Photo courtesy of Image Arts.
MBHS basketball
Rising junior Jack Kline takes a shot in the state playoffs last season.
Count on it: death, taxes and hundreds of Mountain Brook residents decked out in neon at the BJCC in February.
That may be a slight exaggeration, but the Mountain Brook basketball program has been making deep playoff runs and championships look easy as of late. The past two seasons have ended with Mountain Brook claiming the state championship, but Spartans head coach Bucky McMillan said his team does not concern itself with the final result.
“We couldn’t care less about our chances of a championship,” McMillan said. “We care about reaching our potential.”
If Mountain Brook is to win a third consecutive state championship, the team will have to do so in the new Class 7A, as well as replace three key departing seniors.
McMillan understands the Spartans will miss their leadership.
“Patrick Keim, Ben Shearer and Alex Peters were champions and great leaders on and off the court,” McMillan said. “The work ethic, confidence and unselfishness of these three leaders were easily identifiable by our younger players, and therefore the younger players fell in line. We must have players this year be leaders in the same manner.”
Seniors Terell Guy and Jared Henderson should be able to make up for some of what Mountain Brook lost in Keim, Shearer and Peters. Jack Kline, who is a returning starter, could be someone who takes over a major leadership role.
“With the departure of a couple key guys from last year, the main thing I have had to change is just being more of a leader with this new team,” Kline said.
While Mountain Brook has the target on its back as the state’s current top program, the Spartans insist they are not feeling the pressure.
“[There is] no pressure to threepeat,” McMillan said. “[The] only pressure we have is to do the best we are capable of doing.”
Kline agreed.
“I don’t feel as if there is any pressure on us to ‘threepeat,’” Kline said. “As long as we achieve all of our goals, we will be successful.”
Of course, when any team dominates its competition over a significant period of time, one word comes to mind: dynasty. It is the most debated word in sports and the ultimate compliment to a program’s long run of success. A third straight championship would put the Spartans in that category, if they are not already.
“I would imagine that a dynasty is defined by unequaled team success relative to the competition during a certain time frame,” McMillan said. “In the past five years, Mountain Brook has won more games than any other 6A team. Mountain Brook is the only team during that time frame to win two state championships. I would think [that] qualifies for unequaled success relative to the competition.”
One thing is for sure. While this team may face some more unique challenges replacing star players, it would be unwise to count out Mountain Brook in its quest for another state title.
The basketball team tips off its season against Oxford on Nov. 11. The girls play at 6 p.m. and the boys at 7:30 p.m.
