Class AAAAAA
Did You Know: Three teams from Region 3 advanced to the Elite Eight this year (Westlake, Pebblebrook, Campbell).
R3 #1 Westlake (26-4)
New faces littered Coach Darron Rogers’ roster this season and has helped turn a 13-15 team a year ago into a statewide power contending for its first state title since winning in 1999 and 2002. In 2009-10 the Marcus Thornton-led Lions fell to Milton in the championship 56-46 after Thornton, a recent UGA graduate, injured his ankle in warmups and had to sit out after the pain was too much to bear. This year’s version of No. 2 Westlake is anchored by another forward who has made an impact in his first year as a Lion, Chuma Okeke. The talented junior forward scored 22 points in their win over No. 8 Newton in the Final Four, 64-59. The Lions have been tested all year long coming out of Region 3, the state’s best. They will attempt one of the hardest feats in sports, beating a team not three times but four times in a single season. They have beaten No. 7 Pebblebrook 76-70, 82-72 and 79-57 in the Region 3 championship. Outside of the region, the Lions peppered their schedule with some of the nation’s best. Two of their four losses have come to teams out of state, No. 3 in the country Montverde Academy (FL) 76-54 and Memphis East 69-58. The road to Macon has been a treacherous one and the most difficult in Class AAAAAA. Westlake has had to survive No. 3 Norcross (61-50), No. 6 Shiloh (44-43) and No. 8 Newton (64-59) in rounds two through four. Throughout the tournament Westlake’s superior guard play and size has worn on opponents. Jamie Lewis is one of the best sophomore guards in the country while Danny Lewis is no slouch himself. Ronald Bell has brought a toughness inside to pair with 6-foot-9 Michael Durr and 6-foot-6 Raquan Wilkins. Jamie scored 18 points and hit clutch free throws down the stretch to beat Newton. He and Danny will have their hands full trying to slow down the highest scoring backcourt in the state.
R3 #2 Pebblebrook (23-9)
Coach George Washington hopes the fourth time is a charm and that they can soothe the fresh wounds from a year ago when a controversial call went in Wheeler’s favor to help the Wildcats win the state title 59-58 after two Jaylen Brown (Cal) free throws with 0.6 seconds left stunned the Falcons. Though they lost standouts Derek Ogbeide (UGA), Ty Hudson (Clemson) and Trhae Mitchell (South Alabama), the dynamic duo of Collin Sexton and Jared Harper (Auburn) have the No. 7 ranked Falcons back on the attack in Macon. The two form the highest scoring backcourt in the state. The diminutive Harper is a fearless flamethrower willing to shoot threes from anywhere on the court which has helped him average close to 28 points and even 10 assists per game. Sexton, a junior, has been a key addition and has seen his recruitment sky rocket as he too averages over 28 points a night. As explosive as Coach Washington’s backcourt is, others have stepped up their play as of late to take some pressure off their shoulders. Junior JJ Smith is a new face to the Georgia circuit and is an Ole Miss-commit. His high-flying aerial maneuvers makes him one of the state’s most entertaining players to watch whether he is catching alley-oops from Harper and Sexton, or grabbing rebounds and blocking shots. In their 77-70 win over Milton in the Final Four it was Smith who scored nine of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Sexton hung 35 on the Eagles and enters the state championship red-hot. Uncharacteristically, Harper has been slowed down, held to 11 points in each of his last two games. Stepping up has been sophomore Dwight Murray who scored a career-high 23 in a 78-71 Elite Eight victory over No. 5 McEachern. The Falcons took their lumps early in the year going 8-6 with a national schedule, but have found their footing in-state winning 15 of their last 18 games.