Basketball

Tristan Garmon, 14, is a typical teenager; he loves to stay up late and wake up late in the summer.

The one thing that will get the avid sports fan up is traveling, especially when it relates to what he loves most — basketball.

The Anniston Housing Authority 15 & Under Basketball Team competed in the Alabama Public Housing Basketball State Championships, March 18-21, in Dothan. The team went 5-0 to win the championship.

The city of Anniston was represented in the Alabama Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA) state tournament by the 10 & Under Heat at South Highland Community Center, the 8 & Under Stars and the 14 & Under Kings at Carver Community Center.

The Anniston Therapeutic Recreation Department’s Special Olympics basketball team placed second in Division II at the state basketball tournament, held in Tuscaloosa on March 10.

The 10U Heat from South Highland went undefeated through their seven regular season games. They then went on to defeat their three opponents in the District 4 tournament held at the Gadsden Civic Center on Feb. 25.

Anniston head coach Brett Thomas knew his team had to adjust to the pressure the Oxford Yellow Jackets were putting on them.

The Bulldogs switched from a 1-3-1 defense to a 1-2-2 in the second half in which the Yellow Jackets couldn’t recover as Anniston claimed a 78-51 win in the Class 4A-5A Calhoun County Junior High Tournament.

Many of you are probably familiar with the slogan used by the athletic apparel company, Champion Apparel. It states, “It takes a little more to be a champion.”

Oxford and Alexandria know what it means to be champions.

For Eric Stringer, basketball is more than a game; it is ingrained in his DNA along with his height and hair color.

From playing pick-up games and street ball as a young boy to becoming a stand-out player at Oxford High School in the late 1970s to a champion at Auburn University, basketball has been his life.

The media screams out the headlines, “Kobe Bryant scores 81 points against the Toronto Raptors,” and “NYC Girl scores 113 in high school game.”

While these are amazing accomplishments, one wonders what it does to the psyche of young players who look up to older players as their heroes and role models.

The 12-and-Under Scarlet team, coached by Preston Buchanon, held off a fourth quarter rally by Mike Rollins Black team to win 26-22. Scarlet also won their next game over White, 33-20, to take first place in the 12-and-Under Division.