By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

Spring Garden senior forward John Welsh remembers the days when the Panthers battled Sacred Heart on the court in the postseason. The Panthers had their hearts broken by the Cardinals in either area tournament or regional play years before he would come onto the varsity scene.

“I remember being in third, fourth and fifth grade watching (Assistant) Coach (Draevan) Bowman play, and it just broke my heart because I didn’t want to feel what they felt,” Welsh said. “They laid a foundation down for us. We watched how they worked, how they handled situations in games.”

Welsh and his teammates did their best to help carry on Spring Garden’s rich basketball tradition. This past season, the Panthers posted 29 straight wins, but like some of those teams Welsh remembered before him, their season also ended in heartbreak in Class 1A sub-regional action against Skyline, 67-58 in double overtime. Spring Garden’s season ended at 29-1.

It’s a loss that still stings, but in no way did it diminish what the Panthers accomplished.

“Hoover was the only one who was undefeated this year, and we were undefeated in the regular season,” Welsh said. “That doesn’t happen a lot just anywhere. It might happen here for the girls, but it’s still not something that happens often. We played one game at a time and got it done most of the time. I hope the younger kids watched us and saw how we handled it.”

It remains to be seen who the next John Welsh will be, but whoever it is, they’ll have some big shoes to fill. He posted 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block per contest last season.

A first-team all-state performer, Welsh is also a finalist for the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 1A Player of the Year, which will be announced in Montgomery on April 17.

Another honor Welsh recently received is the Cherokee County boys basketball coaches’ Most Valuable Player. It’s the second straight year Welsh has received that award.

“I might be the MVP, but it’s not just me. It’s my teammates, my community and my coaches. They’re putting in the plays, calling the plays. It’s everybody put together,” Welsh said.

“You can’t get this honor if you’re one-dimensional, if you’re someone who doesn’t put in the work behind the scenes across multiple seasons,” Spring Garden boys coach Levi Hatcher said. “You’ve got a guy who can play offense, who works his tail off, can handle the ball inside and outside, but he also works equally as hard on the defensive side. He buys into what we want as a program. That presence is going to be missed, but hopefully some of the younger guys have seen that work ethic from him and the other seniors.”

Speaking of those other seniors, Welsh is joined on the all-county team with twin brother and center Jacob Welsh, forward Connor Bates, and senior guard Jaylen Brown.

Senior guard Noah Barber rounded out the Panthers’ starting five last season.

John Welsh said the 2024-25 Panthers’ success can be traced back to when they played youth ball (6-and-under).

“Ace (Austin) and Maggie (Jarrett) were also on our team,” he recalled. “The only new one was JB (Jaylen Brown), but we played against him some. I’ve played pickup ball with him. We’ve been all over the place with each other.”

That strong bond the Panthers built on the court when they were younger carried over to when they played on varsity, particularly last season.

“I remember when we finished our last scrimmage in the summer, Draevan and I left and we looked at each other and said this is a legit contending team,” Hatcher said.

“It’s just kind of second nature. You know where somebody is going to be on the court, you know what you’re going to get. We had that coming back. Our main unit this year had been big contributors the past two years. We knew going into the season we were going to have a shot, but we knew we were going to have a tough road because of who our (postseason) crosses would be.”

John Welsh gave special credit to his 6-foot-7 twin Jacob for his success on the court.

“I’d say the majority of my points, probably more than half, were assists from him,” he said. “It comes from when we were little. We’d be playing outside. It would be snowing or tornadoes coming, and we’d still be outside playing basketball with each other. My mom (Ann Welsh) would be getting on to us, screaming at us to come in, but we didn’t care. We just wanted to play.”

No doubt, those backyard basketball sessions between the Welshes helped them, but John Welsh also appreciated the roles the other Panthers played as well.

“Noah can shoot it. Jaylen can shoot it. Connor can shoot it. If they’re worried about them, then it opens it up for me to score. If they’re worried about me, then it opens it up for them to score. It all works well together.”

Jacob Welsh averaged 14 points, 12 boards, three assists, two blocks and a steal per game last season. Bates came away with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Brown tallied eight points, five assists, four boards and two steals.

Each of the seniors’ presence will be missed, and not just on the court, Hatcher said.

“Those guys, everything they’ve done, every way they could elevate the school and the community, they’ve done that,” Hatcher said. “They’re leaving some big shoes to fill, but they have also shown and helped lead other guys. Hopefully they can pass that on, the leadership they’ve shown.”

Selected on the all-county team from Sand Rock is sophomore guard Tyde Traffanstedt, senior forward Cam Gifford, junior forward Will Cleere and sophomore guard Jonas Browder.

Traffanstedt tallied 18 points, four boards, three assists and a steal per contest. Gifford gained nine points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Cleere collected 12 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. Browder managed eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Chosen from Cherokee County is senior guard Reid Jacoway, eighth grade guard Tatum Perry and senior forward Jayquan Diamond.

Jacoway managed 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals per game. Perry posted 16 points, six boards, four assists and three steals.  Diamond delivered 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Representing Cedar Bluff is senior center Isaac Bishop, freshman guard Shon Gleen and junior guard Kuper Bradley.

Bishop averaged six points, seven rebounds, three blocks, an assist and a steal per contest. Gleen gained 17 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Bradley tallied nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Selected from Gaylesville is senior forward Collin Hendon. Hendon collected 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists per contest.