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GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

GHSA Statewide Recap 11-15

Boys

 

Class AAAAAAA

No. 9 Collins Hill 75, Osborne 66: In a loss, the Osborne Cardinals were led by Latrell Tate’s 20 points. Jermaine Thompson scored 14 and Kaylan Davis added 11. JD Ozoh powered the Eagles with 18 points. Chris Parks recorded 16 points while Max Clark finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Kenny Stanciel produced 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Woodstock 66, Northview 61: The Wolverines rallied from a 28-17 halftime deficit to storm past Northview. Woodstock took its first lead of the second half with 1:32 remaining on a Tyreke Johnson free throw. Johnson, playing with a strained groin, poured in 33 points (16-of-20 FT), 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. Running mate Dylin Hardeman scored all 11 points in the second half. Brant Hurter added 8 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block while Cameron Crowe tallied 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Northview received 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal from junior point guard Justin Brown. Joe Jones added 10 points and 5 rebounds. Zane Patel notched 5 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in the loss.

Parkview 72, Creekside 55: Parkview earned an impressive road win, defeating the Seminoles by 17. Freshman Toneari Lane dropped a team-high 16 points. Justin Spencer scored 15 while Cam Chavers (12) and Ahmir Langlais (8) also did damage. Creekside was led by 6-foot-8 big man Tyson Jackson, the junior scoring 19.

Discovery 72, Jefferson 31: The Titans rolled behind a balanced attack. Jaylen Bussey canned six threes en route to a team-high 18 points. Junior 6-foot-7 post Kalu Ezikpe totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds. Air Force signee Jaden Stanley went for 11 points and 7 rebounds. DJ Young dished out 6 assists.

Central Gwinnett 93, West Forsyth 55: The Black Knights’ potent backcourt overwhelmed the West Forsyth Wolverines. Jalen Hillery pumped in 30 points while Jalen Morgan added 23 and Spencer Turner managed to score 12 points.

Duluth 90, Drew 71: Adam Flagler paced the Wildcat backcourt with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Jalen Hodges collected 17 points and 5 rebounds. Will Huzzie posted 11 points and 8 rebounds. Christian Kelly netted 11 points and Lamont Smith finished with 6 points and 9 assists.

Forsyth Central 60, Pickens 32: Hunter McDonald scored 14 points and picked up 9 rebounds and 6 assists to lead the Bulldogs over the Dragons. CJ Smith netted 15 points and dished out 6 assists. Ethan Hester added 11 points. Seth Bishop scored 13 points in the loss for Pickens.

Mountain View 55, Archer 37: The Bears raced past the Tigers behind Spencer Rodgers’ 17 points and 5 assists. Miles Long added 11 points and 3 steals while Jalen Hayes notched 9 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Pope 83, Kennesaw Mountain 75: Kennesaw Mountain struggled to contain AJ Watson who poured in 31 points and 6 assists to power the Greyhounds.

Roswell 55, South Forsyth 54: Senior RJ Frierson sank a game-winning free throw with :01 second left to propel the Hornets over the War Eagles on the road. Senior James Anderson scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Miles Herron netted 21 in the win as Roswell advances to 2-0.

Class AAAAAA

(Scrimmage) No. 5 Allatoona 69, Milton 43: Trey Doomes poured in 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in a high profile preseason scrimmage.

No. 6 Heritage-Conyers 70, Lithonia 66: Jordan Thomas scored 17 points in addition to his 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Isaiah Banks finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Florida Atlantic signee Byron Abrams went for 16 points, 7 assists and 3 steals. JaQuez Hicks controlled the paint, tallying 8 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and 5 blocks.

Apalachee 83, Monroe Area 77 OT: Omer Ahmed scored 23 points to lead the Wildcats. Deron Collier and Brandon Bannis both pitched in 9 points apiece. Jamonte Wallace added 8 points and Derek Miller finished with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Creekview 59, North Cobb 41: Weber Sandlin scored 15 points to help the Grizzlies to an out-of-region win. Chandler Wright grabbed 13 rebounds.

Northgate 87, Ola 68: The Vikings received a game-high 34 points from Treveon Cook.

