Glenwood’s Dusty Perdue named All-Bi-City 1A-3A Boys Basketball Coach of the Year

Glenwood boys basketball coach Dusty Perdue knew his team had been knocking on the door of a state title for the past three seasons. With three seniors at the helm, the Gators promptly blew the doors down in 2016-2017.

Perdue led the Gators to a 24-3 record and a victory in the AISA Class 3A state championship game. The championship led to Perdue’s selection as All-Bi-City 1A-3A Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.

Perdue’s Gators returned all five starters from a squad that made it to the semifinals the season prior, where they lost to Tuscaloosa Academy. Perdue said he felt good entering the year with so much returning talent; Nevertheless, he knew he needed to test them.

Perdue always emphasizes getting a strong non-region schedule to see how capable his teams are early and to identify what needs fixing. Looking back on the campaign, Perdue said the matchup that first showed his team’s ability was against Mt. Bethel Academy on Dec. 29 as part of the Border Wars tournament.

Mt. Bethel was a team from Marietta which regularly took on 6A and 7A opponents and would finish the season 25-4. If Glenwood could keep up with the Eagles, the team may have what it took to make a title run.

“They had a couple of studs on their team, and I said, ‘This is going to be a great challenge for us. Let’s see what we can do,’” Perdue said. “We actually wound up winning that game (64-60) on the second day of our tournament. I said, ‘If we can play with them, we can play with anybody we can play with the rest of the year. It’s just can we play that good at the right time.’”

The Gators barely slowed down from that point, riding the success through the rest of the regular season and into a region tournament title. After winning its quarterfinals game over Morgan Academy, the team met rival Lee-Scott in the semifinals.

Perdue said he delivered a message to his team before the Final Four game, offering a deal of sorts for the players.

“I told my team, ‘Guys, if y’all can get me through this game, I’ll get y’all through Monday night’s (championship) game and we’ll win this thing,’” Perdue said. “Lee-Scott holds the ball against us, makes us work on defense for about a minute or a minute-and-a-half on every possession. Somehow, we weathered the storm on that.”

It didn’t get in easier after that 40-27 victory. Awaiting the Gators in the title game was Tuscaloosa Academy, the team which had been a regular thorn in Glenwood’s side. The two teams had met in the postseason three straight years before this game. Each time, Tuscaloosa had came out on top.

“They knew what was on the line there,” Perdue said. “They knew there were some redemption, to use some of North Carolina’s stuff from (this year’s boys basketball title game). We had the opportunity.”

The Gators, led by leading scorer Trip Day, made the most of this chance. Glenwood went pedal to the metal for the entire game and defeated Tuscaloosa 50-31.

As the win became inevitable, Perdue thought back to the times his players sat solemnly in the locker room, crying after another season closed without a title. For the past few years, the Gators have been considered the team to beat, building expectations that make any postseason loss deflating.

This time around, the deflation was replaced by jubilation.

“For us to be standing there on the sidelines, to watch the clock tick down and see it was actually happening for this group was very rewarding for me,” Perdue said.

The championship for Perdue, who is also Glenwood’s softball coach, gives him three in 10 seasons at the helm of the boys basketball team and stands as the program’s fourth ever.

Perdue deflected any credit for the team’s triumphs over the years, saying the program built itself and that the titles are a testament to the kids who come to play at the school.

“(My championships) are spread out pretty good: ‘07, ‘13 and ‘17,” Perdue said. “It says something about what we have at this small school in Glenwood. The kids see championships, and they work as they get older to get a chance to win championships.

“This year was very special, and if it never happens again, I’ll at least know that I’ve won three of them and they don’t grow on trees.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2017 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Glenwood’s Dusty Perdue named All-Bi-City 1A-3A Boys Basketball Coach of the Year."