Aliceville celebrates boys basketball’s winning season

St. Patrick’s Day may have been Friday, but Saturday was the Aliceville High School boys basketball team’s lucky day. It’s been the talk of the town since nabbing the 2A AHSAA State Championship earlier this month.

The state championship game March 3 was nail biter, like one you’d see in a movie.

With 3 seconds left, the Yellowjackets were tied with the Saint Luke Wildcats with 43 points.

That’s when an Aliceville player was fouled and headed to the free throw line.

“He missed the first one,” senior Quincy Sherrod said.” “I was like ‘come on, money.’ ”

“It scared everybody,” senior Christopher Wilder said.” “I just started praying and kept the faith.”

That player made one of two shots, putting the Yellowjackets up by 1 point.

After an unsuccessful Hail Mary shot by the opposing team, the Yellowjackets secured its first state title in school history.

Sherrod and Wilder said they’re still on Cloud Nine.

“It was unbelievable that we really just won the state championship,” Sherrod said. “Seeing all my teammates crying and stuff.”

“We have been hollering state championship since middle school,” Wilder said. “Since we have been kids. It means a lot. The love and support from the fans that we have. I looked at the crowd and it was nothing but Yellowjacket fans all over the stadium. Like an NBA game. It felt great you know. The ones who supported us through Game 1 all the way to now. It just felt great.”

Aliceville High School has around 350 students. There’s only 2,500 people in the entire city.

These young men have grown up together, played together since they could dribble.

Sherrod and Wilder said their opponents in the game called them “country boys.”

They said they’re hoping they learned their lesson, because those “country boys” came out on top.

“I say never underestimate anybody because you never know what anyone is capable of doing,” Wilder said. “I learned that it takes sacrifice. If you want to be great, you’ve got to sacrifice a lot. Sacrifice time to come to practice and even sacrifice time for school. Coach always says, ‘You’re a student first and an athlete second,’ so we do what we have to do at school. It we don’t have any problems with the teachers, we can do what we have to do on the court.”

This championship team was led to their success by one of their own, Aliceville native and former Yellowjacket Christopher Walker.

“It is personal,” Walker said. “I was telling someone it really on sunk in like two days ago what we were able to accomplish in that year. It is something very personal to me. To the point where you grow up here. They talk about when they were little. I remember having those same dreams. So, to be able to just be on the journey was just special. It was a personal experience for me. Now, it is just time to cross your feet and celebrate.”