By Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
Photos submitted
Kelvin Stokes has coached girls’ high school basketball for 20 years. He led the girls’ program at Robert E. Lee a few years before taking over at Brew Tech, where he won the state championship in 2011. In a twist of fate that shows the highs and lows of the coaching profession, Stokes’ head coaching job was not renewed after winning a title. At that time, former SEHS Athletic Director Jeff Foshee called Stokes, and brought him over. Stokes has remained the Mustangs’ coach for 13 years.
“Coach Foshee told me he needed me at Stanhope,” Stokes said. “He knew what I was all about, and he wanted that fire to lead the girls’ basketball program.”
Stokes added another milestone to his lengthy coaching career by winning his 300th career game when the Mustangs won at Lanier in a Class 6A Area 3 match on January 19, 2024.
Stokes, a Montgomery native and graduate of Carver High School, went to LBW Junior College on a basketball scholarship out of high school, but later attended Alabama State to play tight end on the Hornets’ football team.
Stokes started his coaching career as a volunteer at his alma mater but took the head coaching job of the girls’ basketball team at Lee High School in 2004. After a 10-win season his first year leading the Generals, the team’s fortunes improved dramatically the next season. Led by Megan Perkins, who averaged 26 points per game, Lee finished with an 18-4 record. The next year, Celisia Farmer joined the team, and together the duo attracted college scouts from around the southeast. With Perkins averaging 36 points per game, and Farmer averaging 28 points per game, Stokes spoke with scouts from South Florida, Miami, Auburn, Alabama and Ole Miss.
He vividly remembered a game between Lee and Jeff Davis when both teams were highly ranked. Prior to the game, Farmer was hitting shots from everywhere on the court, with the crowd enthusiastically counting every made shot. However, once the game started, the shots didn’t fall, and Farmer got frustrated. Still, Perkins did enough to get the win for the Generals.
“After the game, there was a line of college coaches waiting to speak with me. Nell Fortner at Auburn came up and said that she wanted to offer Meghan immediately. She said she wanted to see a little more out of Farmer before extending an offer. However, the coach at Alabama walked up said that he wanted both of them.”
A few weeks later, both Perkins and Farmer committed to play college basketball at the University of Alabama.
Stokes coaching journey took a turn in 2008, when he was offered to take over the program at Brew Tech. “I wanted a challenge, but only 9 girls showed up for the first tryouts.”
Brew Tech finished with a 9-13 record in Stokes’ first season, but year two improved dramatically with the addition of Marqu’es Webb, whose father played for Alabama and later for the Boston Celtics during the 92-93 season. The younger Webb was dominant, averaging 26 points and 18 rebounds per game for the Rams as they advanced to the regional championship.
“My third season at Brew Tech was special. We started the season in a tip-off tournament in Huntsville and beat the defending 5A champs by 30. Later, we put up 98 against Lee, 100+ against Prattville and LAMP, and won the state championship by 30.”
However, some in the school weren’t happy that the Rams were winning by so much. “I was asked why we beat teams so badly. In most of those games, we didn’t press on defense, but when our girls got the ball, they were competitors and wanted to score. When the bench players got on the court, they wanted to score too. As a competitor myself and a coach of high school athletes, I’ll never tell my girls to give less than their best. I don’t sit during practice, and I don’t sit during games.”
Stokes was told he was being let go from Brew Tech the day after winning the state championship, but he was quickly picked up by Stanhope Elmore. “I’ve loved it ever since I got here. I’ve never looked back,” Stokes said.
In 2016, he coached both the boys’ and girls’ program, and led the boys team to the regional tournament. He returned to coaching only the girls the following year. Stokes led the Mustangs to the area championship in 2022 and hopes the 2024 team can also claim an area championship, and advance to the Regional Tournament for the first time since he’s led the team.
Having coached girls for so long, Stokes believes the girls’ basketball in the area deserves attention. “Girls are starting to get more attention with teams like UCONN, South Carolina, and LSU. I like girls’ fundamentals. And they don’t show up to practice thinking they’re the next Michael Jordan or LeBron. They are coachable and will run through a wall for you. Girls have just as much competitive heart, if not more, than boys.”
