Before Ellwood Christian boys’ basketball coach Darrell Walker could get out of bed Thursday morning, he already had a text about the latest rankings from the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

The Eagles are ranked No. 5 in the latest rankings in class 1A, the highest ranking in school history.

“By the time I saw that, I looked on Facebook and some of my kids had seen it before I did and posted it,” Walker said. “They are very excited for being No. 5, but like I always tell them, we’ve got to stay humble.”

Ellwood has won eight of its last nine games and has been ranked in the ASWA poll all season long. In December, they also added Loveless Craig, a transfer from Selma High School that became eligible, to the mix.

“I have four guys who are all 6-5 and over and all can handle the ball, all have experience in basketball and their IQs are so high,” Walker said. “Love has fit right in because he has been playing big time basketball. He knows what is going on. He’s just another coach on the floor.”

Ellwood’s “big four” consists of Loveless Craig, Justin Bufford, Jamel Phillips and Chris Lee, and they’ve all proven they can lead the team in scoring and rebounding on any given night.

“People were talking in the preseason about how good we were going to be, but this is our first time having the whole team together,” Walker said.

The Eagles have played three teams ranked in the ASWA’s polls this season — Linden, Leflore and Dallas County. Ellwood won two matchups with Linden, but lost by double digits to both Leflore and Dallas County.

Later this year, they’ll get to play those teams again in a three-day stretch.

If both teams can stay in the rankings, the matchup with Dallas County could be a top 10 matchup in Plantersville on Jan. 31. The Hornets were ranked No. 8 in class 5A in the latest rankings, their first time in the poll this year.

“They were happy to be ranked because I don’t have a player who was on any of the previous teams that were ranked,” Moore said. “It was a first for a lot of them.”

Moore said when the Hornets are playing their best, they are a top 10 team, but the team has struggled to find consistency most of the year.

“The guys need to buy into really being coached and follow a game plan from practice in a game,” Moore said. “I think our guys still believe that it doesn’t matter who the coach is or what we try to do, it boils down to players and in some instances, it does but when you play really good teams like we are going to have to play against, our guys are going to have to be able to take what we do at practice and apply it to the game.”

The Hornets host Jemison Friday in a class 5A, area 6 game, while Ellwood Christian plays at Autaugaville in a class 1A, area 5 game. Both teams are still battling to host their area tournaments.