GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Rankings

Week 1 Boys Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

  1. McEachern (1-0)
  2. Norcross (3-0)
  3. Grayson (2-0)
  4. Wheeler (1-1)
  5. Newton (2-0)
  6. Duluth (2-0)
  7. Collins Hill (2-0)
  8. Shiloh (1-1)
  9. Mountain View (1-1)
  10. Pebblebrook (1-0) 

Class AAAAAA

  1. Gainesville (0-1)
  2. Dacula (1-0)
  3. Langston Hughes (0-1)
  4. Coffee (0-0)
  5. Bradwell Institute (1-0)
  6. Douglas County (1-0)
  7. Tri-Cities (0-1)
  8. Jonesboro (0-0)
  9. Tucker (1-1)
  10. Alpharetta (0-1) 

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (1-0)
  2. Warner Robins (1-0)
  3. Cedar Shoals (1-0)
  4. Miller Grove (1-1)
  5. Columbia (1-0)
  6. Eagle’s Landing (0-0)
  7. Southwest DeKalb (1-1)
  8. McIntosh (1-0)
  9. Starr’s Mill (1-0)
  10. Lithonia (2-1) 

Class AAAA

  1. Upson-Lee (1-0)
  2. St. Pius X (2-0)
  3. Sandy Creek (2-1)
  4. Baldwin (0-2)
  5. Cartersville (0-0)
  6. Mary Persons (0-0)
  7. Carver-Columbus (1-0)
  8. Stephens County (1-0)
  9. Richmond Academy (2-0)
  10. Westover (0-2)

Class AAA

  1. Morgan County (1-0)
  2. Johnson-Savannah (1-0)
  3. Greater Atlanta Christian (2-0)
  4. Cedar Grove (0-1)
  5. Westside-Macon (0-0)
  6. Jenkins (0-0)
  7. Pace Academy (0-0)
  8. Calhoun (0-0)
  9. Dougherty (1-0)
  10. Long County (1-1) 

Class AA

  1. Swainsboro (0-0)
  2. Glenn Hills (0-0)
  3. Banks County (0-0)
  4. Dublin (0-0)
  5. Thomasville (2-0)
  6. South Atlanta (1-1)
  7. Jeff Davis (2-0)
  8. Laney (2-0)
  9. Monticello (1-0)
  10. Butler (1-0) 

Class A-Private

  1. St. Francis (2-0)
  2. Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (0-0)
  3. Greenforest (1-1)
  4. Aquinas (0-0)
  5. Wesleyan (1-0)
  6. Stratford Academy (0-0)
  7. Lakeview Academy (0-1)
  8. North Cobb Christian (1-1)
  9. King’s Ridge Christian (2-0)
  10. Mt. Pisgah (2-0) 

Class A-Public

  1. Calhoun County (1-0)
  2. Macon County (0-0)
  3. Central-Talbotton (1-0)
  4. Treutlen (0-0)
  5. Wilcox County (1-0)
  6. Montgomery County (1-0)
  7. Wilkinson County (0-0)
  8. Pelham (0-0)
  9. Woodville-Tompkins (0-0)
  10. Mt. Zion-Carroll (0-0)

 

There weren’t too many surprises during the first week and a half of Class AAAAAAA basketball, with No. 1 McEachern, No. 2 Norcross and No. 3 Grayson all getting off to hot starts. The Indians pushed past No. 4 Wheeler 71-59, the Blue Devils trounced Class 5A No. 4 Miller Grove 87-61 before stopping Class 6A No. 1 Gainesville 74-62 and the Rams blitzed Class A-Private No. 3 Greenforest, 101-59. Both No. 5 Newton and No. 6 Duluth climb two spots while No. 7 Collins Hill is the biggest mover, up three slots. No. 8 Shiloh and No. 9 Mountain View both slip three spots. The Generals lost to Class 4A No. 3 Sandy Creek 73-68 while the Bears saw a lead slip away to Miller Grove at the Jared Cook Classic, losing 47-45. Meadowcreek (2-1) started the season hot with blowout wins over defending state champion Tift County (70-46) and Rockdale County (57-14) but the Mustangs were tripped up and out-toughed by No. 10 Pebblebrook, who takes their place in the poll after a 57-52 win at the On The Radar Tip-Off Classic behind DJ Murray’s 24 points.

