Eric Stringer

Stringer was a three-year starter in basketball at Oxford for coach Larry Windsor. As a sophomore, he averaged 15 points and six rebounds per outing, including 16 points per game in Oxford’s three 1975 Calhoun County tournament games.  The Yellow Jackets were county tournament runners-up to Jacksonville and ended their season 17-6.

Stringer was a member of the 1976 county tournament’s all-tournament team and was named first-team all-county following the 1975-76 season. Oxford lost to No. 1 Jacksonville 53-52 in the county tournament championship game but finished 19-9.  Stringer averaged 19.2 points and 11 rebounds per game as a junior. His worksheet gained statewide attention and he was named to the Birmingham Post Herald’s 10-member Class 3A all-state team.

As a senior, Stringer was voted captain by his teammates and helped Oxford to the 1977 Calhoun County basketball tournament championship with a 61-59 win over nemesis Jacksonville. He was named the tournament’s best defensive player. The Yellow Jackets finished with a 31-3 record and Stringer was a unanimous choice for first-team all-county recognition. He averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game, shot 51 percent from the floor, blocked 21 shots and led the Yellow Jackets with 73 steals.

Stringer returned to the Birmingham Post Herald’s 3A all-state team in 1977, this time as 3A’s Most Valuable Player. In addition, the Post Herald named Stinger Alabama’s Player of the Year for all classes. 

When the 1976-77 season ended, Stringer announced he would accept a scholarship from Auburn University and coach Bob Davis. For his final three years on the Plains he played for Sonny Smith. At Auburn, Stringer was a four-year letterman from 1977-78 through 1980-81, wearing No. 22 each of his four seasons as a Tiger. As a junior in the 1979-80 season, his 103 assists, 3.7 per game, were best for Auburn. Stringer averaged 4.0 points per game as a sophomore, 5.2 points per game as a junior and 4.6 points per game as a senior.

In 1982, Stringer became a basketball official and continued to officiate games, including numerous AHSAA regional tournament contests, until he retired in 2020.