Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
New Mountain Brook girls basketball head coach John London works through an offensive drill with the junior varsity team on Oct. 16.
The connection between Mountain Brook High School and new girls basketball coach John London goes back further than his stint as an assistant coach last year.
London met former longtime Mountain Brook athletic director Terry Cooper a couple decades ago, when Cooper stepped in as one of BSC’s volunteer assistant coaches, joining a staff that already included London.
Both London and Cooper were standout basketball players at BSC, albeit in different time periods, but the seeds were planted.
That connection was revisited years later, when Mountain Brook boys basketball coach Mark Cornelius needed an assistant coach. London joined Cornelius’ staff for a few years, but stepped away once his kids began playing high school basketball.
When Cornelius became the girls coach at Mountain Brook, he told London that he would call him once London’s children were out of high school. Sure enough, the phone rang after the 2015-16 season.
“He gave me about a week and he called me,” London said with a laugh.
London came back to Mountain Brook last season to help Cornelius with the girls team, and said he had a great time.
In the summer, Cornelius left Mountain Brook to take a coaching job in Tennessee, and London ultimately decided to pursue the job.
“I went home and prayed about it and I started thinking about the story, how far back it went. I guess this is the right time,” London said. “I’m excited to be here.”
London feels he has a leg up on most individuals taking on a new head coaching job due to the fact that he has already spent a year with the team at Mountain Brook.
“I know them all,” he said. “I know exactly how their games are. I know how they play, I know their strengths, I know their weaknesses, so I think that gives me a head up on any other coach coming in.”
London said he prefers an up-tempo style of play, with the ability to rotate several players in and out.
“I want to play multiple girls, get the ball up and down, take the first best shot that we can get,” he said. “I don’t want to pass it 10 times, I don’t want to watch paint dry.”
The Spartans will look to the likes of Lacey Jeffcoat, Lucy Harrison and Hannah Bartels to lead the way in that style, as all three bring back valuable experience.
Mary Rose Rutledge and Jacelynn Tidmore are two other seniors who will make an impact for Mountain Brook.
“Hannah Bartels, Lacey Jeffcoat and Lucy Harrison are three seniors that we are depending on heavily to guide and push this team to a place that they don’t think they can go,” London said. “I told my underclassmen that these seniors, it’s their last hurrah, and it’s up to them to do their part also and push these seniors outthe right way.”
London also puts a great emphasis on the other side of the court. He is the lead pastor at Mason Chapel United Methodist Church in Birmingham, and said developing kids is his “No. 1 goal.”
“If it’s all about winning games, then I think you’re missing a piece of the big puzzle,” he said.
The Spartans will open their season at Helena on Nov. 9.
“Our goal is to make this game exciting for our players and our fans,” London said.
