By Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
Jon-Michael Nickerson has come agonizingly close to a state title more times than he cares to remember.
As a student at Stanhope Elmore High School, he was a member of the only Mustang basketball team to ever advance to the Final Four. That run ended with a loss to Russellville in the semi-finals. Just a few months later, he was a starting pitcher on the Mustangs’ baseball team that advanced to the State Championship game, before losing to Cullman.
After being passed over for the SEHS job in 2017, Nickerson was hired as the Head Basketball coach at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia. He has built the program into a powerhouse, leading the school to its 4th Final Four appearance in 6 years. However, each of the previous attempts fell short of the ultimate prize, each a heartbreaker.
The first trip to the Final Four ended in a 1-point loss to the defending champs that were on a 50-game win streak at the time. The next year, they were upset in the semifinals by an upstart team. And two years ago, with current NBA rookie Jabari Smith, the Patriots made it to the State Championship game, but fell to a hot-shooting team from Cross Creek High School that won the title again in 2022.
From the beginning of the 2023 season, Nickerson knew this team was different. They had a championship pedigree. Several different players could lead the team in scoring on any given night, and everyone was unselfish.
“We weren’t dependent on superstars to do everything. We had 8 high level defenders and 6 different guys that could lead the team in scoring. No one cared who the leading scorer would be,” Nickerson said of his team.
To prepare Sandy Creek for the playoffs, Nickerson scheduled a gauntlet of tough competition from larger in-state schools and competitive out of state teams, to include Class 7A Norcross (GA), Mountain Brook, Huntsville, and Pinson Valley from Alabama, and GCA from South Carolina.
Back home in Georgia, the Patriots went through region play undefeated, and coasted through the region playoffs, earning the region’s #1 seed. Despite the #1 seed, the Patriots had to go on the road in the quarterfinals, traveling several hours to face Johnson High out of Savannah, a team that was 25-4 prior to the game. The Patriots earned a hard-fought win to earn Nickerson’s 4th Final Four in his 6-year tenure.
From there, things didn’t get any easier, as the Patriots were faced off against two-time defending Class 3A champs, Cross Creek, the same school that beat them in the state championship game two years earlier. A suffocating Sandy Creek defense held Cross Creek to just 22% shooting and led the Patriots to a 17-point win.
In the State Final, the Patriots were matched up against Cedar Grove, a team from their region they had beaten three times already this season. At the end of the 1st quarter, the Patriots trailed 14-13, but again the suffocating defense Nickerson implements showed out, holding Cedar Grove scoreless in the 2nd quarter. The Patriots held a comfortable halftime lead, and didn’t make Nickerson sweat it out as he won the schools, and his, first ever state championship in basketball.
“We ran through the playoffs because of our defensive identity and that defense allowed us to get out in transition and use our athleticism.”
Asked to describe his team, he said, “depth, defense, toughness, and conditioning. That’s the recipe. We peaked at the right time and saved the greatest performances for when it mattered most.”
Four of the five starters will return for the 2023-2024 season, giving Nickerson an excellent chance for a second championship. But for now, he’s enjoying the well-earned title: State Champs.
