Fairhope’s 24-1 basketball season has been a ‘pleasant surprise’
Fairhope coach Solomon Johnson is quick to admit he didn’t necessarily expect his boys basketball team to be 24-1 after 25 games.
However, that is exactly where the Class 7A fifth-ranked Pirates are following their latest win, 59-45 at rival Daphne on Tuesday night.
“It’s been a pleasant surprise,” Johnson said. “The biggest difference from last year to this year is that these kids play together. They bleed together. They do everything together. It is such a joy to be around a team that wants to work every single day. They are the definition of a team.”
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The Pirates lost their only game of the year at home on Dec. 2 against St. Paul’s. They haven’t lost since – a streak of 16 straight victories. They will finish the regular season at Gulf Breeze, Fla., on Tuesday.
“I knew we were going to be good, and we were going to be able to compete, but they have a refusal to lose,” Johnson said. “That is what has got us to this point. The one loss we did have we didn’t have our complete team because (point guard) Caden Creel was at a (football) visit to Jacksonville State. Essentially, we are undefeated when we have everyone here.”
Fairhope lost five seniors off a team that went 18-12 a year ago. This year’s squad includes three seniors (Creel, Andrew Taylor and Collin Miller), seven juniors and a pair of sophomores.
“This is probably my favorite team I’ve ever been on,” Creel said. “We don’t have any cancers or anything. Last year, we had a talented team, but we had some cancers and some really soft areas. This year, we’ve cleaned that up. No critique of anyone last year, but this year we are all super tight. We all hang out outside of basketball and have a really strong relationship. We like being around each other. I think that is what makes this team so good.
“It’s actually a brotherhood.”
Fairhope’s biggest wins to this point came early in the season against Class 6A No. 3 McGill-Toolen (56-55 on Nov. 22) and Class 7A No. 2 Baker (72-69 on Dec. 13).
Junior guard Spence Sims leads the team in scoring, averaging 22 points a game, while 6-foot-6 fellow junior McRae Taul is averaging 18 points a game. Creel is averaging 12 points and 4 assists and Taylor 10 points and 12 rebounds.
“Our inside/outside attack is pretty decent,” said Creel, who signed at Jacksonville State as a quarterback. “Spence Sims is going to be one of the best guards in the state next year. He’s already ranked No. 2 I think behind (Baker star) Labaron (Philon). You got a guy like him shooting it from the outside.
“Zeb (Gafford) is an underrated guard. On the inside, Andrew and McRae are two fighters. They are going to battle. They are tall, long and they really play bigger than they are. Our bench players, our role players – we are so deep. We have 4-5 guys we can rotate with ease and not have to worry about anyone being a nuisance on the court. We have 4 bigs we can rotate in.”
On Tuesday, Taul, Taylor and Sims all scored in double figures in Fairhope’s second win over Daphne in a week.
“Fairhope is a great team,” Daphne coach Reed Hotard said. “There is a reason they are 23-1 or 24-1, whatever they are. They play really, really good, sound team basketball. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and, when you make a mistake, they penalize you for it.”
Depth and balance look to be what separates this year’s squad. In 2021, the Pirates were ranked No. 1 in Class 7A for most of the season on a team that included current Duke starting quarterback Riley Leonard and shooting guard Hunter Ivy. However, that team finished 27-2 after being upset by Auburn 54-52 in double overtime in the Southeast Regional final.
“When everyone is a threat, you have to respect everyone,” Johnson said. “When we had Riley (Leonard), we also had Hunter Ivy, but people knew if they could stop those two – it was a tall order – but if you could stop them, you could beat us. With this team, we’ve been trying to be more balanced.
“When you look at us on the spreadsheet, we want to get anywhere between 4-5 guys in double figures. If you can do that, it’s hard to stop rather than one guy putting up a plethora of points.”
Fairhope finished 4-0 in Class 7A, Area 2 and will host either Daphne or Foley for the area championship. Since it is just a three-team area, the Pirates already have clinched a spot in the Central Regional tournament at Bill Harris Arena.
What is the key to earning a spot in the final four in Birmingham late next month?
“Staying together, Creel said. “Last year, we had a decent regular season. We were a good team, but we didn’t stay together. We had some people pulling apart, not getting the production they wanted or the points. That is what is different about this year. We all stay together, and that is going to take us a long way.”