WEST  D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

Rubin E. Grantpreps@al.com

The Wenonah Dragons entered this week with a 6-0 record, but these are not the same Dragons who “three-peated” as Class 5A champi-ons last season.

These Dragons lack height. They don’t have anyone close to 6-foot-11 center Artis Cleve-land, who’s at Oakland Univer-sity in Michigan, or even 6-6 forward De’Runnya “Bear” Wilson, the 2013 Alabama Mr. Basketball who’s at Mississippi State.

The tallest player in Weno-nah’s starting lineup this sea-son is 6-4 junior forward Juquan Nelson.

“This is the smallest team I’ve had in the last six years,” said Wenonah coach Cedric Lane, who’s in his 10th season. “We have Juquan and a couple of other 6-4 kids on the bench.

The Dragons have been compensating for their lack height with speed and quick-ness in the backcourt.

“We’re playing four guards at a time and one big,” Lane said. “We have a lot of speed and some guys who can really shoot the ball from the outside.

Of course, one of those guards is 5-foot-10 senior Justin Coleman, the top-rated player in Alabama and one of the top

guards in the nation. The Uni-versity of Alabama signee was averaging 34.6 points per game through six games and already had games in which he scored 53, 37 and 41 points.

Coleman’s 53-point effort came in a 108-58 victory over Carver-Birmingham in the sec-ond game of the season. He made 7 of 10 3-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws.

The 41-point performance came last Saturday as Weno-nah rallied from a 15-point deficit for an 85-80 win against Norcross (Ga.) at the Nike Explosion Classic in Wheeler, Ga.

“He’s really carrying us with his ability to score,” Lane said. “He’s averaging almost 35 points and doing it while being unselfish. When people start double-teaming him, he finds the open the man.”

Coleman and 5-9 senior Cedric McGinnis share point guard duties. McGinnis is aver-aging more than 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game.

“We don’t think anybody can check them one-on-one and that really opens up the floor for us,” Lane said. “They are good at creating their own shots and passing the ball.”

Marcus Williams, a 6-2 senior, and Kameron Hardrick, a 6-3 junior, are the Dragons’

other two starting guards. Wil-liams is averaging almost 13.0 points and Hardrick more than 8.0.

Nelson is holding his own inside. He scored 10 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the win over Norcross.

The Dragons have lit-tle depth, using mainly 6-3 senior Cedrequs Wright and 6-4 senior William Ellington off the bench.

“We hope to outshoot and outrun teams because we can’t outrebound them,” Lane said. “So far it’s working for us. We’re giving up a lot of points (65.0 ppg), but we’re scoring a lot of points (81.7 ppg), too.”

As three-time defending champs, the Dragons receive the other team’s best effort every time they step on the court. But that doesn’t put any added pressure on Wenonah.

“We’re used to it,” Lane said. “We plan on being undefeated, so nobody can put more pres-sure on us than we put on our-selves.”

Lane noted the Dragons have developed an irrepress-ible character early in the sea-son.

“They have a lot heart,” he said. “They’re resilient. We have been down at halftime the last four games and have come back to win. They really expect to win every game.”

some things about me that aren’t true but I can say it in such a way that sounds good. ... We want the facts to be dependable. We want real facts. We want to really know this is a person that can serve Pelham.”

The discussions continued at the board’s second meeting on Tuesday.

In addition to electing officers, the group last week decided on a permanent schedule for future meetings: 9 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month and 4 p.m. on the fourth Thursday.

With a dozen or so people in the audience at the City Hall

conference room, including past and present municipal leaders, each school board member during the hour-long meeting gave a short speech about serving on the inaugu-ral board.

“Like each of you, I’m here for two reasons: our com-munity and our children,” Rhoades said. “I have a lot of confidence in this group. We know we have a lot of chal-lenges ahead, but together we are going to do great things for the city and our children.”

Howell recalled talking with a teacher and a student who attended the reception for the new board following last Tues-day night’s council meeting, and he listened to “their con-cerns about what will happen in the community.”

“I think our first order of business is to dispel any fears and concerns and (assure) that everything is going to be fine,” he said.

Regan said she will give her time to serving on the board “without stopping.”

“Whatever I am able to do for the good of the students for their education, I am available for that,” she said. “It’s a plea-sure to do this.”

