Basketball fans and players, please don’t throw any stones at me after this next statement, but I am not a huge fan of the sport.
It is not until the time March Madness comes around or the NBA playoffs that I actually start watching a few games here and there.
As a sports editor covering basketball in this area, basketball can be tiresome. With each night of high school games, there are three games a night—B-team, girls and varsity action. Not all the time, but sometimes basketball in this area has had a reputation of not being to good.
It was until covering a Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawk basketball game a few days ago that I really felt the excitement in a game and the excitement in covering a game.
It was a scheduled whiteout game for JDCC against Faulkner State and as JDCC head coach Allen Gainer put it, it was the biggest game in 25 years for the Warhawks.
Boy did it live up to the hype. JDCC and Faulkner played to two overtimes with the Warhawks pulling out a 105-100 win and taking the top spot in the conference. It would this past Monday that JDCC clinched the South Division championship with a rally to beat Wallace Selma.
That game was exciting too as JDCC led by as many as 16 in the second half before blowing the lead and having to rally and win by one.
I have to say, coach Gainer and his squad this year have really made basketball enjoyable for this sports writer.
JDCC’s success has earned them a South Division Championship and a first round bye next week at the regional championship.
When I first took over as sports editor at the paper in 2007, it was rare for JDCC to come out with a win. That is not meant as a knock on the Warhawks. But the success last year and a new taste of winning has fueled this year’s team.
In a recent interview with Gainer that will be in Wednesday’s paper, Gainer said this team has re-energized him as a coach.
Coach Gainer, I can say the same thing from my end. I would rarely look forward to covering basketball, but the Warhawks this year has changed that. I wish them the best in the upcoming tournament and send them congratulations on a great season this year.
Thanks for letting me see there can be love for basketball.
Until we meet again here or out in the world of sports, God bless.