Class AAAAA

No. 8 Southwest DeKalb 43, Stephenson 41: Josh Archer hit a shot with four seconds left to lift Southwest DeKalb over a scrappy Stephenson bunch. Eugene Brown III led the Panthers with 10 points while Quincy Carter added 9 and Archer produced 8 points and 7 rebounds. Khalil Foster-Scott scored a game-high 14 for Stephenson. Trevon Daniel went for 10 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

No. 9 Fayette County 75, 4ANo. 2 Sandy Creek 69: Phillip Young finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals to help the Tigers to a statement victory early in the year. Austin Nesmith scored 16 points. Jaylen Holloway totaled 13 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Joshua Dupree chipped in 8 points, 3 steals and 3 blocks while Furman signee Noah Gurley tossed in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Three players fouled out for Sandy Creek as the Patriots were hit with 34 team fouls. Evan Jester went for 26 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in the loss. KJ Wilkins added 12 points and 4 steals, Xavier Brewer netted 11 points and TJ Bickerstaff finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

No. 10 Riverwood 63, 1ANo. 4 Holy Innocents’ 62: Embry-Riddle signee Elijah Jenkins netted 13 points to go with his 9 rebounds and 6 assists in another tight victory over rival Holy Innocents’. Rudy Fitzgibbons went for 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Charnchai Chantha collected 6 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Senior 6-foot-7 post Josh Brown finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals. In the loss, Cole Smith scored a game-high 23 points. Richard Surdykowski added 17 points and Jules Erving followed with 14.

Kell 68, Sprayberry 60: Florida Gulf Cost big man Brian Thomas pulled down a 13-point 11-rebound double-double to help the Longhorns to an in county victory. Sayvon Delgado scored a game-high 18 and Jahwan Smith chipped in 10 points and 5 assists. Sprayberry received 15 points from Rodney Pearson and 16 points from Eddie Figueroa.

Flowery Branch 66, East Jackson 33: Caleb Murphy did damage for the Falcons, tossing in a team-high 18 points to go with his 3 steals and 2 blocks. Brannon Clark scored 13 points and collected 4 steals while Blake Coxworth netted 12 points.

Johnson-Gainesville 61, Habersham Central 34: Will Richter got the Johnson Knights off to a good start this year scoring a team-high 16 points. Alex Sims did the dirty work and collected six points in the process.

Class AAAA

No. 3 Upson-Lee 58, Heard County 44: Upson-Lee dominated, opening up a 28-2 first quarter lead before playing the bench for the majority of the game. Tye Fagan dropped in 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks in limited action.

Blessed Trinity 62, Fellowship Christian 32: Ben Shappard and Andy Swade scored 10 points apiece for Blessed Trinity. Russell Dorvee netted a game-high 12. Sophomore CJ Abrams chipped in 9 points as 10 Titans cracked the scoring column. Fellowship was led by Cody Frazer’s 11 points.

Shaw 92, Harris County 68: Jalen Ken poured in 22 points and grabbed three rebounds while Chris Hicks netted 21 points and handed out 3 assists.

Class AAA

(Scrimmage) No. 2 Westside-Macon 88, Locust Grove 36: New look Westside-Macon romped Locust Grove. Xavier signee Kentrevious Jones went for 25 points and 5 rebounds. Greg Holloway, a sleeper that will be highlighted on hypesouth.com, finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Trey Foster had 9 points and 4 assists. Khavon Moore played sparingly in the blow out.

No. 8 Lovett 51, North Atlanta 46 2OT: With eight players missing from the active roster due to the football state playoffs, the Lovett Lions still found a way to win and proved that free throw shooting wins games. Ryan Greer poured in 32 points and went 16-of-24 from the line while as a team the Lions shot 19-of-28. North Atlanta shot just 10-of-27 and had a chance to win in regulation, but sophomore Robert Ghirardini of Lovett buried a three at the buzzer to send it to an extra period. Ghirardini finished with 6 points while Ryan Pate scored 9. North Atlanta was led by Jadin Knight’s 13 points and Emmanuel Roberts’ 10.

Long County 79, Bacon County 70: Terry Smith and Henry Blair powered the Long County Blue Tide. Smith dropped 24 while Blair pumped in 21 points.

Redan 67, Morrow 64: Electric guard play from Tyonn Stuckey and Jibril Wykcoff tenacity helped the Raiders to a nice out of region victory. Stuckey finished with 18 points, 9 assists and 5 steals. Wykcoff went off for 28 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals.

Class AA

No. 4 Monticello 69, Jones County 65: CJ Adams erupted for 29 points and 6 rebounds. Ashton Bonner went for 20 points and 5 rebounds as the Hurricane guards propelled Monticello to a win.

No. 8 Banks County 51, North Hall 45: Gabe Martin scored 18 points and Kahmal Wiley tossed in 12 points to withstand the visiting Trojans. North Hall received 13 points from Taylor Hanson and 12 from Justin Rabb.

Class A-Private

Hebron Christian 74, Social Circle 50:  The Derrick Heberling era got off to a good start, defeating Social Circle by 24. John Stewart and Alex Calvert both netted 13 points. Tanner Welch and Wesley Warbington added 10 points apiece.

