In what was widely regarded as a strong year for boys basketball in northwest Alabama, only four players from the Shoals and the surrounding area received All-State honors from the Alabama Sports Writers Association—and two of those call Franklin County home.
Russellville’s Bailey Motes was a second-team selection in Class 5A, and Belgreen’s Mason Bragwell earned honorable mention from the ASWA in Class 1A.
Motes, a 6’0 senior who averaged a county-best 19.4 points per game this season, is the first Golden Tiger to be named All-State since another high-scoring guard, Will Bostick, received honorable mention in 2012. In his only season at Russellville, Motes poured in the points at a prolific rate, putting up 30-plus on three occasions and posting ten other games with at least 20. He was especially potent at home in the RMS gym, where he averaged 22.1 points in 13 games, and in area play (21.8 points in eight games, postseason tournament included).
A relentless driver and slasher who thrived in coach Patrick Odom’s up-tempo attack, Motes also knocked down 25 threes on the year and shot a solid 66 percent (143-for-218) from the foul line. He averaged 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, helping the Golden Tigers go from 11-16 the previous year to 18-8 this season.
On January 20, Motes scored 16 of his game-high 32 points in the first quarter, sparking a rout of East Limestone and helping Russellville wrap up its first regular-season area championship in six years. Three weeks later, he went 13-for-16 from the foul line and finished with 27 points as the Golden Tigers edged the Indians 83-81 to claim their second straight area tournament title.
Motes’ high school career (during which he scored 1,900 points in four seasons at the varsity level) has reached its end, but Bragwell’s is only halfway home. The versatile and talented 6’6 sophomore broke out in a big way this season, scoring 500 points on the nose and averaging a career-high 16.1 points per game.
Already possessed of excellent footwork, an array of polished post moves and the ability to finish at the rim with either hand, Bragwell shot 62 percent from two-point range this season. He also showed off a sweet stroke, knocking down 14 threes and shooting a county-best 77 percent (94-for-122) from the foul line.
Bragwell was as consistent as they come, scoring in double-figures in each of Belgreen’s last 29 games and topping the 20-point mark eight times. He shot 58 percent from the floor overall, averaging 6.8 rebounds and also impacting the game defensively with 39 blocks and 28 steals on the season. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a 22-9 record, a county tournament title, area championships in both the regular season and postseason, and a berth in the Northwest Regional.
Bragwell will enter next season with 726 points scored at the varsity level.
Other local players to receive All-State honors from the ASWA were Sheffield senior forward Malik Smith, a third-team selection in Class 2A, and Winfield senior guard Payton Stovall, a second-team choice in Class 4A.
In Class 1A, South Lamar’s Chris Tucker was named Coach of the Year. Tucker’s Stallions beat Belgreen 87-73 in the regional semifinals and then won two more games before falling to Sacred Heart in the state championship game. South Lamar had two All-State selections, both juniors: 6’5 center Malik Cox on the first team and 6’1 junior guard Chase Gore on the third team.
In Class 5A, Lee-Huntsville, the team that ended Russellville’s season with an 89-49 win in sub-regional play, had two players named All-State. Kobe Brown, a 6’6 sophomore guard, was a first-team selection, and 6’2 senior guard Malik Burnett received third-team honors.
Mae Jemison star John Petty, a 6’5 senior guard and an Alabama signee, was a first-team selection in Class 5A for the third straight season.
