MONTGOMERY – Ten high school seniors who will be participating in the 99^th AHSAA State Basketball Championships this week are among the 24 players selected to represent Alabama in the upcoming 31^st annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Girls’ and Boys’ Basketball Classic to be played March 12 at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl Multiplex.
     Jamie Lee, Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA), announced the squads Sunday. The teams, consisting of 12 boys and 12 girls, were selected from coaches’ nominations by the AHSADCA All-Star Selection Committee.
    The Alabama girls’ team will be coached by Spain Park’s Mike Chase and Madison Academy’s Alissa Flowers. Cold Springs coach Tammy West will serve as the girls’ team administrative coach. The Alabama boys’ coaches Steve Ward of Huffman and Shumbe Hunter of Williamson. Thompson coach Dru Powell is the administrative coach.
     Headlining the boys’ squad are six players who will be on the court this week at the AHSAA State Basketball Championships, which got underway Feb. 26-27 with the 4A semifinals and 5A semifinals at Bill Harris Arena. Play continues March 1-6 with the Class 6A girls’ and boys’ semifinals at UAB’s Bartow Arena Monday and the Class 3A girls’ and boys’ semifinals at Bill Harris Arena. Class 7A semifinals will be Tuesday at Bartow Arena and Class 1A semifinals are set for Bill Harris Arena. The 6A and 7A championship games will be at Bartow Arena on Wednesday and the Class 2A semifinals will be at Bill Harris Arena. The remaining championship games will be held at Bill Harris Arena on Thursday (4A and 5A), Friday (3A and 1A) and Saturday (2A). Play begins each day at 9 a.m.
    Ramsay 6-foot-11 center KeShawn Murphy, Lee-Huntsville 6-6 guard Kaleb Brown,  Calhoun 6-4 guard Jerdarrian “J.D.” Davison of Calhoun and Spain Park 6-3 guard Cameron Crawford highlight the players on the Alabama boys’ squad still competing in the state tourney. Murphy, a Mississippi State signee, led Ramsay to a 58-40 win over Sipsey Valley in the Class 5A semifinals Saturday. He had 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and several thunderous dunks in the win. Brown, a Missouri signee, had 10 points, including the first bucket the following his steal, as Lee beat Sylacauga 67-25. He left the game late in the first quarter after suffering a minor injury and as a precaution, did not return the game, said his coach and father Greg Brown. Lee and Ramsay meet in the Class 5A finals Thursday (4:30 p.m.) at Bill Harris Arena. 
    Davison, an Alabama signee and MVP of the 2020 Class 2A state tourney, will be in the lineup for Calhoun at Bill Harris Arena on Wednesday in the semifinals against Midfield. Spain Park’s Crawford will be in action at Bartow Arena Tuesday when the Jaguars face Enterprise in the 7A semifinals at 4:30 p.m.
    Six girls selected to the Alabama All-Star squad are set to compete in this week’s State Tourney with three, Anniston guard Allasha Dudley, Mae Jemison guard Saniah Parker and Birmingham-Carver guard Randrea Wright each leading their teams semifinal wins at Bill Harris Arena over the weekend. Dudley sparked Anniston to s 50-34 win over Jackson on Friday in the 4A semifinals scoring 20 points, handing out two assists and totaling five steals. The Lady Bulldogs will play Rogers in the 4A finals at Bill Harris Arena at 9 a.m., Thursday.
    Parker and Wright will be leading their teams into the Class 5A finals at Bill Harris Arena Thursday at 2 p.m.  Parker had a game-high 23 points and nine assists and also had 10 rebounds and six steals at the Jaguars beat defending state champion Charles Henderson 76-37 in the 5A semifinals Saturday. Wright had 23 points and five assists to lead the Rams past Marbury 70-40 in the other 5A semifinal.
   Also competing in the state tourney this week are all-star selections Grace Watson of defending 6A state champion Hazel Green, Nya Valentine of 6A McGill-Toolen Catholic and Amiya Payne of 7A semifinalist Hewitt-Trussville. Watson, a 6-0 forward and Delta State signee, and Valentine, a 5-3 point guard, go head-to-head at 9 a.m. in the semifinals Monday at Bartow Arena. Payne, a 6-0 guard heading to Middle Tennessee, will make her debut Tuesday at Bartow Arena when the Huskies take on Theodore at 2 p.m., in the 7A semifinals.
     Tennessee signee 6-3 center Karoline Striplin of Geneva County, also headlines the Alabama girls’ squad.
     Alabama’s girls won last year’s game at Mississippi 70-63, and the Alabama boys won 118-97. Alabama holds a 16-14 edge in both series, which date back to 1991.
     The teams include:

2021 Alabama All-Star Roster (Girls)
Player	School	Pos.	Ht
Maya Cunningham	Pleasant Grove	G	5’10
Allasha Dudley	Anniston	G	5’6
Saniah Parker	Mae Jemison	G	5’10
Amiya Payne	Hewitt-Trussville	G	6’0
Kaitlin Peterson	Eufaula	PG	5’8
Sara Puckett	Muscle Shoals	G	6’2
Jirah Rogers	East Limestone	P	6’1
Karoline Striplin	Geneva County	C	6’3
Nya Valentine	McGill-Toolen	PG	5’3
Jenna Walker	Priceville	PG	5’8
Grace Watson	Hazel Green	F	6’0
Randrea Wright	Carver – Birmingham	G	5’7
All-Star Coaches (Girls)
Mike Chase	Spain Park
Alissa Flowers	Madison Academy
Tammy West	Cold Springs (Administrative)
Team Trainer
DeShena Thomas	Encore Sports Medicine
2021 Alabama All-Star Roster (Boys)
Player	School	Pos.	Ht
Jordan Bell	Williamson	SF	6’4
Kaleb Brown	Lee – Huntsville	G	6’6
Cameron Crawford	Spain Park	G	6’3
Jerdarrian (J.D.) Davison	Calhoun	PG	6’4
Dwayne (D.J.) Fairley	Hoover	SG	6’2
Bryson Hall	Tuscaloosa County	SF	6’8
Grant Hopkins	Thompson	PG	6’0
Riley Leonard	Fairhope	G	6’4
Keshawn Murphy	Ramsay	F	6’11
Brody Peebles	Hartselle	G	6’3
Dawson Sarblah	Greenville	G	6’6
Rayquan Taylor	Carver – Montgomery	F	6’10
All-Star Coaches (Girls)
Steve Ward	Huffman
Shumbe Hunter	Williamson
Dru Powell	Thompson (Adminstrative)
Team Trainer
Christi Hurd	Encore Sports Medicine

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