It’s time for Tom Drake Coliseum to open its doors.

It’s time for athletes all across the area to put forth Herculean efforts.

It’s time for the Cullman County Basketball Tournament.

The annual bragging rights showdown is set to begin Saturday afternoon at Wallace State and promises to once again deliver its fair share of magical moments, big-time shots, tears of sadness and cries of joy.

---

THE CHEESE STANDS ALONE

Let’s be real clear to start out.

Anything less than a decisive county tournament title for Holly Pond’s boys would not only be a huge disappointment, but it would also bring about quite possibly the biggest upset I’ve seen in my tenure with The Times.

The Broncos have played 10 games against county competition so far this season.

Number of wins? 10. Points per contest? 80. Average margin of victory? 34.

Impressive, even for a Playstation enthusiast.

The team that came closest to the Green and White — Cold Springs — still lost by 17 points at home.

As a sports writer, I always hope for instant classics when it comes to championship matchups, especially when they’re local.

Can one of the other six county schools rise up to the challenge and make that happen? 

Only time will tell.

At the end of the day, though, I would be absolutely floored if Holly Pond didn’t steamroll its opponents en route to its second crown in the past three seasons.

---

ON THE OTHER HAND

As clear cut as the boys bracket seems to be, it’s not that way over on the girls side of the equation.

Yes, Cold Springs, Fairview and West Point are far and away the best three teams.

With that said, I’m not sure which one of them is going to win.

The Lady Eagles should make it into the championship relatively unscathed — though stranger things have happened. My slight lean as to their title game opponent would be the Lady Aggies, who are just playing better than the Lady Warriors right now.

And although Cold Springs has defeated Fairview twice this season, the margin of victory was only five in the last meeting.

Emme Willoughby, Elizabeth Hill and Camryn Crider vs. Taylor Ann Yeager, Abbi Taylor and Abby Schnittker?

Where do I sign up?

But I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to West Point. Don’t sleep on that team. 

As Good Hope showed last year, they play the games for a reason.

---

IMPACT PLAYERS

I’ll steer away from the entire Holly Pond roster on this one and go with Cold Springs’ Jesse Lee.

The senior guard has been brilliant for the Eagles this season, leading them to the No. 2 seed in the county tournament.

His performances last week helped his team claim a regular season area title. He also scored 28 points in a victory over St. Bernard on Tuesday.

Should the Blue and Gold make their fourth consecutive championship game appearance, Lee will have to continue his fine play.

I don’t doubt that he will.

Meanwhile, the girls trophy could be decided by three athletes. All on the same team.

Willoughby, Hill and Crider.

If those three play like they have all season long, I can’t see another team beating them. I just can’t.

You get scoring, rebounding, defense, leadership, length, speed and all the intangibles a coach could ask for from that talented trio.

Be afraid, county. Be very afraid.Be afraid, county. Be very afraid.

---

AT LONG LAST, PREDICTIONS

Boys Champion: Holly Pond

Runner-Up: Cold Springs

Girls Champion: Cold Springs

Runner-Up: Fairview

JV Boys Champion: Fairview

JV Girls Champion: Cold Springs

Ninth-Grade Boys Champion: West Point