Youthful Bucs eager to prove themselves

From year one to year two of Scott Ware’s tenure as the head coach of the Hoover High School boys basketball team, the Buccaneers want to continue their upward trend.

Last year, Hoover put together a solid season, rattling off nine straight wins in the middle of the season, winning the Class 7A, Area 5 tournament and advancing to the Northwest Regional final with a 20-9 record.

But if the Bucs are to build off that in the 2021-22 campaign, they will do it with a largely new cast of players. Hoover has four seniors this year and a limited amount of returning experience.

However, Ware has been encouraged by what he saw over the summer and in the preseason, leading him to believe the Bucs have a chance to be a good team once again.

“I really like this group of guys,” Ware said. “They like each other; they play hard for each other. This summer, we tried to build a little bit of culture with understanding that our success is going to come with numbers.”

What he means by that is Hoover will not rely on one or two primary scorers this season to get the job done and lead the team to victory. It will take contributions from everyone to shoulder the load.

“We should be pretty deep and play a bunch of young guys and really try to get after you on the defensive end,” Ware said.

Brodin Grady and Brandon Foster possess much of the returning experience for the Bucs. Grady has started the past two years, and the 6-foot-5 forward leads the team by example and with his words.

“He’s always been our rock in the middle [of the paint],” Ware said. “We refer to him as our hard work guy. He’s going to rebound, take charges, dive on the floor and give you everything he’s got every night.”

Brandon Foster was a big contributor last year and is expected to be again in his final season. Ware said he expects Grady and Foster to provide an abundance of minutes and strong leadership.

Christian Bryant and T.Q. Richardson are the other two seniors. Bryant can stretch the floor with his shooting range and brings plenty of energy, while Richardson can score at a high level.

Jaylen Carrington is making the leap after a strong junior varsity season and will man the point guard position. Ware called him a floor general who understands the game well. Elijah Herron and Noah McAfee are two other juniors who can shoot the ball with precision. Garian Denson is an energetic player off the bench as well.

Salim London and Jarrett Fairley have impressed coaches over the summer and are set to both play up on the varsity team as freshmen.

Trent Hogan, Jeremiah Giddens and Jake Hatch also are expected to provide stability for the Bucs.

“I don’t know that we’re going to have that one guy that you have to shut down,” Ware said. “We’ve got several guys that are capable. It could be a different guy every night, and from a coach’s perspective, that’s tougher to guard.”

Hoover took on the likes of Huffman, Ramsay and Oxford in November and then faced Spain Park, Shades Valley, Vestavia Hills and other solid opponents before jumping into Area 5 play against reigning state champion Oak Mountain, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County.

Ware expects his team to progress throughout the year, as the youthful roster gains experience and learns how to win.

“How long we get to play this year will be determined on how well we come together and how our approach is,” he said.