Spartans looking to young leaders to navigate challenging area
Bucky McMillan is going to tell you like it is.
He really likes this year’s Mountain Brook High School boys basketball team.
“I’m a straight shooter,” said the Spartan head coach a week before the season began. “Some years, I say there’s a lot of question marks with things not necessarily talent-related … This year, I can say I enjoy coaching this team as much as any team I’ve ever coached up to this point in the season.”
He used the term “ballers” to describe his team, which seems like a pretty apt moniker for basketball players. But McMillan emphasized a difference.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys who really love basketball. You say, ‘that’s obvious,’ but it’s really not. People take it for granted that if you’re on a basketball team, that you really love the game of basketball,” McMillan said. “We’ve got everybody all in, and it’s a fun team to coach because of that.”
Any conversation about the Spartans must begin with Trendon Watford, a dynamic forward and already one of the top class of 2019 prospects in the country. At 6-foot-8, Watford has the ability to stretch a defense with his ball handling and shooting ability, but he is also a dominant force at the rim.
On top of his playmaking ability, the sophomore is taking it upon himself to be a leader.
“Last year, Jack Kline was my mentor. I just learned the stuff he did,” Watford said.
One weapon expected to emerge alongside Watford is Ben McCool, a 6-foot-3 senior.
“It takes a lot of pressure off,” McCool said of playing with Watford. “He’s a really good player. It really frees me up a lot for open shots when he’s out there.”
Alex Washington returns as a role player from last year’s team, and he is expected to step up and man the offense from the point guard position. Along with McCool and Watford, Washington is one of the Spartans’ three captains.
“They’ve done a great job of leading the younger guys,” McMillan said. “They had a great example set by the seniors last year like Jack Kline, Joe Donald, Drew Smith, etc.”
Britton Johnson and Paul Stramaglia are two guys McMillan singled out as new faces who could contribute in big ways. Sean Elmore also returns a bevy of experience.
Mountain Brook is in a unique position in the realigned Class 7A, Area 6. The area consists of four teams that have legitimate aspirations at a deep postseason run entering the season. The Spartans won the state championship in 2013 and 2014. Spain Park and Huffman each reached the Final Four in 2016. Oak Mountain was a buzzer-beating shot in the regional final from joining them there.
McMillan is not intimidated by that at all.
“That’s great, because the No. 1 thing all coaches should really care about is how good basketball can be,” he said. “When you have good teams playing these other good teams, rivalry situations, that’s great for basketball.”
Mountain Brook is expected to be among the two teams to advance out of that area, but the games are played for a reason. The Spartans were eliminated prematurely last season, as Gadsden City knocked them off in the Northeast Regional Semifinals.
“This team thoroughly understands the habits for the end of year are being formed now, and they practice that way,” McMillan said. “That’s what I’m so excited about. I don’t say this much: I like this team. I like them a lot.”