Class AAAAAA had a week to forget as six preseason Top 10 teams lost. With that being said, there just weren’t enough results and teams ready to leap into the poll to replace more than just Cambridge (1-1), who beat Walton 67-55 but got thrashed by Peachtree Ridge and Florida State-signee Devin Vassell’s 27 points in a 78-43 loss at the Tabo’s Tip-Off Classic. No. 1 Gainesville narrowly holds onto their top spot after losing to Norcross and seeing Region 8 foe No. 2 Dacula unable to blow past Harris County, winning by a modest 12 points at the Craig Sager Memorial Tournament. Defending state champion No. 3 Langston Hughes clings onto their Top 3 ranking after Landers Nolley’s 23 points wasn’t enough to beat Class 4A No. 2 St. Pius at the Jared Cook Classic. With all of the losses, No. 5 Bradwell Institute and No. 6 Douglas County benefit the most. Khalyn Weekely made a statement in his first GHSA game, pouring in 35 points as Bradwell Institute drilled Liberty County 84-73 after leading by as many as 30. Douglas County debuts in the poll after beating No. 7 Tri-Cities in overtime 83-77. Cam Copeland and Rickey Clark combined for 41 points in the Tigers backcourt while Ernest Randle posted a triple-double inside. Tri-Cities did not have 6-foot-7 post Zachary Morgan and the difference-maker is not listed on the team roster. If he is no longer with the Bulldogs, Tri-Cities’ upside takes an enormous hit.

No. 2 Warner Robins survived a scare in Class AAAAA, outlasting Stockbridge 78-75. Georgia State-signee Nelson Phillips finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks while Jacolbey Owens dropped in 21 points. Future Georgia State teammate Kavonte Ivery went for 29 points for the Tigers. No. 3 Cedar Shoals also escaped with a win, beating Oconee County 47-42 at the Andy Landers Classic. The only movement in the rankings come at the bottom of the poll with No. 9 Starr’s Mill swapping spots with No. 10 Lithonia. The Panthers are 1-0 with a win over Cherokee 58-22, while Lithonia sits at 2-1, bouncing back from a tough 79-78 loss against Greenforest at the Southwest DeKalb Showdown to beat Heritage-Conyers 56-48 and Dawson Christian Academy 81-45.

Class AAAA state runner-up No. 2 St. Pius is clicking on all cylinders. The Golden Lions punished Blessed Trinity 67-41 at the X-Dome before icing Langston Hughes at the Jared Cook Classic 67-58 behind Matt Gonzalo’s 23 points and Everett Lane’s 9-for-9 free throw shooting and 19 points. No. 3 Sandy Creek and No. 4 Baldwin maintain their positions in the poll. The Patriots lost at rival Fayette County 67-65 but followed up with a big 73-68 win over Shiloh thanks to Jarred Godfrey’s 23 points and Xavier Brewer’s 18 points and 7 rebounds. The Braves dropped two close games to Flora, SC 52-49 and Class 3A No. 2 Johnson-Savannah in overtime, 81-79. Salem (2-2) and Woodward Academy (0-2) both tumble out of the Top 10, the Seminoles sinking all the way from No. 6 after bad losses to Hiram (43-38) and at Therrell (47-34) while the previously No. 8 ranked War Eagles got thumped by quality competition, losing to Class 3A No. 3 GAC 61-35 and GISA’s Trinity Christian 67-54. Replacing them is No. 7 Carver-Columbus and No. 8 Stephens County. The Tigers stunned Class 6A No. 9 Tucker 72-60 behind AJ Watts’ 22 points while the Indians demolished Class 3A preseason No. 7 East Hall at the Jared Cook Classic 90-53 with Ty Nails dropping 30 points and big man DeUndra Singleton going for 18 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. No. 10 Westover is already on the ropes after fizzling in two packed games, losing to Class 2A No. 5 Thomasville 70-56 and Class 3A No. 9 Dougherty 62-58, blowing a 31-17 halftime lead to the Trojans.

