Living in Dallas County continues to provide a learning point for me.

Football was the dominant sport every area where I’ve lived over the years. Everything revolved around football, then other sports followed suit. The Mississippi Gulf Coast has several teams with strong basketball traditions, but football always remained top billing.

That’s not the case in Dallas County where basketball takes center stage.

My first basketball game was in Orrville as Keith High opened its season hosting Selma High in the Bears’ den. By the time I arrived, the parking lot was packed with vehicles. Several vehicles were parked on the side of the road. The Bears’ den had an overflow crowd, mixed with Selma and Keith fans.

Another lesson learned: arrive when the boys’ junior varsity game ends to find a decent parking space.

The public schools- Selma High, Keith High, Southside, Dallas County and Ellwood Christian Academy (ECA)- all have natural built-in rivalries and huge fan support.

Keith is a Class 1A school, but the Bears play up to the competition against their local rivals. The Bears lost to Selma, but defeated Dallas County. Keith gets another crack at the Saints on Friday night.

I was equally impressed with Morgan Academy’s basketball following. The finals of last week’s Morgan Academy Pepsi Classic had a successful turnout. The Senators beat Southern Academy in the tournament finals, the girls finished second.

The Pepsi Classic unexpectedly sent me down memory lane. I was high school classmates with the mother of Southern Academy starting guard, Brian Osburn. His mother, Lisa Allen Osburn, was a cheerleader at Holt High School in Tuscaloosa. His uncle, Richard Allen Jr., and I were football teammates. Lisa and I had a great time catching up as her son made the All-tournament team.

For the first time in my 26-year journalism career, it marked the first time I covered a child of one of my high school friends.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the basketball season turns out in Dallas County. It should be fun.