AISA TOURNEY: Undefeated Autauga Academy looks to end rough playoff stretch

Joshua Palmer leads the undefeated Autauga Academy Generals into the AISA Class AA quarterfinals Wednesday against Lowndes Academy. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

PRATTVILLE -- The Autauga Academy football team is a hard act to follow, but the boy’s basketball team is making a run at it.

The Generals’ football team finished the 2021 season unbeaten at 13-0 after winning the Class AA state championship. The basketball team finished the 2022 regular season unbeaten at 15-0 and is just three wins away from duplicating the football team’s performance.

But as the basketball team has found out so many times in the last few years, those last few steps are the hardest.

Autauga has reached the semifinals in each of the last seven years, including last year, a stretch that includes four consecutive runner-up finishes prior to last season.

“It’s going to be something we’re going to have to do,” Autauga coach William Turner said. “We’ve got to do it this year and get the proverbial monkey off our backs because we’ve been the team that has competed every year, just couldn’t quite get over the top.

“But it’s about defense. There’s an old cliche ‘defense wins championships,’ but they’ve bought in and you can recognize it in our days where we go 3 of 24 from the 3-point line but are still winning those games by 30 points because the other team simply isn’t scoring.”

Autauga opens play in the AA state tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against Lowndes on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

The Generals have done it with returning talent, an infusion of new talent that includes high-scoring guard Robert Rose and a new coach in Turner, a former assistant who waited his turn.

“It’s probably about where I thought we would be,” Turner said. “I’m not sure we’d be completely undefeated. That’s a shock, to be the only undefeated boys’ team left in the state, but I knew the talent we would have.

“We had AJ (Perry) coming back, who was a really talented player on last year’s team; Josh Palmer coming back, who was a very talented player on last year’s team; and Deuhn (Carroll) is back. You put the two guards on there with the rest of the talent we had and I knew we had the chance to be really special.”

They have been to this point, reeling off 15 wins that includes a tough battle at home in the last week of the regular season to defending AAA state champion Pike Liberal Arts.

“It’s very special where we’re at, but without the coaches it wouldn’t be like this, getting all the pieces they needed to put us where we needed to be at and all the players jelling in,” Rose said. “It was rough at the beginning but we started getting along with each other and during the practices we had. Jelling together really brought everybody together. Playing in the game, getting our chemistry together, really got us where we are today.”

Turner doesn’t take much credit. He insists the team chemisty was built during the football season. 

“It’s about the kids,” he said. “That bonding experience had already happened so I was kind of in a luxurious position. It kind of carried over into basketball season, their love for each other, their pushing each other and holding each other accountable.” 

But while Rose is a prolific scorer with the ball in his hands, the Generals’ senior floor leader, taking a cue from his coach, credits his team’s defense for Autauga’s success. 

“We like to push the pace, get up and down the floor,” Rose said. “We’re athletes and defense is where it starts. Defense is our main purpose because without defense, we’re never going to win the game.”

This is Rose’s first year on the team, but he’s heard of Autauga’s past struggles in the state tournament.

“Nobody can stop us with our defense,” he said. “Bringing a state championship home to Autauga Academy will be very special.”

But the past runner-up finishes won’t make a championship in basketball more special than one in football, he said. 

“Just winning is special,” he said. “A state championship is the biggest stage in any high school moment.”  

AISA TUESDAY SCHEDULE - CLASS A Quarterfinals

Multiplex at Cramton Bowl 

GIRLS

Evangel Christian vs. Heritage Christian, 9 a.m.

Restoration Academy vs. Snook Christian, noon

Pickens Academy vs. Abbeville Christian, 3 p.m.

Jackson Academy vs. Banks Academy, 6 p.m.

BOYS

Evangel Christian vs. Banks Academy, 10:30 a.m.

Restoration Academy vs. Meadowview Christian, 1:30 p.m.

Heritage Christian vs. Abbeville Christian, 4:30 p.m.

Jackson Academy vs. Coosa Valley Academy, 7:30 p.m.