Both No. 1 Morgan County and No. 2 Johnson-Savannah had to rely on herculean efforts from their stars to win their season openers in Class AAA. Alec Woodard (36) and Tyrin Lawrence (25) combined for 61 points in the Bulldogs’ 84-78 victory over Therrell at the Craig Sager Memorial Tournament. The Atomsmashers used a Shamar Jones game-winner to sneak past Baldwin in overtime, 81-79. Georgia-signee Amanze Ngumezi hung 23 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks on the Braves. No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian rises a spot over No. 4 Cedar Grove following the Saints’ 54-46 loss to Berkmar. East Hall (0-1) is replaced in the Top 10 by No. 9 Dougherty after the Vikings lost by 37 to Stephens County and the Trojans rallied to knockoff Westover behind Middle Tennessee State-signee Carlos Curry’s 13 points, 10 rebounds and 9 blocks.

The biggest news coming out of Class AA isn’t from any of last week’s games, but instead the transfer of Class A-Public First Team All-State selection Clarence Jackson to No. 4 Dublin, who moves up two spots without playing a game. Jackson leaves Wilkinson County with two state championships under his belt to join his home school where he will team up with First Team All-State point guard Kameron Pauldo. The Irish instantly become a favorite to win the state title with the 6-foot-6 forward now in the picture. Elsewhere, No. 5 Thomasville defeated Westover by 14 and Tift County by eight. Defending state champion No. 6 South Atlanta slides two spots after taking an eye-opening 84-62 beating from Lambert at the On The Radar Tip-Off Classic.

Boy oh boy, Class A-Private isn’t what it used to be. Uncertainty and question marks have surrounded the class all offseason and they have come to a head early in the season. It’s tough to shake off the lopsided scrimmage scores against higher classifications, but they will have to be thrown out the window. Nonetheless, this is likely the weakest the classification has been in five years. No. 1 St. Francis has taken care of business in the regular season and looks comfortable with the target on their back. They aren’t as talented as the days of Kobi Simmons, Malik Beasley and Kaiser Gates, but the Knights are still young and dangerous. They handled Brewbaker Tech, AL 84-70 and Pinson Valley, AL 83-72 at the Hoops 4 A Cure Classic. Sophomores Dwon Odom, Chase Ellis and Sam Hines have come up big. Defending two-time state champion No. 3 Greenforest drops one spot but could be headed for an even deeper slope if they can’t get their act together. They opened up with a come from behind 79-78 win over Lithonia but all momentum was lost as Grayson harassed them into a devastating 42-point loss at the Jared Cook Classic, 101-59. No. 5 Wesleyan got past Hebron Christian 77-67 thanks to Christian McLean’s 34 points. No. 7 Lakeview Academy and No. 8 North Cobb Christian both suffered losses, the Lions to Lanier 72-62 and the Eagles to Alexander, 62-59. No. 9 King’s Ridge Christian hasn’t overly impressed, but the Tigers are still 2-0 after beating Paideia (51-41) and Brookstone (54-49). Holy Innocents’ (0-1) departs from the poll, but they should be back very soon. The young Golden Bears lost to rival Riverwood 66-50, but freshman Garrison Powell was a bright spot with 17 points. They are replaced by the Quinn Richey-led No. 10 Mt. Pisgah Patriots, who hammered Tallulah Falls 77-51 and Chestatee 80-47. We will know infinitely more about Class A-Private at Holiday Hoopsgiving. No. 2 ELCA plays Holy Innocents’ and No. 4 Aquinas. St. Francis and Greenforest will also be in action.

As usual, there is not much going on in Class A-Public early in the season, but there is some drama. No. 1 Calhoun County destroyed Hawkinsville 98-26. No. 7 Wilkinson County drops three spots with Clarence Jackson transferring and Dr. Aaron Geter’s ethics under major scrutiny as the Class A-Public dynasty may be on the verge of implosion. No. 5 Wilcox County beat Crisp County 83-73 and No. 6 Montgomery County moves up after beating Wheeler County 93-41.