When Faron Key took over the Hartselle boys basketball program six years ago, one of the first things that he emphasized was building a foundation.

Early on in Key’s tenure at Hartselle, he saw a kid play basketball and knew that he could one day be a cornerstone in that foundation. That kid was Brody Peebles.

In year four, Peebles joined the varsity team as a freshman. He was primarily a spot-up shooter during his freshman campaign. He averaged 16 points per game and hit a team-high 75 3-pointers.

Peebles became more of a scoring threat for the Tigers during his sophomore season. He was becoming a player who could produce from every position on the floor. He finished his sophomore campaign averaging 22.8 points per game and was named second-team All-State.

His junior season was one for the record books at Hartselle. He scored 990 points and finished with an average of 29.1 points per game. He hit 92 three-pointers while shooting 44% from three-point range.

Peebles led the Tigers to their best season in more than 15 years. The Tigers won the Morgan County Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, won the Area Championship for the second consecutive season, and won the sub-regional for the first time since 2003.

The Tigers went on to defeat Minor in double-overtime to advance to the Northwest Regional Finals where they were defeated by Bessemer City.

He scored 30 or more points in 18 games and over 40 in four of those games. When it mattered most was when Peebles was at his best. In the final 16 games of the season, he had 12 games of 30+ points including tying his career-high of 46 in a 76-71 victory at Athens.

“I thought I grew a lot as the season progressed in my mindset and my play,” Brody said. “I worked on being as efficient as possible and being able to score more on fewer shots. Developing a mindset to attack was what my team needed.”

Peebles committed to continuing his basketball career at Liberty for coach Ritchie McKay. McKay was in attendance for two of Peebles’ games this season, including the sub-regional game where he scored 35 points and his 2,000th career point.

After the season, the accolades piled up for Peebles as he was named first-team All-State, was a finalist for the 6A Player of the Year and was chosen to participate in the AHSAA All-Star week on the North team. His selection to the All-State first team was the first for a Hartselle Tiger since 1994.

“It’s an incredible blessing to be named first-team All-State and a finalist for Player of the Year,” Peebles said. “Anytime you work hard and put a lot of effort into something it feels great to be recognized. My coaches and team deserve a lot of credit for trusting me and allowing me to be myself. I’m just thankful to be regarded as one of the best in my classification and hope to continue to get better.”

Key said that the accolades are well deserved for Brody. “He is one of the state’s best players in any class!”

First Team

Brody Peebles, 6’2 Guard, Junior, Hartselle
Peebles average 29.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

He was named 6A First Team All-State and finalist for 6A Player of the Year. He has committed to Liberty University.

Tad Sivley, 6’5 Forward, Senior, Hartselle
Sivley proved to be a match-up nightmare for most teams this season. He finished the season averaging 14.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.

He has received scholarship offers from Martin Methodist, Faulkner, Sewanee, LaGrange, Huntingdon, and Covenant Christian.

KJ Melson, 5’11 Guard, Junior, Danville
Melson averaged 20 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game to lead the Hawks. He knocked down 92 three-pointers during the season.

He was named honorable mention All-State in Class 4A.

Wren Cole, 5’10 Guard, Senior, Danville
Cole averaged 18 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He scored his 1,000th career point in a game against Rogers on January 5th, 2020.

He has received a scholarship offer from Asbury College.

Seth Hood, 5’10 Guard, Senior, Priceville
Hood averaged 17 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game to lead the Bulldogs.

He has received a scholarship offer from Tennessee Wesleyan.

Honorable Mention

Brewer: Conner Hall and Kris Bramlett
Danville: Kohl Randolph
Falkville: Avery Miller and Dawson Norwood
Hartselle: Kiah Key and Trent Wright
Priceville: Chris Thomas