Prince Avenue 62, Oglethorpe County 60: Sophomore Mack Simmons sank two big free throws late to seal a victory for the Wolverines. Simmons finished with 18 points. Senior Sam Todd netted a team-high 22.

 

Girls

Class AAAAAAA

Mill Creek 43, 4ANo. 3 West Hall 35: Coming off of a disappointing 13-15 season, Mill Creek picked up its second big win of the season. In the loss Anna McKendree was held to 15 points and 5 rebounds. Macy Passmore pitched in 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Class AAAAAA

No. 10 Northview 57, 7ANo. 9 Woodstock 44: Northview’s size overwhelmed Woodstock. Sophomore Ashlee Austin pitched in 14 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block. Maya Richards, also a sophomore, produced 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks. Senior Shannon Titus finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 7 blocks. Woodstock was led by South Alabama signee Devyn Lowe, who scored a game-high 23.

Class AAAAA

McIntosh 51, Newnan 31: DeLayne Rotolo led the Lady Chiefs with a game-high 18 points.

Class AAAA

No. 4 North Oconee 49, 5ANo. 8 Loganville 42: The Lady Titans held off Loganville in a great cross classification Top 10 matchup. Emma Weynand netted 15 points while Camryn Williams chipped in 14 to lead North Oconee.

Pickens 61, Forsyth Central 54: Mykenzie Weaver got the Dragonettes off to a season opening win, scoring 20 points.

 

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Heritage rallies from 15 down to stun Southwest DeKalb

No. 6 Heritage 51, No. 8 Southwest DeKalb 47

Down 15 at the half in a hot gym on a late night, Class AAAAAA No. 6 Heritage-Conyers could have easily folded and called it a night. With both Isaiah Banks and Byron Abrams not 100%, no one would have blamed the Patriots for a season opening loss at Southwest DeKalb Showdown III against host Class AAAAA No. 8 Southwest DeKalb. But instead, a team with seemingly no pulse heading into the fourth quarter, found life and stunned the home crowd, 51-47, using a 20-5 run to end the night.

Southwest DeKalb held a 9-6 lead after the first quarter and used an aggressive press to disrupt Heritage. While the Patriots’ veteran guards searched for answers, the Panthers pounced using a deep bench. Jalen Lee entered in the second quarter and brought instant energy as a 6-foot-6 forward. He scored all seven of his points in the frame highlighted by a jam that got the crowd involved and pushed the Panther lead to 21-12 with 1:43 left to play in the half.

Quincy Carter ended the second quarter with a buzzer beater giving Southwest DeKalb a commanding halftime lead, 30-15.

Heritage’s big three, senior guards Isaiah Banks, Byron Abrams and Jordan Thomas combined for just nine points, the Southwest press clearly effecting them as there were chippy moments throughout the game when Heritage tried to advance the ball against the Panther defense.

Eight different players scored for Southwest DeKalb in the first half as the Panthers entered the break 16 minutes away from a quality season opening win.

Any thoughts of an easy rout were thrown out the window as the Patriots tore off a quick 7-0 run to open the third quarter and draw to within 30-22. Josh Archer and Eugene Brown III stemmed the tide however with Archer hanging for a tough bucket in the lane and Brown, the freshman, adding a right wing three to push the lead back to 35-25 at the 3:09 mark of the third quarter and leading to a 39-31 advantage heading into the fourth.

Up 42-31 with 6:37 remaining, Southwest DeKalb took its foot off the gas and called off the press. The result was Heritage’s big three breaking through. Banks hit a three-pointer and soon after Thomas put in an And-1, cutting the lead to 44-39 with 4:13 to play.

Banks then struck again for two more buckets, bringing the score to 44-43, Southwest DeKalb throwing the press back on to try and regain momentum.

Thomas was fouled and sent to the line where he made both free throws, but had his first waved off due to a violation resulting in a tie game and a 13-2 run. With 1:18 remaining, it was Abrams’ turn to hit a free throw giving the Patriots their first second half lead at 45-44.

Banks knocked down two more free throws to go up three. Carter drove the lane for a layup but couldn’t connect with 26.7 seconds left forcing Southwest to begin fouling. Banks, Abrams and Thomas combined to net 19 of Heritage’s 20 fourth quarter points, Banks leading the way with nine of his game-high 19 points in the final eight minutes.

