Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Ahman Ellington (1) goes for a layup during a Big Orange Classic game against Hewitt-Trussville on Dec. 27. Ellington’s singular focus is leading the Bucs back to the Final Four this season.
Ahman Ellington has prepared for this moment since he was 7 years old.
That’s when he started playing basketball, setting him on a trajectory toward his role today for the Hoover High School boys basketball team. He is the Bucs’ unquestioned leader, the player who commands the ball when the game is on the line.
A perfect example of one of those moments was on display in a tight game with time winding down, in the Bucs’ win over Hewitt-Trussville during the opening round of the Big Orange Classic in late December. Ellington held the ball at the top of the key and surveyed the defense.
A few moments later, he put his head down and drove toward the basket, drawing a foul and two free throws as a result. His face showed a fierce determination, intent on helping his team win the game at any cost.
“It’s just go time, really,” Ellington said of his mindset in that moment.
Ellington scored 31 points in the game, nearly half of his team’s total, and helped lead Hoover to the Big Orange title.
He had a great example in recent years of how to properly step up in the big moments. Jamari Blackmon, one of the best guards in Hoover history and now leading the University of North Alabama in scoring as a true freshman, is a year older than Ellington. The two played together on the varsity squad for two-plus years.
“Seeing Jamari grow up helped me grow up,” Ellington said. “I saw him as a sophomore, playing with him, and I knew I was going to get stronger and more consistent.”
Ellington was pulled up to the varsity team late in his freshman season and has started for the Bucs since. Ellington is a left-handed guard who possesses the ability to score on any level of the floor and has only gotten better since that freshman campaign, when he played a role on the Bucs’ team that advanced to the Class 7A Final Four at the BJCC.
But the last two years, the Bucs have fallen a game short of a return to the Final Four. In 2017, it was area foe Vestavia Hills that overtook Hoover. Last season, injuries hampered the Bucs in a loss to Sparkman.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Ellington recalled of last year’s defeat. “It was like a dream or something. We had such high expectations coming into the season, and it all fell down. I didn’t understand it until a week later when we saw everybody at the BJCC.”
Ellington’s coach, Charles Burkett, said before the season that “there is no replacement whatsoever” to what Blackmon brought to the team. But Ellington has provided stability for the Bucs.
“He’s been through the trenches,” Burkett said. “He’s a coach’s player; he’s a coach on the floor. For our lack of experience, what makes it really good for us is our most experienced player is our point guard, is our floor general, and that makes a big difference.”
Ellington pointed to three straight losses for the Bucs in early December as a hopeful turning point for the team, as it rebounded from those defeats with the Big Orange tournament win.
He’s hopeful the steps the team has taken and will continue to take will help the Bucs return to Birmingham.
“I felt like I should’ve been down there every year of my high school career,” he said. “We’ve got to get there. I want to get another chance to win state.”
