Friends and rival say farewell to Rodney Stevens

Published 11:40 am Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Last Tuesday, I was making my usual routine check for court cases at the Dallas County Courthouse.

There were no updates on upcoming trials, but I still came away with a story.

On the elevator going up, I ran into Timfreit Drane. He recognized me from working at The Selma Times-Journal and had a story for me.

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“I just found out the greatest basketball player to come out of Dallas County died today,” Drane told me.

“Who is he?,” I asked.

Drane paused and released a sigh before responding. “Rodney ‘six-nine’ Stevens from Southside High School.’’

Two days later, I wrote my best sports story at the Times Journal: Farewell to a hoops legend. Stevens, a 1986 graduate of Southside, was 51 when he passed. The Montgomery resident left behind a wife, Lillian Stevens, two daughters, Chasity and Amber and a grandchild.

Drane dropped by the Times-Journal, emailed photos and recalled his times with Stevens. He was the Panthers’ statistician and a close friend with Stevens.

I received calls from a former teammate, Mickey Tyre, and rival in Anthony Sewell. They all agreed Stevens was an unstoppable scoring machine who could score at will.

Gregory White, who played against Stevens while at South Macon in 1986, agreed.

“We played him our Junior year and he scored 40! and we played a three-player zone,” White recalled. “The whole game, we fronted him, triple-teamed him, fouled him and he didn’t play the entire fourth period. Of course, they beat us!  We remember him and still call his name as one of the best to play in Alabama when we argue about the best we saw.”

 

The 6-foot-5 Stevens led Southside to its only state championship in 1985, beating Hayes 58-56 for the 5A crown.

I know all about the Hayes’ athletic program. In 1985, I became the first lineman at Holt High School to score a touchdown against the Pacesetters football team.  Two years later, Hayes beat Holt in the 5A state semifinals en-route to the state title. Hayes closed in 2008.

Stevens came within two points leading Southside of a second straight 5A title, but the Panthers lost to Eufaula 57-56. Despite falling short, Stevens was named the 5A state player of the year. He averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds a game.

Stevens signed with Auburn, but he never played for the Tigers. He played at Troy University, then a Division II school and Lawson State Community College. Stevens had chances to play at USC and UCLA, but chose to work at International Paper and take care of his family.

It doesn’t matter that Stevens didn’t parlay his extraordinary hoops talent into college stardom or become an NBA millionaire. In Dallas County, he’s remembered fondly as a prep basketball legend, great husband, great father and great friend.