OPELIKA HIGH BASKETBALL
VARSITY GIRLS
Opelika High School girls basketball team has a new coach for the 2009-2010 season. Coach Devin Booth was hired in May to replace out going coach Crystal Williams. Williams resigned because her husband had to transfer to another city for his job and they would have to move to Georgia. Booth has 2 state championship teams a head coach. She will bring a wealth of knowledge to help our girls learn the game of basketball.
Her team will have 5 seniors. The players have not played a lot on the varsity level. Three junior players, Cayla Whatley, Kayly Mills and Kiera Jones. The squad will also have 3 sophomores, Gabby Clifton, Stephanie Howard and Jasmine Hurst. For the 1 st time in many years 2 freshman will dress out with the varsity, Mercedes Calloway and Destiny Savage.
The team will play defense all over the court. The lady Dawgs will full court press, man to man defense , half court pressure and even zone defense to try and confuse the opponent. Coach Booth believes that if you play tight full court defense it will lead to a very good offense. When her team has the ball and playing offense she wants her girls to use speed to move the ball up and down the court as fast as possible. Opelika will not limit the offense to the old run and gun. It will be a discipline well executed offense during each game.
The varsity girls basketball program has not made it to the class 6A state playoffs in many years. The teams in our region are Smiths Station, Russell Co. , and Central. All four teams have a shot at winning the area championship and hosting the girls tournament.
VARSITY BOYS
Head coach John Wadsworth is starting his 3rd season as the head man of the Dawgs basketball program. Coach Wadsworth record has improved over the last 2 years. O.H.S. won 19 games in the 08-09 season, beating rival Auburn 3 times.
This year’s team will have 7 seniors led by Tay Calloway, Morris Lockhart, Eric Entrekin. The Dawgs will use a pressure style defense that will cause the opponent to not get in a rhythm. The defenses will be man to man, half court trap and the full court trap. The offense will come from what the defense created with the pressure.
Coach Wadsworth is proud of his team’s academic standing. Three players are National Honor Society members, 6 players are on the A-B honor roll. This is a tribute to the student athlete and Coach John Wadsworth. The coach makes his players do classroom work as well as work in the gym.
The schedule is hard and will include the Opelika Invitational. Teams that have already committed are Auburn, Russell Co., LaGrange, Greenville, Elmore Co., B.R.H.S. and Miami high school in Miami Florida.
Our basketball programs are in very good hands. With the hiring of Coach Booth the girls team will play hard and compete for the play-offs every year. Coach Wadsworth has a 2 year jump on getting his program in great shape. GO TO THE SPORTS ARENA THIS WINTER AND WATCH SOME GOOD HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL.
Keep up with the Opelika Bulldog Athletic department every day by going to thedawgnetwork on the web or tune into ON THE MARK radio show every weekday morning from 7 to 9 on WTLM 1520 a.m. or on the web at kickerfm.com, click on sports on front page and then the ON THE MARK banner. `.