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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

When the Briarwood Christian Lions met a quick end to last year’s postseason run at the hands of Pelham in the Class 6A, Area 8 semifinals, the team was disappointed with the way their season ended.

However, that disappointment quickly turned to optimism as the Lions turned the page to the 2024-25 season.

“Our season started when Pelham ripped our hearts out in the area tournament after sweeping them in the regular season,” Briarwood coach Jeremy Mears said. “And in my mind, the way I was able to cope with that was, ‘Hey, I’m focused on the new year and the next year.’”

That new year has now arrived, and Briarwood has plenty to build off from Mears’ inaugural campaign at the helm, including the return of star guards Drew Mears and Eli Stubbs and perennial post presence Garrett Witherington along with a move down to Class 5A.

“We are really excited about our upcoming year, and when you return your top three scorers, you return your best on-ball defender, you return your leading rebounder, the expectations are a little bit higher,” Jeremy said. “The drop down to 5A, although challenging, it will be a little bit different for our guys and we’re looking forward to those new challenges in 5A, but yeah, it’s going to be different than 6A ball for sure.”

Another key benefit from so many returning stars is having chemistry right when the season starts.

Stubbs and his teammates agreed that their bond is one of their strengths and something that they continue to build through being together on and off the court.

“I love the friendships and the team building that we have,” Stubbs said. “The chemistry that we have is really good and the practices are fun.”

That doesn’t mean Briarwood will be the exact same as last year, especially after losing seven seniors from last year’s side.

The Lions have multiple newcomers who the coaching staff believes are primed for breakouts, including the 6-foot-4 Zeke Witt moving up from JV and the 6-foot-7 Brayden Robertson.

Robertson in particular is a transformative addition. While he hasn’t played basketball in multiple years, he brings the same athleticism he showed on the football field to the post and protect the rim.

That will take a lot of the load off Witherington while also allowing the offense to evolve to take advantage of having multiple big men.

“It’s been really nice, getting help and also being able to throw it up to somebody else in the post has been nice,” Witherington said about Robertson.

Defense continues to be a focus of improvement for both Drew and Stubbs, but the coaches want to continue to evolve the offense to take advantage of Drew’s shooting threat.

Drew earned Class 6A All-State Third Team and All-County First Team honors last season thanks to his lights-out shooting form. He broke the Briarwood records for most points and 3-pointers in a single season while averaging 23.6 points per game, the most in the county.

With defenses needing to devote multiple defenders to stopping Drew, the team hopes to utilize that to their advantage by getting the ball out to open shooters while improving their pace and spacing.

“We’ve got a unique privilege, the way that Drew’s able to break defenses down and people will be focusing on him a lot more this season, and so it’s going to open up things on the perimeter for guys like Eli and others who can shoot the ball really well, and I think it will open up things for Garrett, Brayden and Zeke on the inside at the same time,” Jeremy said. “It’s hard to really focus on one kid on our team, but man, when you have to focus in on your point guard and really help and engage two defenders, it will open up things for our other guys.”

Another one of their big areas of improvement that they are focusing on its getting the most out of each possession.

Jeremy said that boils down to working hard, remaining sharp and sticking to assignments, something that not only he has stressed to his players but also sought to work on as a second-year head coach.

“If I can help us to focus each and every possession, it’s going to help us maximize as a team,” Jeremy said. “I think there were times in the year that we would kind of take possessions off, not that not playing hard, but just that focus, that mental focus, me doing my job, being in the right place at the right time, and that falls back on me and getting us to be a little more aggressive and tough mentally and physically. So, those are some things I think we can improve upon. We are going to focus on those things, and I think they can reap big benefits for us.”

Those benefits could well come in a drop down to Class 5A, but the road to the postseason will be paved with new and unique challenges.

Both Sylacauga and Shelby County are entering the season with new coaches, and the Aggies in particular have continuity in their backcourt from last season.

However, the biggest challenge may come in the form of lengthy road trips down to Sylacuaga and to Lineville, the latter to face reigning undefeated area champions Central-Clay County, which returns eight of its 10 players from last season.

The coaching staff is looking forward to seeing how the players overcome that adversity of a unique area, but for the Lions, challenges are nothing new.

With a core forged in the fires of Class 6A and another difficult schedule on the docket for the run up to area play, Drew believes this team will have the experience to handle those big time moments and make some noise this season.

“We know what it feels like to play against the good competition,” Drew said. “We got a pretty tough schedule this year. So, I think we’ll be ready to handle the pressure, and we know what it’s like playing under pressure.”