The 2021-2022 basketball season is one Bryson Dawkins and Rhett Harrelson won’t forgot.
Dawkins, a senior at Carroll who has signed with the University of North Alabama, led the Eagles to their first ever trip to the state semifinals behind his dynamic all-around play on the floor, averaging 22.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.2 steals and 1.0 blocks a game.
People are also reading… A former player at Dothan High, Dawkins transferred to Carroll after his freshman season and began playing for the Eagles as a sophomore. However, the AHSAA, after an investigation, ruled his whole family didn’t make a bonafide move into the Ozark’s school system jurisdiction, making him ineligible. As required by AHAA Student Restitution rules, Dawkins had to sit out the amount of games he played during the time he was actually ineligible .
“The goal was to make it to Birmingham and make history, something that had never been done before at Carroll,” Dawkins said. “It was to win it all and everybody understood that, so we were all on the same page and we made it to Birmingham. We came out short , but everybody got the experience.” While his high school career wasn’t the ideal one with having to sit out games in over two seasons, Dawkins was glad how it turned out at the end.
Despite a stumble at rival Dothan, Enterprise had a strong final two months. The Wildcats went unbeaten in the postseason, dominating two area tournament and two regional tournament games before posting a solid 73-58 state semifinal win over Spain Park.