From staff reports

Shelby County high school basketball player Cortez Cotton was killed in a car crash early Sunday morning on Highway 47 between Columbiana and Chelsea.

Cotton, a senior stand-out center for the Wildcats varsity basketball team and an all-around team leader, was killed when the car he was riding in collided with a tree.

Cotton’s cousin was also injured in the crash and was reported in fair condition at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham Sunday night.

Shelby County High School principal Gene Rogers said counselors would be on hand at the school Monday morning to talk with students.

Cotton had just finished playing a game at Shelby County high earlier Saturday night