GULF SHORES — With signatures on their National Letters of Intent Tuesday, Justice Smith and Kade West will remain teammates on the basketball court with the Belhaven Blazers after their time at Gulf Shores High School.

The duo went on a gameday visit to the school in Jackson, Mississippi where the Blazers played LaGrange in conference action Saturday, Jan. 14. The Dolphin players were not only rewarded with an 87-78 win, but it was also then that they received their offers to play for the Belhaven squad that went to the Collegiate Conference of the South’s tournament finals this season.

“I got a text from Coach (Josh) Brooks, went on a visit and so did Justice as well. We went, they liked us and we got offered that day,” West said Tuesday. “It was really fun and realizing that I would get to play with my high school teammate was kind of crazy.”

However, it wasn’t quite yet a done deal that the 6-foot-plus, 180-pound guards/wings would remain teammates as West had also fielded an offer from Huntingdon College a few months prior.

“He was kind of on the fence and he wouldn't tell me anything, I think he wanted to keep it kind of a secret,” Smith said of West’s decision.

But not long after Smith (6’ 2”, 188 pounds) announced his commitment to the Blazers on Jan. 30, West (6’ 3”, 185 pounds) confirmed his pledge to Belhaven Feb. 1 and set up an opportunity that both players acknowledged doesn’t come around often.

“It's amazing. I'm very, very grateful,” Smith said of signing to play alongside his high school teammate next year. “Not a lot of people get to experience this so I'm grateful we could get it done.”

“It’s way better than just doing it as if he was signing somewhere and I'm signing somewhere else,” West said. “I'm glad we're going to the same place because we play pretty good with each other.”

Smith agreed the pair works well off of each other and plan on continuing that in the Blazers’ green and gold.

“Oh, absolutely. We push each other every day,” Smith said with a smile. “We’re always trying to get under other's each skin to do little things to make each other mad but try to get each other better.”

Those efforts paid off when Gulf Shores registered a 3-3 mark within Class 5A Area 1 for the second seed in the postseason tournament this year. And that only helped Dolphin head coach Todd Kimble sell the players to college coaches which allowed them to pick the right school for themselves.

“Right when I got on that campus and talked to the coaches, it felt like home,” West said. “Especially because I'm going there with my high school teammate, I can't wait. I've never really looked forward to anything like this before.”

“I think it's going to make it a little bit easier, a little less scary, I guess,” Smith said of having a familiar face on campus. “I saw that it's going to be a good team, it’s a good program and a nice school. It's not far from home but just far enough where it's a little different.”

The pair also pushed Kimble’s total number of college basketball signees to 107 during his tenure as a basketball coach. After they officially became Belhaven Blazers, both Smith and West couldn’t help but look forward to the next time they took the court together.

“Can't describe it. It’s amazing,” Smith said of actualizing the dream they’ve been thinking about since January. “It feels great. Only great things to come.”

“I'm looking forward to it, I don't want to go to just be average,” West said. “I want to go there and be great and help the team win.”