By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

CEDAR BLUFF – Johnny Amison remembers the days when Cedar Bluff boys basketball was a nightmare for opponents to prepare. He wants the Tigers to return back to those glory days.

Amison, a 2000 Cedar Bluff graduate and longtime assistant under former head coach Joe Carpenter, is returning to guide his alma mater as head coach this season. He spent 13 seasons as an assistant with both the Tiger boys and girls basketball programs until he was hired at Gaston in July of 2020.

While at Cedar Bluff as an assistant under Carpenter, Amison helped the Tiger boys earn back-to-back Class 1A state tournament appearances in 2011 and 2012. He also helped the Lady Tigers earn a spot in the Final Four in 2013.

The two seasons away from Cedar Bluff gave him a different perspective on things, but he’s glad to have the chance to coach back at home again.

“My focus this year is more about our culture and getting this right together,” he said. “The talent is there, but you’ve got to have your culture right and you’ve got to do things the right way if you want to be successful at a high level. I think if we can get that right then the sky’s the limit for these guys.

“We just want to get our swagger back a little bit. I remember some years ago where people hated to play Cedar Bluff. Those were the good days. That’s what I want us to get back to. I want people to not want to play us. We had some good runs and very good players, and these guys are capable of doing the same things. It’s just putting the work in.”

Amison isn’t the only one to be excited to be back at Cedar Bluff. The players are as well.

“Excited is not even the word,” senior point guard Bucky Leek said. “You’ve just got to see it. It feels good, really good.”

Leek is one of four starters and six seniors the Tigers return from last season’s 12-14 team. Forwards Dylan Kinard and Caleb Tucker, and guards Aden Green, Kade Browning and Austin Richardson are the other Tiger seniors.

Juniors include guards Michael Adams, Eli McFry, Jaydon Ware and forward Carter Dillingham. Sophomores are guards Dakota Langley, Hunter Stallings, Hunter Jenkins, Lathan Hoskey, and forward Isaac Bishop.

“I just like this group. That’s why I’m so excited to be back,” Amison said. “They’ve played a lot together. They’re a good bunch of kids to coach. I’m just happy to be with them.”

One thing Amison has noticed about the Tigers is how resilient they are. They went through several head coaches last season for various reasons and still proved competitive.

Even during the summer just before he came back on board.

“In the summer I wasn’t with them a lot. We have a really good principal in Coach (Torey) McDaniel that took them this summer. I got hired in really late, but I was fortunate to see some of their games this summer. They played really well. They had so much adversity in basketball last year, with people coming in and going out. This summer was the same thing. Coach McDaniel took them under his wing and they responded to him and played really well. When you’re going through all that and can still play at a high level, it says a lot about the kids. It’s just who they are. They’re great kids.”

Amison knows it isn’t going to be an easy task of returning the Tigers back to prominence. They have a tough schedule, beginning with Class 4A Cleburne County at home on Friday evening. They compete in Class 1A, Area 12 with Coosa Christian, Gaylesville, Jacksonville Christian and Spring Garden.

“We’re going to have to fight for every game,” Amison said. “JCA is going to be tough. With them you never really know what they’re going to have. They find players from everywhere and they usually can play. It’s tough going there and winning at their place. Gaylesville is going to be tough. We know a lot of them because a lot of them play for us at some point. They can shoot, run and all that stuff. We know what Spring Garden is. That’s all you’ve got to say about them. Coosa Christian should be pretty decent this year too. They’ll be athletic.

“We’re just going to go back to the way it used to be, where we play fast, play hard, and we’re scrappy. We’re trying to get to the free-throw line, make free throws and layups and play good defense. If we can do that I feel like we can play with anybody.”