Tournaments a learning experience

By Staff
Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle head basketball coach Johnny Berry probably went into last week’s Hartselle Sporting Goods House Special tournament hoping to pick up a few wins before the Tigers jumped into the meat of their schedule.
Brewer’s Sam Brown had the same thoughts.
But after both teams came out of the tournament with just one win each, neither coach was pushing the panic button.
And that’s the beauty of holiday basketball tournaments. Play good competition and hope to get a few wins. But most importantly, come out of the Thanksgiving break with improved basketball teams.
So for the boys’ varsity teams at Hartselle and Brewer, mark last week’s action as mission accomplished.
Hartselle opened up the tournament with a solid win over Athens on the first day of the tournament, but the Tigers dropped their remaining three games to finish 1-3 overall.
Still, only one of the three losses was by more than 10 points. Lawrence County beat Hartselle 70-58 in a Friday morning game.
Brewer also took three losses in the tournament despite playing solid in every game. All three of the Patriots’ losses came by three points or less.
But the Patriots probably came out of the tournament in better shape because of the competition faced over the three-day tournament.
Danville’s girls’ team played in the Dora Thanksgiving Tournament against a field of 4A and 5A schools, but still came back home with a 2-2 record.
Danville’s boys finished second in the Priceville tournament to Sardis. Hartselle’s girls played in the prestigious Russellville tournament that featured some of the state’s top girls’ teams.
Piling up wins wasn’t what coaches were after. Getting better was.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or by email at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com