My Take

Heritage did not look good at all in the first half. Southwest DeKalb’s defense frustrated them and a few of the Patriots’ younger players looked like deer in headlights. 6-foot-7 junior JaQuez Hicks was active in the first quarter with two early buckets. He looks like he will be an important piece bringing length into the paint replacing Makyle Wilkerson. The Patriots looked dead in the water heading into the fourth quarter with the Panthers maintaining a steady 10-point lead, but once the press was called off, Heritage gained a full head of steam and their senior guards took over. Isaiah Banks was the catalyst with his rim attacking mentality and his three-pointer at the 6:23 mark ignited the 20-5 run to close. The Patriots’ trio of combo guards are all big and physical. The lack of a true pass-first and ball handling point guard was evident however. Heritage tallied just two assists as a team. Once everyone is healthy and fits into their roles, Heritage is going to be a handful.

Southwest DeKalb has a nice blend of youth and experience. Their press gave Heritage fits. If they kept their foot on the pedal pressing non-stop, I’m not sure Heritage would have been able to string together as many stops and scores as they did. Nine players scored for the Panthers. They won’t be as reliant on a handful of go-to guys like they were with Keith Gilmore and TiQuan Lewis last season. A scoring by committee approach will benefit them for the most part, but down the stretch when they went cold and saw Heritage surge ahead, it would have been nice to have a true No. 1 option. Darius Hogan and Mandarius Dickerson are two guys that should be among the team’s leading scorers this year and both were kept in check with six points apiece. Add those two with Quincy Carter and Josh Archer and the Panthers have a deep backcourt. Eugene Brown III is only a freshman, but I think he will play a big role off the bench for his father. He’s a good shooter and looks like he has high IQ.

 

Top Performers

Heritage
Isaiah Banks – 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Byron Abrams – 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
Jordan Thomas – 8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
JaQuez Hicks – 7 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Avante Lederer – 3 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

Southwest DeKalb
Josh Archer – 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Quincy Carter – 8 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals
Jalen Lee – 7 points, 1 rebound
Mandarius Dickerson – 6 points, 3 rebounds
Darius Hogan – 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Eugene Brown III – 5 points, 4 rebounds
Tabais Long – 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Greenforest wins defensive war with Shiloh

No. 1 Greenforest 51, No. 7 Shiloh 40

Opening day of the 2016-17 season saw Southwest DeKalb Showdown III host Class A-Private No. 1 Greenforest vs. Class AAAAAAA No. 7 Shiloh, annually two of the state’s most stingiest defenses. Greenforest’s offense would be put to the test without leading scorer Justin Forrest available to play.

The Generals rushed out to an early 7-2 lead behind Brian Coffey and Greg James but Greenforest’s bench instantly made an impact and helped the Eagles close the quarter up 8-7.

Abayomi Iyiola and Mohammed Abdulsalem combined for six quick points to steer momentum back into Greenforest’s corner in a low scoring defensive struggle.

In the second quarter, Greenforest got the slight separation it needed when Michael Evans drained a three and Terrell Sanders followed by banking in a deep ball, giving the Eagles a 16-9 edge. With Forrest out, Coach Larry Thompson had other guards step up. Evans scored all five of his points in the first half while Dougherty move-in David Quimby made his presence known right away, dropping in 13 points on the night.

At the half Shiloh trailed 26-18. Greg James kept the Generals afloat with seven of his game-high 22 points in the second quarter. He and Coffey combined for 17 of the team’s 18 points at the half.

In the third, Iyiola kept Greenforest ahead and had the Shiloh defense scratching its head as the lanky 6-foot-9 forward poured in mid-range jumpers.

Quimby made it 35-18 at the 4:20 mark of the third when Jandan Duggan found him on a baseline alley-oop. The Generals however would answer with a mini 9-4 spurt keyed by a James three at the buzzer, his fourth of five triples.

James opened the fourth with another three to bring Shiloh within 39-30. The Eagles and Generals continued to trade stops and buckets, while MTSU-signee TJ Massenburg began to make a difference. After a quiet first three quarters, the long-armed big man rose up for a thunderous putback dunk to make it 41-33 with 4:45 remaining and the pro-Shiloh crowd in full throat. But like they did throughout the entire game, Greenforest would thwart any type of Shiloh momentum, pushing the lead back to a 10-point deficit at 45-35 with three minutes left.

Shiloh would cut the lead back down to 47-40 with 56.4 seconds remaining, but would have to start playing the foul game where Duggan beat them from the line, hitting all four attempts and scoring six of his nine points in the final quarter.

