Demarcus Dowdell

The left-handed Dowdell said playing in pick-up games is what helped him learn to drive to the basket with his right hand this year, which helped him to a 23 points-per-game average and a single-game high 50 points against Chilton County in December.

“On the outside, you’re playing family and friends and they know your game. It’s kind of hard to do what you want to do, so you’ve got to try new things,” Dowdell said. “But in here, people don’t know that much about you so you can do what you want to do. It’s much easier than it is out there.”

It was Dowdell’s maturity on the park court and increased defense that helped him lead a Calera starting lineup of two sophomores and two freshman to a 26-5 record. The pick-up games helped Gentry’s average of five steals, 3.7 assists and 16 points per game.