Class A
* Denotes Private Ranking
Region 1
Team Overall Region
No. 8 Randolph-Clay 15-7 11-3
No. 7 Calhoun County 12-8 9-3
Quitman County 14-7 9-4
Terrell County 10-11 8-4
Stewart County 11-8 9-5
Mitchell County 11-8 8-5
Miller County 3-15 2-10
Webster County 2-17 2-11
Baker County 1-19 0-14
The No. 8 Randolph-Clay Red Devils are powered inside by 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior Cody Brown. He is averaging 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds; team-highs. Seven players score over six points a game for Coach Kalvin Baker’s team. They beat rival and defending state champion No. 7 Calhoun County 70-63 on Dec. 12. Brown finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven steals in the win. The two teams meet on Feb. 6 at Calhoun County in the final game of the regular season. Sophomore Rashun Williams, Jerrek Solite and 6-foot-2, 255-pound center Jalin Gray are some of Coach Marcus Shaw’s holdovers from last year’s 30-2 Cougar team.
Region 2
Team Overall Region
No. 4 Turner County 17-5 11-2
No. 6 Atkinson County 15-5 9-4
Clinch County 12-8 8-4
Wilcox County 11-9 8-5
Telfair County 9-11 7-6
Irwin County 7-9 6-6
Lanier County 6-14 4-10
Echols County 3-14 3-10
Charlton County 1-16 1-11
No. 4 Turner County is hands down the hottest team in the state, winning 12 straight. Head Coach Tasha Kimble is up for Coach of the Year. She has the girls team No. 1 in the state and 22-0 with her boys team close behind. The Rebels finished 25-4 last season but started off slow under their new head coach at 5-5. Behind 6-foot-3 junior Tamarrion Terry (19.6 ppg, 12.6 rpg), Turner County is steamrolling opponents winning its last six games by an average of 34.5 points. Last Friday they stomped main competition No. 6 Atkinson County, 82-46.
Region 3
Team Overall Region
(B) No. 3 Treutlen 17-2 8-0
(A) Savannah Christian 11-6 7-3
(A) Portal 11-10 7-3
(B) Montgomery County 12-10 5-3
(A) Claxton 9-11 5-4
(A) Woodville-Tompkins 10-10 6-6
(B) Johnson County 7-13 3-3
(B) Wheeler County 6-12 3-3
(A) Calvary Day 7-11 3-6
(B) ECI 4-12 2-4
(A) Jenkins County 4-16 3-6
(A) Savannah Country Day 4-17 2-11
No. 3 Treutlen has rolled through Region 3, taking no prisoners. The Vikings held the No. 1 ranking in the state for weeks before falling to No. 7 Calhoun County 66-51 last Saturday. After an 11-15 season last year, Savannah Christian is now 11-6 and on top of Sub-Region A, trying to hold off Portal, winner of seven straight. Star football player Demetris Robertson, a 5-star recruit, leads the Raiders with 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds a night. Savannah Christian opened up the year with a 58-45 loss to Treutlen without Robertson.
Region 4
Team Overall Region
No. 5 Taylor County 15-6 12-1
No. 9 Central-Talbotton 14-8 10-3
Greenville 7-12 7-5
Hawkinsville 12-7 7-5
St. Anne-Pacelli 13-8 7-6
Marion County 11-9 6-6
Dooly County 7-11 5-7
Schley County 4-16 2-10
Brookstone 4-17 0-13
No. 5 Taylor County is in control of the region but No. 9 Central-Talbotton is making a move as the Hawks have cracked the poll for the first time this week. Senior Djimon Edge leads Central in scoring at 13.7 points per game, but sophomores Zytavian Hill and Jaquavius Smith might be the most important pieces for Coach Andrew Hall. Hill averages 12.4 points, 3.5 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals while Smith posts 11.8 points, 5.7 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals as a 6-foot-4 guard. Both Hawkinsville and St. Anne-Pacelli remain dangerous. The Vikings peaked at No. 4 in Class A-Private but have tumbled out of the poll after three straight losses. Hawkinsville reached as high as No. 4 as well in A-Public, but slipped to 9-7 overall before winning three in a row. Three seniors steer the Vikings’ ship. Tre Sudberry averages 22.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.6 steals for Coach Alan Griffin. Triston Wells pitches in 16.6 points while Armon Prophet fills the stat sheet with 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 3.8 steals per game.
Region 5
Team Overall Region
* No. 1 Greenforest 19-2 8-0
* No. 3 SWAC 13-8 7-1
Paideia 11-9 6-1
* No. 7 Our Lady of Mercy 15-3 6-2
Landmark Christian 11-7 5-3
W.D. Mohammed 7-12 4-3
Mt. Vernon Presbyterian 7-11 4-4
Fulton Leadership Academy 3-12 3-5
Drew Charter 3-7 2-4
ELCA 3-14 2-5
Galloway 5-12 2-6
Atlanta Int’l 1-17 0-7
Strong Rock 1-19 0-8
Even with their upset loss to 3A No. 2 South Atlanta at the BCB MLK Showcase, No. 1 Greenforest is still the team to beat in Class A-Private. Justin Forrest is averaging 19 points per game while New Hampshire-commit John Ogwuche is chipping in 12.2. Coach Larry Thompson’s strength lies inside with a plethora of 6-foot-8 players and above keyed by 5-star junior, 7-foot Ikey Obiagu who averages over 4 blocks per game. No. 3 SWAC relies on horse De’Andre Ballard, a 4-star junior averaging 23.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.3 steals. No. 7 Our Lady of Mercy doesn’t have the size or athletes of some other teams in the region, but steady guard play has helped Coach Tony Caruso’s team burn opponents. Cedric Labat averages 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists while Anthony Caruso dishes out 6.2 assists per game. Paideia is starting to play some of its best ball behind Addison Owen and Solomon Burt-Murray. Landmark Christian flirted with the top five this season but the War Eagles’ run-and-gun offense has slowed down. Zack Allen and Collier Schultz are both still lethal. Allen posts 24.1 points and 8.4 rebounds while Schultz adds 16.3 points and 7.1 assists. Junior Khalid Wilkins is a player to remember for Mt. Vernon. The point guard has some juice when the ball is in his hands.
