Girls county seeds
- Updated: January 4, 2017
UPDATED: Anniston, Pleasant Valley pull down top two girls seeds for the Calhoun County Tournament
By Jason Katz
For East Alabama Sports Today
OHATCHEE — The yearly exercise to determine seeding for the Girls Calhoun County Tournament was Wednesday. Coaches from all 15 county schools met in a small classroom in a new wing at Ohatchee High School to discuss where their respective teams should be placed in the bracket and who they will play.
Without much controversy and some open debate, the field was set with Anniston holding on to the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive year.
For Lady Bulldogs head coach Eddie Bullock, though, these meetings could be done without the discussion. While many coaches like the chance to lobby for their team’s respective position in the tournament, Bullock would rather see the process return to a secret ballot that has been used in the past.
“My thing is, if you put the records down and do a secret ballot, it takes the opportunity (away) for certain coaches to lean one way or the other,” Bullock said. “You may have a situation where certain area teams don’t want to play each other and they can kind of talk out of that. Personally, I like the old way where you just line the teams up and rank them.”
Regardless of Bullock’s preference, the Lady Bulldogs are still No. 1 for the tournament and as such can now set out to prove the validity of their ranking.
“It’s always nice to be selected No. 1 for the tournament, but that is not the determining factor for how you play,” Bullock said. “Just look at us. We were the No. 1 seed last year and got beat, so we have just to go play ball now.”
Anniston will face stiff competition across the board as teams look to finish the tournament No. 1 on the court and not just on paper.
Sacred Heart and JCA open the tournament Jan. 14 at 9 a.m., with the winner playing fifth-seeded White Plains in the second round. In the other opening-day games, Ohatchee plays Donoho to determine who plays No. 6 Wellborn, Weaver plays Faith Christian to decide who’ll play No. 7 Oxford and Alexandria and Saks play in the 8-9 game.
Anniston won’t play until Tuesday at 7 p.m. No. 2 seed Pleasant Valley will be the last girls team to play, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Lady Raiders were the No. 4 seed last year with a stronger record than they take into this year’s tournament, but they’ve played a more demanding schedule this year.
“Coaches who play or see you and know basketball can tell,” PV coach Brad Hood said. “You can’t go by records, like Bullock was referring to. We looked like world beaters last year on paper. I feel way better about our team this year. I’ve put them in any and all adverse situations to prepare for this run.”
Saks is the defending champion of the tournament. The Lady Wildcats outlasted Pleasant Valley 61-39 last year. They are seeded ninth this year.
CALHOUN COUNTY TOURNAMENT
GIRLS SEEDS
(All games at Jacksonville State, Jan. 14-21)
(overall record, in-county)
1. Anniston (9-4, 2-0)
2. Pleasant Valley (9-8, 5-0)
3. Jacksonville (9-6, 5-1)
4. Piedmont (5-6, 2-1)
5. White Plains (8-6, 7-3)
6. Wellborn (10-5, 6-2)
7. Oxford (4-10, 3-0)
8. Alexandria (6-10, 3-3)
9. Saks (3-6, 2-4)
10. Weaver (6-8, 3-7)
11. Donoho (7-6, 2-2)
12. JCA (5-4, 2-1)
13. Sacred Heart (4-6, 3-3)
14. Ohatchee (3-9, 0-6)
15. Faith Christian (3-14, 0-3)
Jan. 14 Games
Sacred Heart vs. JCA, 9 a.m.
Ohatchee vs. Donoho, noon
Weaver vs. Faith, 3 p.m.
Alexandria vs. Saks, 6 p.m.
Jan. 16 Games
Sacred Heart-JCA winner vs. White Plains, noon
Ohatchee-Donoho winner vs. Wellborn, 3 p.m.
Weaver-Faith winner vs. Oxford, 6 p.m.
Jan. 17 Games
Sacred Heart/JCA/White Plains vs. Piedmont, 4 p.m.
Alexandria-Saks winner vs. Anniston, 7 p.m.
Jan. 19 Games
Ohatchee/Donoho/Wellborn vs. Jacksonville, 5:30 p.m.
Weaver/Faith/Oxford vs. Pleasant Valley, 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 Games
Semifinal No. 1, 4 p.m.
Semifinal No. 2, 7 p.m.
Jan. 21 Game
Girls Championship, 6 p.m.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login