Wellborn remembers beloved former coach
- Updated: January 9, 2015
John Adcock Night recognizes late Hall of Famer; updated to include all county games
Wellborn’s Dymond Myles shoots a free throw in the John Adcock Gym Thursday night. (Photo by Brant Locklier)
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
WELLBORN — It was not about the outcome of the games Thursday night. Rather, it was about former Wellborn coach John Adcock.
The Panthers played in the old gym named after Adcock and honored him through his family as they put a wrap on a home season that was played for the first time since 1963 without the former coach being around.
Adcock died June 10 and the Wellborn family gathered in his honor while the current basketball teams hosted a girls-boys doubleheader with Westbrook Christian Warriors at the Adcock Gym.
It was a tough night on the floor for the home side. The Lady Panthers dropped a 68-29 decision while the boys fell 68-61 in a game the Panthers were plagued with foul trouble for the second straight night.
Playing in the old venue brought back memories for everyone at the game of the beloved former coach.
“If you have been to school at Wellborn, he has touched your life,” Curtis ‘Tank’ Martin said, speaking for everyone in the crowded gym. “A little piece of John Adcock is in all of our hearts. He coached for 33 years from 1963 to 1996 and since then had been cutting the grass, working the gates, bringing coffee to the secretaries and leaving his mark on everybody.”
It was a night for memories on the cozy – and in some place dimly lit — court with a stage inches off the playing floor on one end and a wall inches away on the other end. The roll-out bleachers came within 10 inches of the court. The coaches, fans, players and referees were constantly negotiating precious space on the sidelines.
There were people old and young all pulling for their Panthers, helping the referees make calls without having to yell, even though they did. Children raced across the stage playing and climbing while the school administrators were trying to keep it clean. Girls were flirting with boys and boys flirting with girls. It was small-town America at its best and John Adcock would have been proud.
“It was a great family atmosphere out there tonight and we probably need to do this more,” Wellborn boys coach Beau Winn said.
During the festivities it was announced the Panthers would honor Adcock by permanently embroidering his initials on their uniforms. Adcock’s Wellborn basketball teams won more than 400 games and he was named Calhoun County Basketball Coach of the Year three times. He was inducted into his hometown Coweta (Ga.) Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
As for the games, the Lady Panthers (3-12) ran into huge problems with the Westbrook press and gave up easy baskets. Dymond Myles got into early foul trouble and the home team fell behind 39-19 at the half and never recovered.
Myles did manage seven points in the first half, but that was her total for the game. Carlee Mullinax provided most of the offense in the second half with 10 of her game-high 12 points.
The Westbrook boys took advantage of the 18 additional free throws it made and having Wellborn’s three leading scorers on the bench most of the game. The Warriors were of 27 of 35 from the line – Chandler Richards was 19 of 22 in a 31-point night — while the Panthers were 9 of 18.
Dontavious Miller drilled five 3-pointers to keep the Panthers close down the stretch. Jordan Montgomery came back in and had a big third quarter with 11 of his game-high 16 points. Corri Tignor had 10 first-half points but only played limited minutes in the second half before fouling out. He ended with 13 points.
“It was a tough night on fouls again, but I was proud of the effort of the kids that were on the floor; they played great,” Winn said. “I was proud of Landon Machristie’s effort out there. He does not get many points but, man, is he a leader and does all the little things we need done. He is a team leader.”
BOYS GAMES
White Plains 80, Piedmont 50
WHITE PLAINS – The sixth-ranked Wildcats bounced back from their area loss at Saks by beating the Bulldogs by 30 for the second time this season.
Michael McGuirk scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the second quarter as the Wildcats pulled away from a one-point game to lead by15 at halftime.
But everyone seemed to have a big quarter for the Wildcats. Jerod Guthrie had a well-balanced 17 points, while Nathan Gilbert had nine of his 15 in the first quarter and Kevin Carr hit two 3-pointers and had eight of his 11 in the third.
“I thought Kevin Carr had one unbelievable third quarter,” Randall said. “He really played within himself. We challenged him to play fast without playing out of control.”
Parker 58, Anniston 57 (OT)
BIRMINGHAM – Anniston rallied from a 10-point deficit to force overtime, but the Thundering Herd hit a free throw with 0.7 seconds left in the extra period to win the game.
Tray Croft led the Bulldogs with 21 points, including three free throws late in regulation to send the game into overtime. DeQuan Ross added 12 points for Anniston, while Hakeem Ross had 11.
GIRLS GAMES
White Plains 46, Piedmont 36
WHITE PLAINS – The Wildcats have been looking for a victory they could hang onto as a benchmark this season and may have found it here.
They got balanced scoring and lockdown defense in the fourth quarter to beat a team seeded fourth in the upcoming Calhoun County Girls Tournament (the Wildcats are No. 10).
Amber Greenwood scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and Shelby Wood had six of her 12 in a 17-point fourth quarter that carried the Wildcats to victory.
“I thought we did a lot of really good things with a lot of young kids getting playing time, so that was very, very important for us,” White Plains coach Michael Merriman said.
The Wildcats trailed by three entering the fourth quarter, then outscored Piedmont 17-4, holding the Bulldogs to only one field goal – a 3-pointer by Breanna Brazier. Eighth-grader Halaya Harmon was credited with leading the fourth-quarter defensive effort.
“That’s the reason she’s up here,” Merriman said. “She’s an eighth-grader in her second year to ever play basketball, but she will lock you down. Shes in your face, and the thing about it is she does it in a way to where it’s not like she’s lunging after everything and getting out of position and all that. She does a great job of working hard, but working within what we tell her to do on the defensive end.”