Long said he wants to see the community take an active role in the board’s endeavors.

“I am excited about being here. This is a great opportu-nity not for just our kids but I think our community as a whole,” he said. “I would like to see a lot more students and a lot more teachers involved” in the board’s activities.

SCHOOLS From Page 1W

Martin J. Reed mreed@al.com

The Shelby Humane Soci-ety’s Shelter Partners Program is selling Christmas orna-ments with each one rais-ing enough money to send a homeless dog from Shelby County to another state where the animal can find a quick adoption.

The Shelter Partners orga-nization founded in 2006 said it has the goal of moving dogs from Shelby County, where pet overpopulation exists, to less-crowded animal shelters in other states, especially in

the Northeast.The group noted that “the

success and enforcement of animal and spay and neu-ter laws and initiatives limit the number of pets available for adoption” in northern states.

Each ornament costs $60 and the money will sponsor the ability for a dog to travel to an animal shelter in states such as New Hampshire or Maine, where in many cases the pets find a home within a week, according to wthe group.

The organization consists of volunteers who drive the dogs

to the out-of-state shelters.Each ornament features a

photo of a dog from the Shelby Humane Society.

Go online to the group’s website at www.shelter- partners.org to find a list showing dozens of pictures of dogs awaiting transportation to find a permanent home.

Donors can browse the list of numerous dogs shown on the website with names including Pupcake and Bash-ful, and they can pick one that will benefit from the ornament purchase.

The website includes a Pay-pal option to donate online.

SHELBY

Humane Society raises funds to move dogs for adoption trict Attorney James Butler

prosecuted the case.Jefferson County Circuit

Judge David Carpenter issued an order Dec. 2 granting But-ler’s request to drop the case, court records show.

Two witnesses, both cousins of the victim, were expected to testify in the case. During the first trial, one cousin was in jail and the other was not. The one in jail appeared in court and

testified, but the other cousin agreed to testify, but did not show up in court.

Last week, the witness again failed to appear in court. Car-penter denied a request to con-tinue the case, so Butler moved to have it “nol prossed,” mean-ing he chose not to prosecute at this time.

“If the family of the victim decides to cooperate in the prosecution of this case, I will put the case on the grand jury,” Butler said.

The shooting happened May 19, 2010, outside a home

in the 600 block of 36th Ave-nue North.

Gaitor and two other men were standing in front of the house when a car pulled up next to them and someone inside opened fire. A gunfight ensued, but Gaitor was the only person shot.

Though police made an arrest that night, McCormick was charged about a week after the shooting.

Law enforcement officials said the two groups of men knew each other and had been involved in an ongoing dispute.

DROPPED From Page 1W

Year: SeniorSports: Football and soc-

cerAcademic highlights: Gib-

son has a 3.7 GPA and is an AP Scholar with Honors. He is a member of the National Honor Society, National Beta Club, Spanish Honor Soci-ety and Spanish Club. He is a member of Cross Point Baptist Church and has more than 40 volunteer hours at Baptist Medical Center with Dr. William Burkhalter in the field of orthopedic medicine.

Athletic highlights: This was Gibson’s first year play-ing football for the Shades Valley Mounties, as the place kicker and punter for the var-sity team. He has played soc-cer for three years at Shades

Valley as a center midfielder.Where do you see your aca-

demic future? I plan to go to a four-year university and then attend medical school to become an orthopedic physician.

Where do you see your ath-letic future? I will definitely play sports in college whether it is an intramural or colle-giate sport.

Favorite subject: History. I am intrigued by the way past traditions and cultures affect our lives today.

What is on your iPod? My favorite bands right now are the Cival Wars and Mumford and Sons. My favorite song is “Babel” by Mumford and Sons.

Shannon Seale Bottoms

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

GIBSON BOSWORTHJefferson County International Baccalaureate School

Three-peat Dragons sporting a new look

One thing that has remained constant for Wenonah has been the stellar play of senior guard Justin Coleman, dropping 53 points in a recent game. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

Wenonah players celebrate a three-peat after winning the Class 5A state championship at the BJCC in Birmingham on March. 1. (Hal Yeager/hyeager@al.com)

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4W z Wednesday, December 11, 2013 z The Birmingham News z AL.com