Bow to your new prep sports overlord: Tommy White Jr.

By David Morrison
High School Sports Reporter
Published: March 31, 2009

So I don’t know if you guys have been keeping up with Opelika/Auburn/Surrounding Areas high school sports over the past eight months or so, but if you have, you know that the serious-looking gentleman at the top of the page is Loachapoka’s Tommy White Jr..

If you didn’t, pay better attention, because the guy has been freakin’ everywhere.

He was the News’ pick for Defensive Player of the Year after football season. He was the ASWA’s pick for Class 1A boys Player of the Year in basketball. And now, with the unveiling of the O-A News’ All-Area boys basketball team, he is the paper’s boys Player of the Year.

And he hit the game-winning home run in Poka’s win over Bullock County last night, its first home game in three years.

No word yet on his progress with world hunger. But I’ll keep you posted…

White’s coach Terry Murph joined him as the News’ boys Coach of the Year for guiding the Indians to their first state title since 1997. So, yeah. If you picked up our sports page today, you saw a heckuva lot of red and white.

I guess it fits in with the paper’s new motto: “The Opelika-Auburn News - All Poka, All the Time.“ (Editor’s Note: This man does not represent the editorial direction of the paper and/or any past, pending, or future changes to the motto. Please disregard everything he says.)

Here’s the rest of the All-Area boys team. Pick up the paper and see it, too. Lots of pictures. Good ones. Ones not taken by me:

Player of the Year: Tommy White Jr., Sr., F, 6-1, Loachapoka.
Coach of the Year: Terry Murph, Loachapoka.

Small School First Team (2A-ICSGA)
Justin Minor, Sr., G, 6-0, Lyman Ward. Averaged 23.0 points for the 7-13 Rangers. Second-team All-State in the AISA.
Damien Carr, Jr., G, 5-10, Edward Bell. Averaged 19.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.7 steals for the 16-6 Bears. Honorable mention All-State in 1A.
White. Averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds for the state champion Indians. 1A boys player of the year; O-A News boys Player of the Year.
Jontavius Willis, Sr., G/F, 6-0, Loachapoka. Averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals for the state champion Indians. Second-team All-State in 1A.
Tank Huguley, Sr., F/C, 6-6, Lanett. Averaged 11.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks for the 18-11 Panthers.

Large School First Team (6A-3A)
Dominique Wilkerson, Sr., G, 5-9, Dadeville. Averaged 18.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists for the 13-14 Tigers. Honorable mention All-State in 3A.
Jason Webb, So., G, 6-3, Auburn. Averaged 15.2 points for the 16-14 Tigers.
Tay Calloway, Jr., G/F, 6-3, Opelika. Averaged 12.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the 19-9 Bulldogs.
Darren Daniel, Jr., G/F, 6-4, Central. Averaged 13.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the state semifinalist Red Devils.
Joseph Thompson, Sr., F, 6-4, Central. Averaged 16.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks for the state semifinalist Red Devils. Second-team All-State in 6A.

Small School Second Team
McKeldric Daniel, Sr., G, 5-8, Chambers Academy. 17 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.8 spg.
Marctavious Finley, Sr., G/F, 6-5, Lanett. 10.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.1 apg.
Kyle Hammock, Sr., F, 6-2, Ballard Christian. 19 ppg, 10 rpg, 3 apg, 2 bpg.
Quindravius Richardson, Jr., F, 6-2, Loachapoka. 11 ppg, 5 rpg, 3 apg, 4 spg.
L.C. Turner, Sr., F, 6-1, Edward Bell. 14.9 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 2.4 apg.

Large School Second Team
Marquiris Burton, Sr., G, 5-9, LaFayette. 15 ppg, 3 rpg, 3 apg.
Eric Dowell, Sr., G, 6-0, Beauregard. 16 ppg, 3 apg, 3 spg.
Tobius Ray, Sr., F, 6-2, LaFayette. 16 ppg, 7 rpg.
A.J. Williams, Jr., G, 6-0, Smiths Station. 15 ppg, 5 rpg, 7 apg, 4 spg.
Michael Willis, Jr., F, 6-4, Auburn 14 ppg, 8 rpg.

And, because I always give the people more than they asked for, want and can even tolerate, here is how the team would have looked if we hadn’t broken it into large and small.

First Team
Calloway, Opelika.
Thompson, Central.
White, Loachapoka.
Wilkerson, Dadeville.
Willis, Loachapoka.

Second Team
Carr, Edward Bell.
Daniel, Central.
Minor, Lyman Ward.
Ray, LaFayette.
Webb, Auburn.

Third Team
Burton, LaFayette.
Huguley, Lanett.
Turner, Edward Bell.
Williams, Smiths Station.
Willis, Auburn.

So that should do us for basketball for this season. Unless Andrew Gribble and I can finally find a time to throw down at the rec center. We’re charging admission. It’ll be great.