PREP BASKETBALL: Fairview’s Fletcher signs with Coastal Alabama

Published 2:29 pm Thursday, May 3, 2018

Fairview's Bryson Fletcher, front and center, signs a basketball scholarship with Coastal Alabama Community College on Thursday. He is joined up front by his parents, Jimmy and Misty. Standing from left to right is his brother, Austin, and his former head coach Branch Whitlock.

FAIRVIEW — Basketball has always been a family affair for Bryson Fletcher.

So when the Fairview senior signed a scholarship with Coastal Alabama Community College on Thursday, he made sure to give those close to him — his father (Jimmy) and his brother (Austin) — their proper due.

After all, if it wasn’t for that particular pair, Fletcher wouldn’t be able to call himself a collegiate athlete.

“As I sit here, I think about the times I was working as a kid to fulfill this dream,” he said. “My dad really had a great impact on me. When I was in 10th grade, he told me I needed to pick it up. I played half of that year on varsity and, toward the end of that season, I noticed how hard my brother played the game and just how much I wanted to be better than him and work harder than him. And my dad went to the gym with me every chance he’d get and every second he’d have. I thank God for them and for giving me the opportunity to go to the next level.”

Fletcher will soon get to show off his splendid attributes for the Sun Chiefs, who participate in the Alabama Community College Conference as a Division I member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Coastal Alabama, located in Bay Minette, is one of eight schools in the South Division. 

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Wallace State, conversely, competes in the North Division.

Fletcher put together a strong senior season to wrap up his prep career with the Aggies.

He averaged 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per outing en route to leading the program to its second straight Class 5A, Area 12 Tournament crown and first Northwest Regional Tournament berth since 2011. He crafted All-County, All-Area and All-Regional honors along the way and corralled a spot on The Times’ All-Area First Team following the conclusion of the 2017-18 campaign.

Branch Whitlock, who coached Fletcher last season, believes the Sun Chiefs are getting a dynamite player.

“They’re going to get the hardest worker they’ve ever had,” he said. “Whatever deficiencies he thinks he has or they think he has … he’s going to outwork everybody to fix them. Bryson’s also going to immediately go in there and think he’s the best player on the court, and that’s the type of attitude you have to have to play college ball. He’s a winner, and he’s a scrapper. If there’s a play that needs to be made, he wants to make it.”

Fletcher was equally appreciative of his former coach’s efforts to help him reach his goal.

“Coach Whitlock busted his tail for me,” he said. “Because of that, I’m looking forward to making Coastal Alabama home for the next two years.”