Region 6
Team Overall Region
(A) * No. 2 North Cobb Christian 15-3 6-0
(B) * No. 4 St. Francis 14-7 8-1
(A) Excel Christian 11-9 5-1
(B) Georgia School for the Deaf 6-8 3-1
(B) * No. 5 Whitefield Academy 13-7 6-2
(A) Christian Heritage 15-4 4-2
(B) * No. 9 King’s Ridge Christian 13-6 7-3
(B) * No. 10 Walker 13-5 5-3
(A) Mt. Zion 10-10 4-4
(B) Fellowship Christian 6-15 2-6
(B) Mt. Pisgah 5-14 2-8
(A) Trion 4-16 1-6
(B) Pinecrest Academy 8-12 1-7
(A) Mt. Paran 2-16 0-7
(A) Morris Innovative 0-8 0-2
Star-power is heavy in Region 6 and five teams load the Class A-Private rankings including defending state champ No. 4 St. Francis. No. 5 Whitefield Academy extracted revenge against their arch nemesis last Tuesday, 75-73. Isaiah Hart went for 37 points and Brendon Myles poured in 25 points and 14 rebounds to beat the Knights. Kobi Simmons scored 34. He is averaging 27 points this season and recently committed to Arizona. No. 2 North Cobb Christian has been up and down like much of the region this year, but Coach Greg Matta finds ways to win. Excel Christian is red-hot, winning five straight games. Darius Thrower, Caleb West and Chris Hale have carried Coach Matt Sanders’ Eagles. No. 9 King’s Ridge has 7-foot center Tolu Jacobs waiting to become eligible. One big man has played and done so extremely well for No. 10 Walker. Harvard-commit Robert Baker is averaging over 22 points and 13 rebounds per game, pacing the Wolverines.
Region 7
Team Overall Region
(B) No. 1 Hancock Central 14-5 7-1
(A) No. 2 Wilkinson County 15-5 6-1
(B) Georgia Military College 10-6 5-2
(A) * No. 8 Stratford Academy 13-5 5-3
(B) No. 10 Lincoln County 12-5 5-3
(A) First Presbyterian Day 13-7 5-3
(B) Aquinas 7-5 5-3
(A) Tattnall Square Academy 13-6 3-4
(B) Warren County 4-14 3-5
(A) Mt. de Sales 8-12 2-5
(A) Twiggs County 8-12 1-6
(B) Taliaferro County 1-12 1-6
(B) Glascock County 0-11 0-6
No. 1 Hancock Central will be no more after No. 10 Lincoln County upset the Bulldogs 61-59 on Tuesday; the Red Devils’ first win over Hancock in over 25 years! Ahmad Rand finished with 18 points, over 10 rebounds and eight blocks. The 6-foot-7 junior is no longer the best kept secret in Georgia. Slowly, D-1 programs have started taking notice in the big man and the program. No. 2 Wilkinson County has won six straight and has split with Hancock, 68-55 at home, a win, and a 70-62 loss at Hancock on Jan. 9. Sophomore Clarence Jackson is 6-foot-5 and leads Wilkinson with 13.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists. The Warriors have some tough size inside with four players 6-foot-5 or taller, capped by 6-foot-9 Jonathan Baehre. Georgia Military can be a scary team moving forward thanks to 6-foot-2 senior Luke Lawson. The flamethrower pumps in 25.7 points per game. No. 8 Stratford Academy has some big-time athletes. Nate Brooks, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound junior, has drawn major interest from D-1 schools. Quintez Cephus was originally signed to play guard at Furman, but instead decided to play football at Wisconsin. Senior guard O’Showen Williams, another football standout, is difficult to contain on the hardwood, giving Coach Jamie Dickey three reliable scorers.
Region 8
Team Overall Region
* No. 6 Lakeview Academy 18-4 10-0
Hebron Christian Academy 16-6 8-2
Tallulah Falls 11-9 7-3
Athens Christian 10-7 6-3
Prince Avenue Christian 10-6 5-3
Towns County 7-11 3-4
Providence Christian 5-15 3-6
Athens Academy 4-14 1-7
George Walton Academy 2-16 1-8
Commerce 0-17 0-8
Hebron Christian cracked the top ten at No. 10 last week, but quickly fell out after No. 6 Lakeview Academy spanked them 65-48. Hebron also lost 62-46 to George Walton. Lakeview is the class of the region and will finish the regular season undefeated baring a huge upset. Coach Todd Cottrell’s group shares the ball well and gets everyone involved. Senior Daniel Fadool is an assist machine while Josh Randolph and Carter Reeves are double-double threats. Junior Tre Gober is dangerous on the perimeter as one of Lakeview’s most consistent scorers.