Spartans aim to retain aggressive identity with new coach

A new era has dawned in the Mountain Brook High School boys basketball program.

Sort of.

After 12 incredibly successful seasons with Bucky McMillan as the head coach, one of his assistant coaches during that time has taken over.

On June 8, Tyler Davis was officially named the Spartans head coach. He has been associated with the Mountain Brook basketball program since 2008, when McMillan took the reins and elevated the Spartans to national prominence.

“I’m excited to take over this program,” Davis said. “The success speaks for itself, what we’ve done the last 10-12 years. I’m excited to be able to be in charge of it.”

There will be a new face pacing the sidelines for the Spartans this season, but things likely will not look much different. The relentless, intense brand of basketball Mountain Brook has become known for is sticking around.

“We’re not changing anything,” Davis said of the program. “It’s an opportunity for us to continue to get better and do what we do. Things haven’t changed as far as philosophy and mentality.”

The Spartans’ goal is to always be the aggressor on both sides of the floor, which means pressure on defense and an up-tempo offense with rapid ball movement.

“There’s not anything different with this team,” Davis said. “We could easily have four or five different leading scorers. For us to reach our potential, they’re going to have to be unselfish and do that for each other.”

Last season, Mountain Brook’s quest to win a state championship for the fourth year in a row was thwarted by Lee-Montgomery in the Class 7A title game. 

“It definitely hurt and gave us a lot of motivation. Just like every year, we’ve got a target on our back,” said Mac Swoger, one of seven Mountain Brook seniors. 

“We have a chip on our shoulder,” senior Colby Blackwell added. “I feel like a lot of our players already have that and we’re trying to prove something.”

Paulson Wright, one of the football team’s top wide receivers, is returning for his senior basketball season as well. Bo Barber transferred to Mountain Brook from Homewood in the offseason and likely takes over as the team’s primary point guard. Rayven Turner is another senior that will contribute in a big way, as a 6-foot-6 wing. Graham Matthews and John Brown are also seniors.

The junior class — Sims Brown, William McIlvaine, Dive Rowe, Parks McLain and Charlie McKimmon — is filled with players who will contribute in a big way, given that the Spartans rotate and substitute nearly their whole roster each game. 

Sophomore Julius Clark is a potential breakout player for the Spartans and freshman Ty Davis rounds out the varsity squad.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that understand the program and that have been in it as young players. And they are young guys that can really play,” Davis said.

Davis has high hopes for what the Spartans can accomplish this season after seeing his team’s determination in its preseason activities. The Spartans have dropped down to Class 6A, and will play in Area 9 with Homewood, Chelsea and Briarwood. But that doesn’t faze Davis a bit, noting that there have been years the top 6A teams have been superior to the 7A ones.

“It doesn’t do anything for us other than we’re going to be playing different opponents in our area,” he said. “We don’t pay much attention to it other than what we’re trying to accomplish as a team.”