Prep basketball playday season is off and running locally:
Local squads will set their sights on getting consistent in June:
GDW Analysis:
WEST POINT: Gameday Weekly greeted the start of the 2025 prep basketball playday season following five local squads from West Point's Jim Boyd Gymnasium Tuesday.
Cold Springs, Fairview, Holly Pond, Vinemont and West Point laid out a game plan, knowing work to be done after how each experienced a pattern of inconsistency on the hardwood.
All five teams failed to be a victor in matchups with schools from outside Cullman County.
A pair of programs from Jefferson County and one out of Marshall County were on top of the scoreboard at the end of each assignment.
Scoreboard:
Corner 58, Cold Springs 52
Gardendale 64, Fairview 30
Corner 46, Holly Pond 27
Gardendale 60, West Point 44
Boaz 45, Cold Springs 36
Corner 53, Vinemont 34
Boaz 48, West Point 40.
The storyline by Gameday Weekly:
Each of the locals showed signs of good play, but ran into lapses that can be accessed as inconsistency.
This pattern is considered part of the process, especially when teams are having to replace personnel that graduated from the previous season as well as two schools under operation with new head coaches.
Cold Springs would be a school under the analysis of GDW for the Eagles have brought in former Good Hope mentor Drew Adams.
Adams' style with the Eagles will be like it was for him 9 years at Good Hope. Create situations by defense and install a tempo in trying to be productive with the ball.
Cold Springs was down 28 to 19 at the half against Corner. The Eagles had a good 2nd half by a 33 to 30 margin against the Yellow Jackets. Corner managed to hold on for a 58 to 52 triumph.
The Eagles then battled Boaz. A close first half with Boaz clinging to a 23 to 19 advantage in which Cold Springs could not find consistency in the last half and fell 45 to 36.
Fairview faced a very experienced and talented Gardendale Rocket squad. Gardendale stormed to a 24 to 0 lead before the Aggies put points on the board and trailed at the half 45 to 16.
Fairview slowed up the Rockets in the last half but managed just 14 on their tally.
Holly Pond was hanging with Corner before a 14 to 0 run from the Yellow Jackets prior to the end of the half gave them a 29 to 11 cushion. The Broncos were outscored by Corner 17 to 16 in the last half of their 46 to 27 setback.
Vinemont went toe to toe with Corner for much of the opening half. The Eagles hit a three to go ahead 19 to 18 until Corner answered with a 15 to 3 surge to end the half and lead 33 to 22.
The Eagles struggled scoring in the final half with only 12 points as Corner netted 20 to pull away for a 53 to 34 decision.
Vinemont is now under the direction of James Brown, promoted to the head position after Preston Boyd recently retired to get into a role of administration.
For West Point, the Warriors challenged Gardendale until the Rockets closed out the half with momentum and went up 31 to 22 at intermission. The Warriors could never get to consistency on the offensive side and fell to the Rockets 60 to 44.
Now with Boaz, Mason Voce's Warriors were out of sync for the opening half, looking at a 24 to 13 deficit.
A 19 to 5 run early in the last half allowed the Warriors to tie the score at 32 to 32.
West Point moved ahead briefly before Boaz answered with a surge and went back home 2 & 0 on the day and a 48 to 40 triumph.
Performing well in front of GDW:
Cold Springs: Breydon Hallman, Ethan Day
Fairview: Zayden Cruce, Callin Collins
Holly Pond: Cade Allbright, Fox Westall
Vinemont: Colton Gillis, Cheston Wilhite
West Point: Maddox Chapman, Brier Taylor
Corner: Talan Laird
Laird, a solid perimeter shooter for Corner, showed it in 3 games with plenty of ling distance scoring.
Coming up:
West Point will be in a playday series this weekend at Ole Miss.
Cold Springs will compete in a playday at Monday from the Cullman Basketball Complex.
Photo of new Cold Springs coach Drew Adams with his Eagles Tuesday in a playday at West Point High School.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.
