Lindsay Handey
Vestavia's Evie Black
Evie Black (10) goes in for a lay up in the Oak Mountain basketball game at Vestavia Hills High School on January 14.
Vestavia Hills High School’s girls basketball program enters a new season with a new head coach, but the standard around the program remains the same.
Head coach Crosby Morrison, who took over the Rebels after a successful stint at Pelham, inherits a team that has won at a high level and expects to keep doing so. Her first two allies in the transition have been seniors Marley Cowan and Caroline Leyden.
“They welcomed me this summer and I’m really excited for their senior year,” Morrison said. “They're going to leave a legacy of great leadership, being great teammates and I’m excited what they can do on the court as well.”
The roster alone reflects significant change. The Rebels graduated six seniors off last year’s team, a group Cowan called “arguably six of the best players to go through Vestavia.” Add in a coaching change, and everyone knew the offseason would look a little different.
“I think going into the season, we all kind of knew that it was going to be a change,” Cowan said. “Honestly, I think we're almost starting over, we're starting fresh, and we're able to discover our own talents.”
Leyden agreed, but pointed back to the foundation already in place.
“We still know the standard,” she said. “We're always holding ourselves to higher standards. I don't think that will change.”
Morrison said that idea of “standard” became the theme of the year. Early on, she had players fill out questionnaires about what they wanted the program to be about and what Vestavia has been known for in the past.
“The standard of excellence is working hard every day, being great teammates and just bringing heart and everything that we do,” she said.
On the floor, Morrison has been impressed by the group’s basketball background and willingness to grow into a slightly different look.
“I think that Vestavia is extremely blessed with high-IQ, talented basketball players,” she said. “What we're able to do X-and-O wise will not change from what they've done in the past. Obviously, play styles will change, but we'll play fast, we'll shoot the ball and we'll play aggressive defense.”
The seniors pointed to teammates who have impressed them. Cowan highlighted junior Hayden Perry, and Leyden mentioned Ella Grace Strickland. Other juniors include Evie Black, Alexis Rubin and Olivia Hunsberger. Ella Kate Miller, Ellie Faulkner and Lilly Ferguson are sophomores, with Emory Beard, Olivia Adkins and Lila Kelley starting the season as freshmen on varsity.
Vestavia Hills has been on an impressive run, making it to at least the regional tournament six straight years under John David Smelser, who is now an assistant with the boys program at Homewood. The Lady Rebels won a ton of games under his leadership and will aim to do so again under Morrison.
The Lady Rebels compete in Class 7A, Area 6, against five-time defending state champion Hoover, Hewitt-Trussville and Oak Mountain. In December, Vestavia will play Minor, Park Crossing, Hillcrest, Pelham and Homewood before wrapping the calendar year at the Big Orange Classic and the Gulf Shores Beach Bash.
In January, Vestavia Hills will play its area foes twice, along with Hueytown, Mountain Brook, Mortimer Jordan and Thompson to conclude the regular season.
