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Kyle Parmley
Vestavia Hills Basketball
Patrick Davis will replace George Hatchett, who spent the past 35 years as Vestavia’s head coach.
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Kyle Parmley
Vestavia Hills Basketball
New Vestavia Hills boys basketball coach Patrick Davis.
Patrick Davis feels no anxiety following a legend.
He succeeds George Hatchett as the boys basketball coach at Vestavia Hills High School, after the legend’s 35 years coaching the Rebels.
“Unbelievably excited at the opportunity,” Davis said. “Obviously, this is a top-notch school system, community, high school, athletic program, all the way down. Excels at everything.”
Davis comes from Thompson High School, where he spent the last seven seasons and compiled a 121-86 record with three area titles and a regional playoff appearance.
“The opportunity to be the guy that gets to come after a legend is pretty special too. There’s a lot that Coach Hatchett has done for the game — not just here, but everywhere — throughout his three-plus decade tenure,” Davis said.
Davis feels he is in a unique position as he takes over the program.
“A lot of times, people take jobs and have to go in and blow everything up,” he said. “Obviously, that’s not the case here.”
The culture within the program is in a good place, but Davis has no intention of coming into things and attempting to mimic Hatchett.
“No two coaches are going to do anything the same way, but there’s such a great setup here in terms of what these kids have been taught and what they’ve learned,” he said.
He added, “I’m not going to try to be anybody but me. I would fail if I tried to be anybody other than myself. So we’re going to take the philosophy that I have about the playing the game, and implement that. I have a lot of respect for Coach Hatchett and the job that he’s done here for so long.”
That balance of respect and putting a unique stamp on the program will be an important dynamic over the next few years at Vestavia, a school that has not seen many coaching changes. Along with Davis, Jamie Harris recently completed his first year as baseball coach, Jeff Segars completed his first year as the athletic director, and Tee Adams was hired to take over for wrestling coach Steve Gaydosh after 34 years.
“It makes it an even more special opportunity to be the guy that he kind of hands that torch off to,” Davis said.
On the floor, Davis maintains a style of placing pressure on the opponent on both sides of the floor.
“Offensively, that means playing with good pace so that they have to defend you from the second you get the basketball to the second they get the basketball,” he said.
On the defensive side, the Rebels will look to dictate the play, pressuring the basketball with their man-to-man defense.
“It’s about being the hammer, not the nail,” he said.
His first few weeks with the team have focused on players being the best teammates they can be and finding their individual roles within the team.
“You can control your energy and your effort every day,” Davis said. “Just hammering that every day so that there is an expectation and there’s accountability for that.”
