Ronald Reagan was president, the Space Shuttle Challenger made its maiden voyage, and the hit television show M*A*S*H* was in its final season the last time a Russellville High School basketball player was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s all-state first team.
Back in 1983 then-senior Luther Tiggs was named to the ASWA all-state first team in Class 3A. Though there have been many Golden Tigers picked for the second team and received honorable mentions since then, none have been chosen as among the best of the best in the state—until now.
On March 16, junior guard EJ King was selected among the best five players in Class 5A when the ASWA released its all-state teams.
“It feels great,” King said. “I gave it my all all season. I’m still kind of sad that we didn’t make it too far (in the playoffs), but I am glad that I got all-state.”
The players were picked by the ASWA prep committee with assistance from coach nominations. Russellville head coach Patrick Odom certainly believed King was worthy.
“It’s a great honor and a well-deserved honor if you look at the season (King) had. There’s no way you can question it’s deserved,” Odom said. “When you look at the players picked around him, they're some of the best players in the state. It just solidifies what type of player he is. We know it, we get to see it every day, so it’s great to see him get the recognition he deserves.”
With his sneaky good performances, King helped lead the Golden Tigers to a 17-9 overall record and a fourth consecutive area title this past season.
“A lot of guys have a lot of shots, a lot of volume, but EJ is such an efficient player that he has big games in a very quiet way,” Odom said. “We’ll think he has 17 or 20 points and then look at the book and he’s got 28 or 30 because of how he does it. It’s just a steady approach.”
It was another banner year, but Russellville was knocked out of the playoffs following a 74-43 loss to Ramsay in the northwest regional. This led King to think he may have been overlooked by the committee.
“I wasn’t thinking that I would get it just because we lost in the first round at Wallace. I was thinking I was out of it,” King said.
Sometimes players are hurt in the contest for individual awards when a team result doesn’t go their way, but Odom said King’s been seen and his talent speaks for itself.
“I think playing in the regional has given him some statewide exposure and if you look at the northwest region…and the state rankings, two-thirds of the teams in this region are ranked, so we’re competing against some really good teams,” Odom said. “If you look at our schedule this year, it wasn’t like he was playing against a lack of competition. He was playing against some of the best, so putting up the kind of performances he did this year and play at the level he played against those teams, I think it has earned him a lot of respect.”
King was the first Golden Tiger first team all-state player since 1983, but you have to go back even longer, back to Tommy Bonds in 1973, to find a non-senior player earning all-state honors. Luckily for Russellville, King has one more season left in the black and gold and Odom is happy to have him around.
“(King) is a quiet guy but he’s a leader in how hard he works. No one outworks him,” Odom said. “He’s just a steady presence for our team and that rubs off on everyone else.”
“We’re proud of his basketball, but he’s an even better kid than he is a basketball player, and that tells you what type of young man he is,” Odom added.
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