Back Row: L-R: Austin Fletcher (brother), Branch Whitlock; Front Row: L-R: Jimmy Fletcher (father), Bryson Fletcher and Misty Fletcher (mother) (Nick Griffin for The Tribune)
FAIRVIEW – Friends, family and teammates packed out the Fairview High School library Thursday to celebrate Bryson Fletcher’s commitment to play basketball for Coastal Alabama Community College this fall. Fletcher helped lead the Aggies to an Area Tournament title and a Sweet 16 finish in the Northwest Regional last season.
Fletcher’s head coach last season, Branch Whitlock, said he sees a lot of qualities in Fletcher that will help him compete at the collegiate level.
“I think Bryson has always been a hard-working kid, always had that toughness and work ethic engrained in him. I think his leadership throughout the year really changed and improved and I think that’s one reason our team was able to have so much success at the end of the year,” Whitlock said. “His physicality and his ability to play with the ball in his hands is what I think the coaches at Coastal really like about him and I think it’s one of the reasons he can translate well to that level. They play an up and down, fast-paced pressing-type style and that relates to the way we played last year, and I think it’ll be a good fit for him.”
Whitlock said he has seen Fletcher’s skills develop on the floor, but he believes his strongest qualities are the effort and toughness he shows on the court.
“His toughness is just irreplaceable. He’s the toughest kid out there every time he steps on the court; he’s going to battle for every play, every loose ball and every rebound,” Whitlock said. “There are good players that can shoot and pass and make all the moves, but sometimes that grit is what they’re lacking, and he definitely has that. That was one of the biggest attributes for our team.”
Fletcher reflected on his senior season and said he feels like his leadership within the team may be where he has improved the most as a player in his time at Fairview.
“I think me building my teammates up and becoming more of a leader kind of encouraged me more,” Fletcher said. “I watched my brother my sophomore year, he was a senior, and it showed me how hard I wanted to work to be like him and be better than him and it just motivated me. I’m just ready to get down there.”
Fletcher agreed with Whitlock about what some of his best qualities were as a player, hammering home the importance of attitude on and off the floor. He also touched on a couple of things he wants to improve on this summer going into his first college season.
“I think it’s very important because if I go down there and I play I have to be a leader, and if I’m on the bench I have to be a leader, so no matter what happens in life you’ve got to be a leader,” Fletcher said. “No matter what job you have or what you’re doing, you have to be vocal and build people up and encourage others. My quickness and my 3-point shot have to get better because you know I’m 6-feet tall, so I’ve got to be able to shoot it and be quicker than the guy guarding me so those two things definitely.”
Fletcher said he will miss all the people he’s played with and played for as an Aggie but he’s already looking ahead to getting on campus and getting to work.
“I’m going to miss my coaches and my friends; it’s going to be hard,” Fletcher said. “I’m ready for the challenge, though, against other college athletes, and I’m just ready for coach to push me and see what I can handle.”
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