It’s not often a school wins a state title in a sport three out of four years in a row. In February, Glenwood School’s girls basketball team picked up their third Alabama Independent School Association state championship title since 2014. The moment to remember was only bettered by the boys basketball team winning the state title, too.
Dusty Perdue is the head basketball coach for the Gators boys team. Now in his 12th year at the school and 10th as head coach for the program, Perdue coached three teams to the state championship finals that came away winners. His last team to win a title in basketball was in 2013. Prior to that, the Glenwood boys team brought home the state title with Perdue as coach back in 2007.
According to the boys basketball coach, all three championship teams had what it took to win, but each was different.
“The ‘07 team had the talent, the ‘13 team had the chemistry, and this year’s team had Trip Day and others who accepted their role on the team,” Perdue said.
Day, one of three starting seniors, scored 30 of the Gators’ 50 points against Tuscaloosa Academy in the championship game. Brandon Mosely and James Beck were also outstanding in helping the team reach the winner’s circle. All three seniors have played basketball at Glenwood since the seventh grade and were members of two state champ junior varsity teams.
“It really helps when they come up together like that,” Perdue said. “It’s almost like brothers. They know each other so well, and it shows when they play.”
Going into the 2016-17 season, Perdue said he had an idea his team had the potential to go all the way to the finals. During recent years the Gators have made it to the semi-finals but no further.
“I thought we had a chance,” Perdue said. “We had to get over the hump. We made it that far before but got beat in the Final Four. When we got over that hump, I told the team, ‘You can win this and get the title.’”
Perdue’s team finished the season 24-3. He knows the loss of his three starting seniors will affect next year’s team, but he isn’t as negative as some coaches might be in the same situation.
“It’s a young bench,” Perdue said. “That’s for sure, but if those guys will step up and accept their roles on the team, we will be ok.”
The Glenwood girls team added their latest state title to the two already won under the coaching of Julie Humphries when they defeated school rival Lee-Scott 56-43. It was the fourth time the Lady Gators faced Lee-Scott this season.
“I was a little nervous about playing them the fourth time,” Humphries said. “We had beaten them each time before, but I was concerned about playing the same team so many times. The Springwood game was so close with us winning at the buzzer, but I was more worried about Lee-Scott for that reason.”
The girls head basketball coach and assistant athletic director has been coaching at Glenwood for 11 seasons, eight as head coach. Like Perdue, Humphries sees differences in the three championship teams she coached. Her first title win was in 2014, and the Lady Gators picked up another in 2015. Those two teams were talented, according to Humphries, but this year’s team just had something a little different.
“Chemistry,” Humphries said. “I knew it was going to be a good year, but these girls are really close on and off the court. We had two new players join us, and they just fit right in. These girls, I don’t know how else to say it. They just gelled.”
The two seniors who joined the girls basketball team for the 2017 season were Quan Holten and Dajia Jones. Both were starters and came into an already established program to contribute enough to help lead the way to a state title and a 28-1 season. The only loss was to Heritage in Newnan and came right on the heels of an injury to Holten.
Like the boys team, the Lady Gators will lose three senior starters in Holten, Jones, and Audrey Crowe. It’s a little early for Humphries to talk about next year, but Glenwood has seven state girls basketball titles in its history, so it’s always a part of the plan.
“We’ll have two seniors on the ‘18 team,” Humphries said. “Those girls coming up are good. It could be a good year.”
Glenwood School has a tradition of producing outstanding athletic teams. According to boys basketball coach Dusty Perdue, Glenwood attracts good athletes because it’s a small school and sometimes athletes want a chance to play on a team that they wouldn’t get at a larger school.
“It’s also a family atmosphere,” Perdue said. “Small school, everybody knows everybody. And, you know, winning attracts kids. They hear about programs that are winning, and they want to be a part of that.”
Julie Humphries, head girls basketball coach, agreed with Perdue.
“Winning breeds winning,” Humphries said. “Athletic programs as a whole are very good here. That is mainly because of Tim Fanning (athletic director). He does a good job of helping us all remember we are serving a purpose bigger than a sport.”
Columbus Valley/June-July 2017
Girls and Boys State Titles
Glenwood Basketball Teams
Smiths, Alabama
By Beth Welch
Photos Courtesy of Glenwood School
Glenwood School Takes 2 State Titles in Basketball