 

My Take

Greenforest is still the team to beat in Georgia. Their Dec. 3 matchup with Wheeler should be an instant classic and the winner will get bragging rights as the state’s true best. Even without Justin Forrest, the Eagles didn’t skip a beat. The addition of David Quimby will loom large throughout the year as a guard that can get his own shot and take some of the burden off Forrest once he returns. He, Jandan Duggan and Michael Evans combined for 27 important points tonight. Inserting Abayomi Iyiola into the game off the bench really helped Greenforest take off. When he’s hitting jumpers consistently, the Eagles are difficult to beat. He had a team-high 14 points and 12 rebounds. Ikey Obiagu had an emphatic loud block in the opening seconds of the game against Brian Coffey but he was quiet outside of that, even though he did collect four blocks and seven rebounds. He went 1-for-8 from the foul line and finished with five points. His offensive game is still a work in progress and his explosiveness and ability to log major minutes night-in and night-out is still in question. He had a hard time gathering himself on fastbreaks when the Greenforest guards tried to lob him alley-oops. If the offense and mobility never fully comes around, he can still hang his hat on his rim protecting which will prove to be extremely valuable at all levels.

Only three players scored for Shiloh tonight – the three D-I players. Brian Coffey looked quick with the ball and could get into the paint but when facing 6-foot-8 through 7-footers, there wasn’t much he could do in the paint. The same goes for everyone that plays Greenforest, so Coffey had to rely on the mid-range. Greg James was great for Shiloh, hitting five threes. If he wasn’t on, it is scary to think what the score could have been. The VMI decommit also chipped in 10 rebounds. He is definitely someone that LM schools should look at to provide a boost on the perimeter; after last night’s showing it’s hard to fathom why no one has jumped in on him yet. TJ Massenburg battled valiantly but did have a hard time going at Ikey Obiagu, having his shot blocked a few times. It would have been nice to see him use his soft touch from beyond the arc to draw Greenforest’s bigs away from the basket to create driving lanes for Coffey and James, but I only remember him attempting one.

Top Performers

Greenforest
Abayomi Iyiola – 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals
David Quimby – 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Jandan Duggan – 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal
Ikey Obiagu – 5 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks
Mohammed Abdulsalem – 2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Victor Enoh – 8 rebounds, 1 assist

Shiloh
Greg James – 22 points, 10 rebounds
Brian Coffey – 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
TJ Massenburg – 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks

GHSA, Girls Basketball

Fulton County Media Day (Girls)

Complete Video: http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/northview-high-school-johns-creek-ga/26883f8408

Cambridge
Head Coach: Lesley Broadwell
2015-16: 10-17 

Does winning a state championship in softball carry momentum over into basketball season: “Absolutely winning breeds winning. Audrey [Smith] was part of that softball team. We are cheering for all the teams at Cambridge and there has been some success in the Fall and are looking to keep moving forward in that direction.”

 

Creekside
Head Coach: Rontashala Williams
2015-16: 5-18

On playing in a difficult region: “I told them someone told me that we were picked to win the region this year so they are so psyched and hyped up, they really don’t know who’s on the other teams. They are just so excited.”

On freshman Sitra Newton: “I’m expecting great things out of her. She still has a lot of things she needs to build on, grown on, but she’s a leader already as a freshman and I’m excited to see her on the court and get in and help lead this team.”

 

Westlake
Head Coach: Hilda Hankerson
2015-16: 25-6 

Is a young Westlake team ready to live up to expectations as Preseason No. 5: “I really think they are especially in their heart. In their heart they are ready. Sometimes that doesn’t always manifest on the floor but sometimes it does. Since they are so young, I will find out real soon. I do believe that they are. We had a real good summer.”


Centennial
Head Coach: John Domville
2015-16: 12-17

What did your team learn from last year’s state playoff berth: “I think the biggest thing was getting those extra practices. I don’t think a lot of people expected us to go to state, we ended that game on a 17-0 run. That was a North Forsyth team that was kind of a skeleton in our closet so to speak. To tell you, those Forsyth schools were always tough for Centennial to beat. And playing a team like Norcross at Norcross, for them to see that environment and again to set the expectations that this is where we are supposed to be.”

 

Chattahoochee
Head Coach: Haaris Quraishy
2015-16: 12-17

On Alayna Ford, Sienna Gore and Marissa Gore: “Alayna has really worked on her game over the offseason. She had a good summer on the AAU circuit and really expanded her game to be able to go inside and outside. Sienna is a little bit of a throwback in the sense that she doesn’t play AAU, she’s in the gym all of the time. Her and her sister are together literally all of the time. They are great kids, they work hard and they are fun to coach.”

 

Johns Creek
Head Coach: Kirk Call
2015-16: 6-19

How to recreate the success he had at Parkview: “It’s very challenging. I’ll be the first to tell you we had a lot of great players at Parkview. The best thing about that group is they bought in. They played for each other. I’m a big proponent of that if you care more about the person next to you than yourself you’re going to be successful. Step 1 to getting that process done is understanding the fact that I’m not out here for myself, I’m out here for my teammates and as long as I’m focused on doing something for my teammate and making everyone else better, that comes back around and works for me when they are creating a play for me.”

