Taylor Akin.
Andrew Cox, Nate Brown, Thomas Taaffe and Ben Evans are also juniors, with Adam Barksdale being the lone sophomore this year.
With all of them being capable of contributing, Davis expects there to be challenges rotating them all in.
“Everybody gets a crack at it,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of depth. It’s going to be hard for me to figure out who’s going to play.”
Davis sees plenty to like from this team. Practices involve competition each day, which has added to the energy of the team. The Rebels will play an up-tempo game on both ends of the floor, but don’t mistake that for them being a finesse team.
“We’ll be as good as we are tough,” Davis said. “If we can maximize how tough we are, we’ve got a chance to be really good.”
Vestavia Hills will move over to Class 7A, Area 5 this year and compete against Hoover, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County, three teams that will not be an easy out. The Rebels will take on the likes of Chelsea, Spain Park and Hartselle in the regular season, in addition to traveling to Lexington, Kentucky for a prestigious tournament.