Lee-Scott Academy Wins Alabama Independent School Associations Title for Boys and Girls!
Lee-Scott Academy Coach Chad Prewett had just a few moments to enjoy winning the Alabama Independent School Association's (AISA) state girls basketball title in mid-February.
There was still something left undone.
Prewett is one of those rare prep coaches in America that leads the boys and girls basketball programs at one school.
So after winning the third girls championship in four years—a 53-48 overtime victory against Wilcox—Prewett shifted his focus to the boys title game.
It was the fourth consecutive season that Lee-Scott had reached the AISA's Boys Final Four. Last year Lee-Scott lost to Prattville Christian in the championship game, the very opponent the Warriors again faced in the 2012 finals.
"As happy we were last year to win the girls state title, our girls were crushed when our guys didn't win," Prewett said. "That says a lot about our girls."
With the girls team rooting on the boys, history was made as the Warriors prevailed with a 52-47 victory. Coach Prewett applied a full-court press to start the fourth quarter and the move proved to be key.
Lee-Scott scored 10 of the first 12 points of the quarter to secure a 44-40 advantage. With the score tied at 44 with 2:29 remaining, another steal off the press gave the Warriors the lead for good.
"I was really happy for our boys," Prewett said. "They paid their dues and the win was worth the wait."
Both teams finished the season with a 30-3 record.
Amazingly, this was not the first time Prewett had won two state championships in the same season. He led Escambia Academy to the boys and girls titles in 2004 and thus becoming the first coach in AISA history to win both championships on the same day.
Prewett wonders if the boys team would have garnered the same result without the Noah System, which arrived at the school in January, just before the homestretch of the season.
"Us being from Alabama, where Noah is headquartered, I had heard a lot about Noah," Prewett said. "Four years ago, I spoke with John Carter (Noah Basketball CEO), and he came to do a free clinic. I really liked it and thought it could help us. But at the time, we couldn't afford it. Then I ran into a friend who went to college with John. We talked about Noah, and he offered to donate a system to our school. I was super excited."
Carter visited Lee-Scott again for another free clinic. One of the issues that concerned Prewett was where to store the Noah Select System. Carter had a solution.
"Storage is tight, but when John told us we could hang the Noah Instant on the wall and never have to worry about it, I was sold," Prewett said. "Noah is in our gym right now and turned on. It's July and I'm pretty sure someone is in there using it."
The timing was even better. Lee-Scott was in the midst of preparing for a long playoff run. Noah dramatically helped improve the team's shooting.
"That time of year, coaches are looking for an edge," Prewett said. "Our boys team had lost in the Final Four three years in a row. We've been there so many times only to be disappointed at the end. People ask what Noah did for us. It didn't shoot the ball, but it sure gave us confidence."
One player who benefitted greatly was MarQuen Mitchell, who earned MVP honors for the state tournament. Mitchell transformed from a 40 percent free throw shooter to over 70 percent in a very short period of time.
Prewett said he had search for something to help improve Mitchell's shooting. He found the solution in Noah.
"The biggest thing I thought was that Noah helped our kids understand their shot a little better," Prewett said. "They understood the mechanics and the science of a shot. This understanding helped them fix whatever they were struggling with."
Prewett came to Lee-Scott five years ago. He was asked to coach both the boys and girls teams. He agreed to do it a little while.
"I never planned to do it five seasons," Prewett said. "But we've had such great kids and some good success. We've got it rolling now, so I'll put those plans on the backburner and just going to enjoy the ride."
Fortunately for Prewett, both teams have similar personnel that allow him to run the same system—up tempo and a lot of three-pointers. That means the practice plans can be similar.
Prewett does have different assistant coaches and calls himself blessed for the quality of his assistants. He said he couldn't do the teams justice without the great work of his assistants.
Practice time runs 2-5 p.m. and 5-7:30 p.m. five days a week during the season. Lee-Scott plays its boys and girls games back-to-back. Then there are the Thanksgiving and Christmas tournaments as well as the state tournaments that can make a coach's head spin.
With such a schedule, one has to wonder if Prewett is married with children.
"I am married and have three girls," he said. "I remember once saying I would never coach girls basketball. The Lord is laughing at me right now. I've coached girls basketball for 15 seasons."
His oldest daughter has started at point guard for Prewett the past two seasons. The entire family is behind him and Lee-Scott basketball 100 percent.
"I have a great family who understands our life," Prewett said. "Basketball is what we do."
Now the question begs to be asked, can Lee-Scott repeat twice?
"With the girls, I was a little leery about using the word 'dynasty' to describe the current program," Prewett said. "But after winning the third title in four years, I think it's time to grasp that word now and understand it holds a lot of responsibility. We're going to wrap our arms around that word and our girls are really excited about the future.
"For the boys, I think the Noah Instant was huge," Prewett said. It gave our boys so much confidence. Our goal is to try to get better every single day. We won't talk about championships. If we take care of the details, we know we should be there at the end with a chance to repeat."