 

Alpharetta
Head Coach: David Walden
2015-16: 7-18

What to expect from sophomore Croix Bethune: “I’m looking at her and [Gogo and Juju Maduka] as leaders for our younger kids and for the kids who had little experience last year. I’m hoping with some of the players we got coming up that we can take some of the pressure off her as well from last year, scoring-wise and sometimes ball handling-wise as well. Really for her, the plan is for her to lead by example.”

Croix Bethune

What did you learn your freshman year that you can use going forward: “Really working hard, but not going overboard and to save some of my energy. The seniors that just graduated, having them to help me last season and having these players to help me.”

 

North Springs
Head Coach: Tonique Frasier
2015-16: 11-10 

On this year’s game plan: “Our game plan is to go out and play their basketball that I teach the girls every night from fundamental basics to executing. That’s basically our game plan.”

 

Northview
Head Coach: Chris Yarbrough
2015-16: 16-13 

Is the team ready to handle the pressure of being ranked No. 10 in the state: “One of the things I stress to them with all the accolades; it’s still just on paper. We haven’t played a game yet. Preseason rankings don’t count, they don’t get us anywhere so we need to make sure that we can rise to expectations that people are setting for us. I think we snuck up on people the last couple of years with the way we played but now we have to embrace the target. People are going to be coming after us night in and night out and we have to rise to that level each night.”

Ashlee Austin: “There’s a lot of new stuff: new region, new players but we are going to just keep playing our game and do what we can do.”

Shannon Titus: “We need to just have fun. I think when we are too hard on ourselves we make more mistakes and when we have fun we share the ball; we will be just fine and play our game.”

Maya Richards: “I think a lot of pressure, you can get wrapped up in the pressure so easily that when you’re actually playing, you just have to play basketball and not worry about your parents or school, you got to worry about playing the game and enjoy it.”

What changes in Year 2 after a successful freshman season:

Austin: “A lot more is expected of us this year now that we are older, we’ve had a season playing with them. A lot more is expected of us to contribute to the team and become those kinds of leaders that can lead everybody and create stuff for each other.”

Richards: “I think we’ve both improved from last year and we played AAU together so I think AAU has really helped us. AAU plus summer basketball, we’ve grown as people and players.”

On Shannon Titus’ role one the team and goal for her senior season:

Titus: “I think I just need to give it everything I have both offensively and defensively. I set a record [steals] but I can keep setting records and beat my own record. I guess I’m pretty hard on the younger players just to get them in track because they can goof off a little bit, just to help them and guide them on the right path.”

GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Fulton County Media Day (Boys)

Complete Video: http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/northview-high-school-johns-creek-ga/26883f8408


Northview
Head Coach: Steven Bombard
Region 7-AAAAAA
2015-16: 8-18

Expectations for the season: “We are pretty excited about this season. We have a really good group of guys returning with varsity experience from last year. We’ve got potentially five guys that were not on last year’s varsity roster that will be on this year’s varsity roster highlighted by Justin Brown, who has some D-I looks already. So we are really excited about the possibilities of what the season can be for us.”

On Justin Brown’s return: “You can see a big difference just in practice. He is one of the most vocal players on the court and it’s a big difference from where he was two years ago when he was just a freshman and was kind of just feeling things out.”

Justin Brown

Back at Northview and ready to be a leader his junior season: “I think coming back here my junior year at Northview, I think we will have a pretty good team and I’m ready to be a leader and just lead my teammates to have a winning season. Coming back from Milton, we had a pretty strong team but I think this year my family and I thought it would be best to come back here where I’m comfortable.”

Alpharetta
Head Coach: Jason Dasigner
Region 7-AAAAAA
2015-16: 11-18

On the dirty work that Garrett Davis does: “There’s a reason why Garrett is sitting at this table right now because he’s everything we want our team to be. I didn’t really know what I was getting with Garrett until I saw him battle with a 6-7 guy in the fall league [FGCU-commit Brian Thomas] without me having to prompt him. He brings toughness, he brings defensive rebounding and offensive rebounding. We may not run a lot of set plays for Garrett, but he could average 8 to 10 points per game by just doing the little stuff.”

What type of dynamic Alpharetta’s football players will bring once they get on the court: “In the fall league they looked decent at times and at times not so decent. I think that our football guys will bring some toughness and a little more athleticism. But I’m interested to see how they respond. They’ve been playing football, they haven’t been with us. We’ve been trying to build this community and these guys get after it every single day in practice. We’re hoping those football guys bring a little beef to the table and some athleticism, but if they don’t fall in line with what we are trying to create, then they are going to be kind of on the outside looking in.”

