Eddie Murphree approached his basketball team just before practice last week with a bit of news.
As the Athens High coach made his way into the locker room, he took with him a copy of the newspaper with the latest Alabama Sportswriters Association's basketball rankings. What the girls saw was Class 5A, Area 16 opponents Russellville (3-0) at the No. 6 spot and Muscle Shoals (5-2) at No. 8. His Lady Golden Eagles dropped one spot from the previous week to No. 10.
It was news that didn't set well with most of the team, including senior Ashley Jackson. But she, along with her teammates doesn't seem to mind the role they've been given.
“We didn't take it too lightly,” Jackson said. “But we like being underdogs. It gives us a chance to prove ourselves. Coach Murphree showed it to us and just told us we needed to show everybody what we could do.”
The Lady Golden Eagles are served a constant reminder of team tradition. Jackson said the trophy cases just outside the locker room and pictures that hang inside the school gym are motivational tools.
“It's a bit of pressure trying to maintain that winning tradition, but a motivation at the same time,” Jackson said. “We've made it over the hump, now we just have to take it one step farther.”
According to Murphree, a lot of their recent success is due to positive upbringings.
“The good Lord has blessed this program with good kids,” Murphree said. “These kids come from homes with good folks and they sacrifice a lot of stuff to keep this program going. When I took over as head coach, I inherited a strong program and it's extremely hard to maintain a winning level, but through the years, these girls have handled the pressure well. As long as you have kids with good character, the wins and losses will take care of themselves.”
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Keeping the winning tradition alive
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