AHSAABasketball

Rosters Announced for the 34th Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Basketball Classic

February 17, 2024

Montgomery, AL – The rosters for Alabama’s All-Star boys’ and girls’ teams have been finalized for the upcoming 34th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Basketball Classic, which will be held in Mississippi this March. The announcement was made by Brandon Dean, the director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA). The selected teams comprise 12 boys and 12 girls, picked from the coaches’ nominations by the AHSADCA All-Star Selection Committee.

“Our selection committee has once again done an exceptional job, completing a challenging task,” remarked Dean. “We had a surplus of talent to select from, thanks to our member school coaches who nominated so many deserving players.”

Coaching the Alabama girls’ team are Tonya Hunter from Hewitt-Trussville and Natasha Smallwood from Susan Moore High School, with administrative coaching provided by Tammy West of Cold Springs High School. The boys’ team will be coached by Patrick Harding of Buckhorn High School and Marshon Harper of Valley High School, with Dru Powell from Saraland High School serving as the administrative coach.

Prominent players on the Alabama girls’ roster include state title winners Leah Brooks from Hazel Green and Tamya Smith from Pleasant Grove. Brooks is set to attend the University of Alabama, while Smith will head to the University of Memphis. Additionally, Syriah Daniels of Auburn and Jordan Hunter of Hewitt-Trussville, daughter of all-star team coach Tonya Hunter, are both committed to Auburn University.

Both Harding and Hunter led their respective teams to state championships last season. Buckhorn took the Class 6A title, while Hewitt-Trussville went undefeated with a 33-0 record to secure the 5A state title. The boys’ team features key players such as Brandon Thomas of Valley and Caleb Harrison of Huntsville, a Samford signee who has led the Class 7A Crimson Panthers to the Northeast Regional finals next week with an impressive 31-2 record. Also on the team is Fairhope guard Spence Sims who’s committed to Alabama, and Keith guard Tommy Tisdale, who scored a career-high 51 points in a game earlier this month.

In last year’s series, Alabama claimed victory in both the girls’ and boys’ games. The girls’ team defeated Mississippi 88-74, bringing their overall series record to 19-14. Meanwhile, the boys’ team secured a 91-72 win, holding an 18-15 lead in the series that began in 1991 at the University of North Alabama in Florence.