Spartans looking for new leaders in 2018-19

The Mountain Brook High School boys basketball program has been to the state championship game in five of the last six years, winning four of them.

“It’s a really good time for Mountain Brook basketball,” head coach Bucky McMillan said.

Indeed it is, as the Spartans enter the 2018-19 season as the two-time reigning Class 7A champions, with the requisite pieces in place to go for a three-peat. 

But for McMillan and the Spartans, it’s not just about the end results — it’s about the team’s trajectory. 

“Our goal is just to become the best team we can be,” McMillan said. “I really love watching our team throughout the course of the year be able to play their best basketball toward the end of the year.”

It’s safe to say last year’s iteration of Mountain Brook basketball achieved that, as the Spartans won their final 14 games — en route to a 34-4 record — and left a trail of scorched earth in their wake in a pair of dominant Final Four wins. In the 7A semifinals and final, Mountain Brook combined to beat Central-Phenix City and McGill-Toolen by 52 points.

“We had the perfect team last year, we really did,” McMillan said. “It was just such a joy to coach. There was nothing behind the scenes. They were just all great friends, all great people, all the right components.”

But this year, “It’s just a completely new team,” according to McMillan, who lauded the maturity and leadership of last year’s senior class of Britton Johnson, Hamp Sisson, Sean Elmore and William Lineberry. Those attributes now have to be replaced.

“That maturity is going to be very important and only time tells who can develop into that role and be that guy,” McMillan said.

There are several solid choices to do so, as the majority of the Spartans’ roster is composed of seniors. There are familiar names such as Trendon Watford, one of the top players in his class nationwide who has improved his outside shot. Lior Berman is primed for a breakout season. Alex Washington has played key minutes for the past few years.

On the floor, McMillan noted the Spartans will look slightly different this season.

“We have more length than we’ve ever had,” he said. “We may not have as much speed, but we’re longer.”

Offensively, the Spartans have an impression collection of skilled players. Along with Watford and Washington, junior point guard Paulie Stramaglia has been in the program since eighth grade, and McMillan said he is “as important as any player on our team.”

“I legitimately think we have the best point guard in the state,” McMillan said. “I really believe that.”

That’s not even mentioning Colby Jones, a junior combo guard who transferred to Mountain Brook from Pinson Valley in the summer. 

McMillan said, “They love Colby. He was friends with a lot of our guys, grew up playing basketball with them. He’s a great kid.”

Berman will be a force inside the paint for the Spartans this winter, and other forwards James Childs and Ben Garrett will help out as well. McMillan called those players unsung heroes, and are part of a team that returns 10 players with varsity experience.

Holt Bashinsky, Bradley Pinson, Grayson Walters, Peyton Haley, Alex Belt, Edward Reed and Carter Sobera are all expected to contribute as well. Grant Griffin and Washington will join the fold soon after the conclusion of football season.

Mountain Brook’s schedule is loaded this season, with trips to Mississippi, Florida and South Dakota all on the schedule. Area play begins in January, with the Spartans competing against Hewitt-Trussville, Spain Park and Vestavia Hills.