Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Hoover's Jennifer Andrew is a senior returnee for the Lady Bucs, as they look to repeat as Class 7A state champions.
Krystle Johnson left the Hoover High School girls basketball team’s summer schedule and results hanging near the entrance of the locker room for a long time. So long that players begged Johnson to take it down.
“Why do you still have that thing up there?” Johnson would be asked a few times a week.
It finally came down a few weeks before the start of preseason practice, but Johnson’s point resonated through the locker room: “You need to understand that you can lose.”
“We didn’t do as well in the summer as we thought we would,” said Johnson, who enters her second season as head coach. “It was humbling for them.”
The Lady Bucs finished 11-6 in the abbreviated summer schedule, only one fewer loss than they accumulated all of last season on their way to the Class 7A state championship.
“Of those losses, we actually play four of those teams during the season,” Johnson said.
Hoover’s run through the postseason last year included Miya Kimber’s game-winning 3-pointer in the regional final and a wild overtime victory over crosstown rival Spain Park in the championship game.
“They all liked the feeling of winning state, and that’s just now our goal,” Johnson said, “to get back to that point and be able to have the trophy and be all excited and jumping up and down.”
The Lady Bucs graduated four from last year’s group, but they return a bevy of contributors that make repeating as champs a realistic option. They are even hoping to improve upon last year’s results. “We won’t be able to top it as far as the ultimate goal, but record-wise, we lost seven games last year,” Johnson said. “Only one of them was not close. We can definitely say we want at least 30 wins this year, to repeat and to play better in those close games.”
Senior Eboni Williams is the unquestioned leader of the team. The Chattanooga commit led the Lady Bucs in scoring last year, and is one of three seniors.
“Of the four seniors [last year], even the ones that didn’t play a lot, they were very vocal, they always led by example,” Johnson said. “Besides Eboni, the other two seniors are pretty quiet.”
Those other two seniors are Jennifer Andrew and Angela Grant, two important players for Hoover. Andrew recently committed to Montevallo, and Grant, a post player, has received college interest as well.
In addition, Hoover’s junior class is deep. Tori Hunter has greatly improved in recent months and has committed to Western Kentucky. Kimber is a player that Johnson said “leads by example.” Skyla Knight will be able to play this year, along with her sister Jada Knight, after sitting out last season following her transfer from Spain Park. Melanie Hall, Joiya Maddox and Madison Adamson also return.
“She’s one of the most talented juniors in the state,” Johnson said of Skyla Knight.
Johnson feels that she also has a roster that can fit any mold or style of play.
“We’re versatile as a team,” she said. “We can be slow, we can be fast, we can run zone, we can run man. I just like to make sure they are well rounded at everything. We can shoot, we can go inside, we can drive.”
Whatever it takes, Johnson feels like her team can do. It will look to replace that summer schedule with a regular slate of results filled with wins beginning Nov. 7, when the Lady Bucs host Mae Jemison.