 

Chattahoochee
Head Coach: Kacey Martin
Region 7-AAAAAA
2015-16: 12-14

Where 6-foot-5 sophomore post Grant Van Beveren fits in this year: “Grant is young, he’s a sophomore. But he’s got some height on him and he’s very patient in the post. You get a lot of post players that get the ball and they try and do things too fast. I think that’s that old school mentality that you were talking about. He’s going to catch it, kind of feel where the defense is and decide what move he is going to make and he’s got really good instincts in the post.”

 

Tri-Cities
Head Coach: Omari Forts
Region 5-AAAAAA
2015-16: 10-14

On playing in a tough deep region: “I think the four teams that advance out of our region will have an opportunity to make a lot of noise in the playoffs. But we try and get them to focus on the process. Focus on us internally. Focus on the process and not worry so much about things down the road that you can’t totally control.”

What style of play they look to implement: “Guys that have coached and played against us the last few years will tell you we run the Triangle Offense. We put a lot of defensive focus. If I said there’s one thing we hang our hat on is half court basketball, being able to execute in the half court sets because when you get to the playoffs a lot of teams are going to force you to play half court basketball.”

 

Creekside
Head Coach: Gregory Freeman
Region 5-AAAAAA
2015-16: 12-14

Outlook for the season: “We have a young team as far as varsity playing experience but we have some older guys. We are a team made up of a lot of juniors sprinkled in with a couple seniors. We are really just trying to gel at this point. We hope the way we practice translates to how we play…We have one rising junior named Tyson Jackson who is one of the top 10 players in the Class of 2018. What I like about the makeup of our team, is they feel like they have a lot to prove.”

 

Langston Hughes
Head Coach: Rory Welsh
Region 5-AAAAAA
2015-16: 11-14

Are the Panthers ready to live up to high expectations, entering the year ranked No. 3: “To be honest, I do. This crew has a lot of experience. When they were 10th graders, we won 21 games. We finished up as a three-seed in the toughest region in the state which was Region 3-AAAAAA. Last year we kind of dipped off a little bit for a variety of reasons. We lost seven games last year by three points or less so we had a tough time closing out some of those really really close games. I think it was a big learning experience for all of us, as coaches and as players.”

Lander Nolley II

What’s different from the Chicago game and the Atlanta game: “The speed is definitely different. The style, how the game flows, it’s all different from Georgia. I just have to make that adjustment to fit in…There’s definitely a lot more running; it’s faster [in Illinois].”

Khalil Cuffee

How to go out with a bang and win a state title his senior year along with Derrick Cook: “We just got to work hard. Bring that to practice every day. Don’t take any team lightly and just come out to win every night.”

 

Roswell
Head Coach: Ty Phillips
Region 4-AAAAAAA
2015-16: 10-16

 

Important football players that will join the basketball team later in the year: “The one kid we do expect to get with our varsity is Jayden Comma. He just gave his verbal to Maryland as a 6-3 receiver. He’s a great kid that’s been in our program since the sixth grade when he started Jr. Hornet basketball. He is just a great athlete. When he gets done with [football] practice, just the other day he came in the gym and was hanging out on the side and watching. Afterwards he was joking with the guys, part of that chemistry. One of the great things for us is when you have a really successful football program, it builds such a great school vibe and spirit and we just want to take that energy and that passion and that pride from being from Roswell and continue it into basketball season.”

 

Westlake
Head Coach: Darron Rogers
Region 2-AAAAAAA
2015-16: 27-4

Is the team ready to compete in the toughest region in GHSA history:

Chuma Okeke: “I’m really looking forward to it. There’s a lot of competition with a lot of transfers coming in. I think this year we are coming in as the underdog really just because we had some graduate. I think we are going to step up to what we have to do and I think we are going to win another championship.”

Jamie Lewis: “Same thing. We lost some valuable players from last year so this year we are really going to have to step up. I’m looking forward to it because it will improve our games individually and as a team.”

Danny Lewis: “We’ve been working really hard every day and we’ve really been buying in and we hope to see it pay off.”

Do you feel disrespected opening the season ranked No. 3 in the state behind two teams within your own region:

Danny: “Not really. We just need to prove it on the court.”

 

Banneker
Head Coach: Earlando Courtney
Region 6-AAAAA
2015-16: 5-21

On freshman Sean Hazel playing varsity: “The first practice, we brought him in and he secretly reminds me of Tim Duncan. His mannerisms and facial expression won’t change at all. Whether he blocks a shot or gets his shot blocked, makes a mistake or makes a great play, it is the exact same thing. So that level of calmness and maturity – even when he makes a mistake he doesn’t get down on himself or even if he does something great he doesn’t get overhyped – that and us being deficient in size and him being 6-foot-3, I was like ok, I needed him probably more than he needed me to tell you the truth.”