Bre Green and Carlie Flowers did the bulk of Piedmont’s scoring, going for 16 points and 12, respectively.
Anniston 61, Parker 49
BIRMINGHAM – Raven Cooley had 21 points, Kiyana Bullock had a double-double and Carsheuna Curry again dominated the boards for the Bulldogs.
Bullock had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Curry had 13 boards. Cooley added five steals and four assists. Miajah Bullock had 16 points.
BOYS BOX SCORES
White Plains 80, Piedmont 50
PIEDMONT — Darnell Jackson 4 9-11 17, Taylor Hayes 1 3-7 9, Tyler Lusk 1 1-2 4, Easton Kirk 2 0-0 5, James Blanchard 0 0-1 1, Austin Brazier 4 4-5 12, C.J. Savage 2 2-3 6. Totals 14 19-29 50.
WHITE PLAINS (15-4) — Jerod Guthrie 6 3-6 17, Dillon Greenwood 0 0-0 0, Kevin Carr 4 0-0 11, Michael McGuirk 7 1-3 19, Jackson Guthrie 2 2-2 7, Quez Wyatt 0 0-0 0, Lawrence Jackson 1 0-0 2, Nathan Gilbert 7 1-1 15, Murphy Doss 3 1-2 7, Brett Beaver 0 0-1 0, Calvin Thornburg 1 0-0 2. Totals 31 8-15 80.
Piedmont 15 11 16 8 — 50
White Plains 16 25 25 14 — 80
3-point goals: Piedmont 3 (Jackson, Lusk, Kirk); White Plains 10 (Je. Guthrie 2, Carr 3, McGuirk 4, Ja. Guthrie). Total fouls: Piedmont 14, White Plains 23. Technical foul: Savage.
Westbrook Christian 68, Wellborn 61
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN (11-5) — Will Jones 0 0-0 0, Tyler Self 1 1-1 4, Kyle Edwards 2 4-6 8, Wil Appleton 1 0-0 2, Cameron Migliore 1 2-2 5, Enilo Smith 0 0-0 0, Jordan Kilgo 4 0-0 8, Chandler Richards 5 19-22 31, Braden Beacham 0 0-0 0, Kyle Leonard 3 1-3 7, Boo Shirley 1 0-1 3, Totals 18 27-35 68.
WELLBORN — Alquinarious Parker 0 0-0 0, Kendarious Weatherly 0 0-0 0, Kevin Mixon 0 1-2 1, Corri Tignor 5 3-6 13, Landon Machristie 1 2-4 4, Jordan Montgomery 6 1-2 16, Quandarious Moore 1 0-2 3, Dontavious Miller 5 0-0 15, Blake Hanson 3 2-2 9. Totals 21 9-18 61.
Westbrook Christian 21 12 22 13 — 68
Wellborn 16 16 18 11 — 61
3-point goals: Westbrook Christian 4 (Shirley, Richards, Migliore, Self); Wellborn 10 (Montgomery 3, Moore, Miller 5, Hanson). Fouled out: Tignor.
GIRLS BOX SCORES
White Plains 46, Piedmont 36
PIEDMONT — Paige Gowens 0 0-2 0, Sydney Prater 0 0-0 0, Breanna Brazier 2 3-7 8, Bre Green 4 8-12 16, Keshauna Jones 0 0-2 0, Lulo Jackson 0 0-0 0, Carlie Flowers 5 2-8 12, Kaitlyn Ridley 0 0-1 0. Totals 1113-32 36.
WHITE PLAINS (8-11) — Rian Chandler 0 0-0 0, Carley Wood 4 1-3 9, Hannah Barno 1 4-4 7, Korie Burgess 1 2-2 4, Ann Katherine Dothard 0 0-2 0, Chasity Nelson 0 0-0 0, Amber Greenwood 4 3-4 12, Grey Young 0 0-0 0, Shelby Wood 3 6-8 12, Landry Bussey 1 0-1 2, Mary Clare Young 0 0-0 0, Halaya Harmon 0 0-0 0, Jocelyn Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 16-22 46.
Piedmont 5 15 12 4 — 36
White Plains 8 12 9 17 — 46
3-point goals: Piedmont 1 (Brazier); White Plains 2 (Barno, Greenwood). Total fouls: Piedmont 21, White Plains 25.
Westbrook Christian 68, Wellborn 29
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN (5-13) – Anne Chambers 1 2-2 4, Grace Cockrell 1 0-0 2, Joran Justice 1 1-4 3, Olivia Lawley 5 2-3 12, Abby Lockridge 7 9-10 23, Anna O’Leary 2 0-0 4, Hannah Riggan 0 2-2 2, Chloe Saunders 3 2-2 8, Paige Williams 2 0-0 5, Grace Mayfield 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 18-23 67.
WELLBORN (3-12) — Dymond Myles 2 3-6 7, Carlee Mullinax 4 2-4 12, Valencia White 0 0-0 0, Anaya Lowe 1 0-4 2, Caitlin Gamble 2 0-0 6, Katie Hafley 0 0-0 0, Dynasty Myles 1 0-0 2, Jessica Cooper 0 0-0 0, Desirie Traylor 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Hubbard 0 0-3 0. Totals 10 5-17 29.
Westbrook Christian 12 27 16 12 — 67
Wellborn 7 12 7 3 — 29
3-point goals: Westbrook Christian 2 (Lockridge, Williams); Wellborn 4 (Gamble 2, Mullinax 2). Total fouls: Westbrook Christian 5, Wellborn 10.
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