Andalusia boys basketball coach Richard Robertson has seen his share of wins and losses. It seems this hall-of-famer remembers the losses all too well.
Maybe that's why Monday night's 88-75 win over Headland to capture the Class 4A, Area 3 area tournament title is one win he would just as soon not talk about. The victory was the 700th of Robertson's 36-year career. It also gives his Bulldogs the home-court advantage Friday night as the AHSAA state basketball playoffs move to round two with sub-regional play.
Robertson, who coached NBA great Robert Horry in high school, has a 700-315 career record with one state championship in 1996 to his credit. Don't judge this coach by his wins alone, however.
He's a leader of young men, a coach who has been a second father to many and the only father figure to even more. His disciplined style of coaching may be considered too demanding for today's MTV and ESPN era player. But it is vintage Robertson.
He makes no apologies for his "old school" brand of coaching and he makes no excuses when his team loses. He only makes up his mind to work a little harder, push his players a little farther and promises to correct mistakes quickly. He's still getting used to letting his players take 3-point shots. Horry did change his mind some – especially after watching his star pupil hit key 3-pointers time and time again in several NBA championship runs. Horry played 16 seasons in the NBA, winning seven championships – the most of any player not to have played on the Boston Celtics teams of the 1960s. He is one of only two players to have won NBA championships with three different teams: two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs.
Robertson doesn't mind the trey – if it means to win. He's more about good shots, making clutch shots when you have to and always getting the high-percentage shot. And as Horry learned and put into practice in college at Alabama and later in the NBA, hustling defense is what keeps a player in good graces with Coach Robertson.
Robertson has never made coaching about himself. Kids today respond to his caring style the same way they did when he started out back in the 1970s.
"It's not about me," Robertson told the Andalusia Star-News following Monday's win. "I've coached 1,015 games. Since I've been here, I've tried to win every last one of them. I'm proud to get the win."
Andalusia (29-2) will host
St. James (Montgomery) in Friday night's sub-regional contest. The winner will then advance to the South Regional Tourney at the University of South Alabama's Mitchell Center in Mobile next week. Two wins at the 12,000-seat Mitchell Center would then mean a trip to the AHSAA Final 48 state tournament at the 18,000-seat Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, March 1-5. And that could mean a showdown with Class 4A top-ranked
Butler (Huntsville), the 5A state champs four times (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009) in the last seven years. The Rebels (27-2), led by 2010 Mr. Basketball
Trevor Lacey and coached by another Alabama coaching legend Jack Doss, has roared through the competition thus far this season in their first foray into Class 4A.
Robertson doesn't look ahead, however. It's a safe bet his sights are clearly on St. James (8-17), a private school from Montgomery which finished second in Area 4's tourney to Brewbaker Tech.
"Andalusia's legacy is success," he said. "We preach that. I'm more proud of the kids — I just stayed around here longer."
Jacard Townsend had 18 points and 16 rebounds in the win over Headland (24-7).
Quayshaun Denson also had 25 points and 12 rebounds and was perfect on all nine free-throws. Corinthian Derrick King also had 22 points and was 8-of-10 at the charity stripe as the Bulldogs sank 26 of 31 overall.
A victory Friday night could set up one of the most athletic regional tournament divisions in the state playoffs. Other South Sub-Regional pairings Friday night in Class 4A include
Rain (Mobile) at
Hillcrest (Evergreen),
Headland at
Brewbaker Tech (Montgomery) and
Jackson at
Escambia County (Atmore). Hillcrest is 22-6, Escambia County is 22-7 and Brewbaker is 19-6.
Butler is hoping to reach the Final 48 in the Northwest Regional. The Rebels host always athletic
Deshler (Tuscumbia) Friday night in the sub-regional round. All Friday winners move to one of four Regional tournaments next week. The Northwest Regional will be played at Wallace State Community College's 8,000-seat Tom Drake Coliseum at Hanceville. The Northeast Regional will be played at Pete Mathews Coliseum on the campus of Jacksonville State University and the Central Regional is set for the spacious 12,000-seat Acadome at Alabama State University in Montgomery.
MaxPreps Alabama boys basketball playoff bracketsMaxPreps Alabama boys basketball Freeman RankingsGIRLS STEAL LIMELIGHTTwo junior guards stole the spotlight in the AHSAA girls area basketball tournaments last weekend.
Nina Mills, a 5-foot-4 junior point guard, was 18 of 21 at the foul line including 11 down the stretch and finished with 41 points as
Good Hope (Cullman) (27-4) beat Priceville (19-10) in the Class 4A, Area 13 finals, 74-65.
And in the semifinals of the Class 3A, Area 15 tournament at Clements, junior
Hayden Hamby of West Morgan scored a career-high 56 points in a 78-74 double-overtime loss to
Danville. The setback ended the Lady Rebels' season.
Good Hope and Clements each advanced to the Sub-Regional playoffs Thursday night with hopes of advancing to the Northwest Regional tournament next week.
MaxPreps Alabama girls basketball playoff bracketsMaxPreps Alabama girls basketball Freeman RankingsUNBEATEN GRAPPLERS HIGHLIGHT 2011 STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSWhen the 2011 AHSAA State Wrestling Championships get underway Thursday at Huntsville's Von Braun Center, a total of nine wrestlers will be entering the competition unbeaten this season.
In Class 5A,
Scottsboro freshman Brandon Womack heads the contingent at 71-0 in the 112-pound division.
Jordan (Morris) junior Brandon Brindley is 48-0 at 140 pounds.
In Class 6A, 103-pound sophomore Jake Smith of
Pell City (Ala.) is 45-0 after winning his division in the section tournament at Hewitt-Trussville last weekend. Other 6A undefeated wrestlers include Michael Jordan of
Auburn (39-0) at 119 pounds, Ben Smith of
Buckhorn (New Market) (54-0) at 124, Eric Lee of Oxford (61-0) at 135 and 285-pounder Adam Wright of
Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) (45-0).
In the 1A-4A Division, junior Dalton Carroll of defending state champ
Wellborn (Anniston) is 42-0 at 145 pounds, and
Piedmont junior Clay Dent is 38-0 at 171 pounds.
Hoover is the defending 6A state champ and
Southside (Gadsden) is defending 5A champ.