Four TCHS basketball players sign to play in college
By WVUA 23 Sports Reporter Jack Hutchens
The recruitment and signing season has been busy for Tuscaloosa County High School. This week, four members of the men’s basketball team signed to play college basketball: Gabriel White, Rashawn Witherspoon, Drew Winegarden and Grant Stubbs.
White is signing with Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa and knows that it is the right place for him.
“When I found out we were ecstatic,” said White. “My dad passed away two years ago, so I wanted to stay home. That was a big thing and when Shelton called it was just the greatest opportunity for me. I think that me being so close to my family, and then what happened two years ago it’s just drawn us even closer. It’s great.”
Drew Winegarden, son of Tuscaloosa County football coach Adam Winegarden, elected to sign with Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga. Winegarden knew that Berry was the place for him after visiting.
“I went and watched them practice and I definitely looked for an environment where everybody holds each other accountable,” said Winegarden. “Wherever I can go where the coaches and the players are going to make me better, that’s where I wanted to go.”
Rashawn Witherspoon signed to State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo. and once he met his future teammates he made his decision.
“The coaches, the campus, the players that I met, I really liked it”, said Witherspoon. “Me and my mom went up there like a week ago and I liked it so I thought it was the best fit for me.”
Grant Stubbs will be attending Asbury College, a Division Three school in Wilmore, Ky. and as soon as he saw the campus he knew it was the place for him.
“We went to visit a lot,” said Stubbs. “The campus, right when I stepped on it felt like home. The coaches and the players I got to meet them. There were very comforting to me. Like I said it just felt like home there. I feel like I can be successful in what I want to do there.
The four signees led the Wildcats to a 21-7 record which ended at the hands of the Hoover Buccaneers in the first round of the area championship February 8th.
