Spring Garden’s Austin, Piedmont’s Odam honored for basketball seasons by ASWA

Ace Austin, center, poses outside the Montgomery Renaissance with parents Dana and Ricky Austin following the Alabama Sports Writers Association Basketball Player of Year banquet on Thursday. Photo by Shannon Fagan.

MONTGOMERY – Ace Austin’s future is a bright one.

To put things in perspective on how talented a basketball player the freshman point guard is, one only needs to look at Thursday’s Alabama Sports Writers Association Basketball Player of the Year banquet.

Austin was the only freshman finalist – girl or boy – at Thursday’s banquet, held at Montgomery’s Renaissance. Her competition in the Class 2A girls’ category was Pisgah senior forward Molly Heard and St. Luke’s senior guard Iamunique Bowie.

Heard won the 2A Girls Player of the Year after averaging 21.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists three steals and 2.4 blocks for the five-time defending state champion Lady Eagles (33-3). Austin averaged 14.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 3.3 steals for the Lady Panthers (31-2) last season.

Just like all the other honors she’s received in her young career, Austin was humbled being among the state’s best basketball players and adding to Spring Garden’s legacy of great players on the state capital stage on Thursday.

“It is an honor to be able to come here at such a young age,” she said. “(Former Spring Garden point guard) Paige (Anderson McDonald) came here. I’m not so sure how old she was, but to be able to come here and just represent the Spring Garden community is an honor. I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates, coaches, family, just the people pushing me to be where I am.”

“When they started reading off the numbers and how kids are nominated for this and how it’s trickled down to these final ones, it puts things in a different perspective,” Austin’s father and head coach Ricky Austin said. “As a dad, obviously I’m very proud. I know the hours she puts in. I know what goes on after the basketball hours. She’s earned this.

“On the other side of it as a coach, I’m just proud for our program. I’m proud for us to continue to be recognized throughout the state. You take a kid as young as Ace and you accomplish things like this, you feel good for your program. It helps your program have a stronger foundation. It’s something to keep building on.”

Both Austins know the type players Heard and Bowie are. They’ve played against them both deep in the postseason before. They played against Heard the past two seasons in the Northeast Regional finals, and against Bowie in the 2020 1A title game.

“I knew whoever won it, they were good players too,” Ace Austin said. “When we played the St. Luke’s girl, she was a tough one to go against and Molly is too. Those are probably two of the best players I’ve played against in my career.”

“Just to be in the same conversation as Molly Heard and Iamunique Bowie, that’s elite competition,” Ricky Austin said. “Having coached against both of those girls, it’s well deserved for them to be here. Molly winning it, in my opinion, she’s as good as anybody in the state. Her numbers back it up.

“I don’t see anything but great things out of all three of them. Going forward with Molly and Iamunique, you’re about to see how good they really are when they get into their college careers. I do think their window is still open. They’ve carried their schools and I think they’re going to have a big hand in carrying their college programs too.”

The WEIS radio coverage area also had one other honoree at Thursday’s banquet: Piedmont junior point guard Alex Odam.

Odam averaged 25.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.5 steals for the Bulldogs (21-8) last season.

The other two Class 3A boys finalists were Plainview senior guard Cole Millican and Winfield’s Ja’borri McGhee. Millican won the 3A boys honor after averaging 18.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a steal for the state champion Bears (29-6). Plainview defeated Winfield for its third basketball state title in five years.

“It means a lot just to be here, especially against those guys,” Odam said. “They’re really tough competitors. I’ve played against both of them. I can’t say enough about both of those guys. Both of their teams made it really far, so both of them are very deserving. Both of them do what it takes to win. I think we all do. This shows why we were here.”

Hazel Green’s Samiya Steele and McGill-Toolen’s Barry Dunning Jr. won the top high school basketball awards Thursday.

Dunning was named Mr. Basketball and Steele was named Miss Basketball.

Steele averaged 17.3 points for the Trojans, who finished 35-0 and won a fifth straight Class 6A championship. The 5-foot-8 guard, a two-time All-State player, is an Alabama State signee.

Dunning posted averages of 25.3 points and 12.9 rebounds, helping the Yellow Jackets to a 30-5 season and a Class 6A semifinal berth. The 6-foot-6 forward is a three-time All-State player who has signed with Arkansas.

A list of Thursday’s winners is listed below.

MISS BASKETBALL
Samiya Steele, Hazel Green

MR. BASKETBALL
Barry Dunning Jr., McGill-Toolen

SUPER ALL-STATE
(top 5 players regardless of classification)

GIRLS
Samiya Steele, Hazel Green
Reniya Kelly, Hoover
Molly Heard, Pisgah
Emma Kate Tittle, Deshler
Aniya Hubbard, Hoover

BOYS
Barry Dunning Jr., McGill-Toolen
Labaron Philon, Baker
Martavious Russell, Sipsey Valley
Antonio Kite, Anniston
Anthony Johnson, Midfield

CLASS PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
GIRLS
7A: Reniya Kelly, Hoover
6A: Samiya Steele, Hazel Green
5A: Olivia Vandergriff, Guntersville
4A: Emma Kate Tittle, Deshler
3A: Ella Jane Connell, Prattville Christian
2A: Molly Heard, Pisgah
1A: Timya Thurman, Linden
AISA: Jasmyn Burts, Glenwood

BOYS
7A: Labaron Philon, Baker
6A: Barry Dunning Jr., McGill-Toolen
5A: Martavious Russell, Sipsey Valley
4A: Antonio Kite, Anniston
3A: Cole Millican, Plainview
2A: Anthony Johnson, Midfield
1A: Will Bonner, Belgreen
AISA: Robert Rose, Autauga Academy

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