 

Centennial
Head Coach: Lorenzo Withrite
Region 7-AAAAAA
2015-16: 14-13

Jay Hothersall

On a playing well in a new region: “It’s wide open. There’s a lot of new teams. We played a couple of them over the fall and the summer. I think once we get the chemistry down, I think we have the talent.”

Craig Shannon

What is the key to the season: “Heart, just because we are probably going to be considered the underdog for most of the season. We just got to have heart, compete, hustle from tip off till the final seconds of the game.”

Cambridge
Head Coach: Chip Flemmer
Region 7-AAAAAA
2015-16: 6-20

Top areas of improvement: “We are going to work really on cutting down the number of points we are giving up each night. We got to get better on free throws and most importantly, we have to cut down on turnovers. We figured it out there were several games – probably eight to 12 games – that two or three possessions cost us, so the record didn’t look so pretty but it wasn’t like we were that far off from being a lot more successful.”

 

Johns Creek
Head Coach: Keenan Temple
Region 7-AAAAAA
2015-16: 24-5

On becoming a head coach again after multiple stops along the way: “I’ve been very fortunate because I coached in Indiana for 10 years then I came here and I coached with Eddie Martin and Scott Bracco, two future Hall of Famers. I’ve learned a lot about how to run a program. A lot about how to handle different situations.”

Coming off the best year in school history, how important is it to establish the program as a top dog in a new region: “It’s important for us and it’s going to play out. These kids have worked incredibly hard, this is probably one of the hardest working groups I’ve been around in years. We want to come out firing, ready to play. I think we are one of the top teams in the region but there’s a lot of talent in the region too. I think it’s a great chance for us, because I think our region games will prepare us for the state tournament and that’s our ultimate goal.”

What people can expect from sophomore guard Neil Ilenrey: “He is a 6-foot-1 linebacker point guard. He’s explosive. He can score form anywhere on the floor. The number one thing for anyone who doesn’t know him, he’s a great kid. He’s a teammate first. All the guys on the team love him. We love having him and he’s very coachable. He’s going to turn some heads.”

 

North Springs
Head Coach: Charles Parks
Region 6-AAAAA
2015-16: 6-18

How to rebuild the program and bring excitement like there was when Jon Burke played in 2010-11: “Just to try and mold these guys’ confidence. I think that’s something that we lack due to playing time together because they come from so many different places. New faces, new bodies and so forth. So just the confidence.”

 

Milton
Head Coach: Matt Kramer
Region 5-AAAAAAA
2015-16: 23-9

How to avoid ups and downs and to peak at the right time late in the season: “Our practices right now are better than they’ve been. That’s a product of me having been here for four years; this being my fourth year. When I got to Milton, we didn’t know how to practice. One of the reasons coaches that have been places for a long time that are having great success is because there’s a culture that has been built there and that culture sets the expectation for practice and sets the expectation for how kids are supposed to act on and off the floor. We’ve got all that right now. My expectation is that we will get better every day and when you’ve got great leadership like Alex [O’Connell], the culture has been set.”

On watching Alex O’Connell grow each year on and off the court: “It’s been amazing. The first time I ever walked in the building, I came from Ohio, I went to Milton the first day and I knew I had his brother Shawn and I’m looking down at the end of the hallway and I see big tall Shawn with the little skinny ninth grader and next to Shawn he looked more like a seventh grader. I knew I was coaching Shawn. I knew there was an Alex but I didn’t know anything about Alex. To see him grow from that skinny little ninth grader to a skinny 12th grader who’s now 6-foot-6, who can do the things he can do on the floor, it’s been something I will probably never see again. There was no way to project Alex being at Duke. That’s a self-made kid right there.”

On Brady O’Connell: “He’s a point-forward. Visualize a Jalen Rose type from the old days. Left handed just like that and he’s as good a passer as you’ll ever see. He sees the floor really well.”

Alex O’Connell

On how younger brother Brady’s game compares to his: “We are definitely similar size, length. He’s probably the same height as me now but he’s sort of a different player. He’s not as aggressive downhill but he has really good court vision up the court and in half court situations. He’s a little bit of a different player. I would say he’s leaning more towards being a combo guard.”

Christian Wright

How would you describe your game: “I’m a big strong guard. I like to get the ball going down the court. I lock up; I play good defense and I can shoot the ball. I play downhill the whole game.”