Class AAAA
Region 1
Team Overall Region
No. 10 Worth County 14-3 4-0
Monroe 11-5 9-1
Bainbridge 12-7 6-3
Westover 10-7 5-3
Americus-Sumter 11-6 5-3
Crisp County 14-5 6-5
Dougherty 10-9 5-5
Albany 7-9 3-5
Thomas County Central 4-15 2-5
Cook 5-14 2-6
Cairo 2-18 1-11
Region 1 isn’t quite the region it was a year ago with five teams over 18 wins, but it still is regarded as a deep and dangerous group of teams. Bainbridge opened the season at No. 4 with its star trio headed by UGA signee Tyree Crump returning, but the Bearcats quickly fell from the poll and are just now hitting their stride, winners of five-straight including an 82-69 upset of 2A No. 2 Seminole County last Tuesday. Bainbridge plays at Monroe at Jan. 23 in an important tilt. Monroe cracked the top ten for one week before getting blasted by South Cobb 72-55. The Tornadoes’ only region loss came to No. 10 Worth County last Friday, 60-59. The Rams might have the best frontcourt in the state with 6-foot-8 Auburn signee Anfernee McLemore and unsigned 6-foot-5 Brandon Moore. Moore went for 32 points and 10 rebounds against Monroe and is averaging over 22 points and 12 rebounds. McLemore is chipping in 15 points, 12.8 rebounds and over six blocks a game. Westover is sneaky good with possibly the best three-man backcourt in the region. Senior Allec Williams leads the team in points and assists while freshman Jordan “Snow” Brown and sophomore Kris Gardner have bright futures ahead of them.
Region 2
Team Overall Region
Perry 11-7 8-0
No. 7 Upson-Lee 15-3 6-1
Mary Persons 12-7 5-3
Howard 8-10 4-4
Baldwin 7-12 2-6
Veterans 2-17 2-6
West Laurens 3-16 0-7
Perry nicked No. 7 Upson-Lee 68-63 on Dec. 8; the Knights’ lone region loss. The two meet this Friday to decide who will have the inside track for the No. 1 seed heading into the region tournament. You would think the Panthers are led by 6-foot-8 Georgia State signee Chris Clerkey, but the senior has yet to average double digits over his career. It is 6-foot-3 Damion Bagley who is averaging close to 20 and 10. To stay undefeated in region play, Perry beat Veterans 55-52 on Tuesday. Bagley went for 17 points and 13 rebounds while Clerkley chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds. The Knights turn to O’Qualan Harris for the bulk of their offense. Bagley finished with 24 points and eight rebounds against Upson-Lee in their first meeting, while the Knights held Chris Clerkley to six points on 0-of-7 shooting from the field.
Region 3
Team Overall Region
No. 5 Liberty County 15-1 4-0
Burke County 11-4 3-1
No. 9 Thomson 14-3 3-1
New Hampstead 10-6 1-3
Windsor Forest 8-10 1-3
Wayne County 3-15 0-4
No. 9 Thomson had a chance to make a statement with a win at No. 5 Liberty County on Jan. 9. Instead, the Bulldogs were thrashed by the Panthers 100-53, who look like they are going to roll into the state playoffs undefeated in region play and sweep through the tournament. Human highlight reel and Auburn-commit, Davion Mitchell poured in 31 points while running mate and fellow junior Richard LeCounte dropped 27. The potent duo is likely the best backcourt in the classification. Mitchell averages 22.5 points and 7.3 assists while LeCounte averages 19.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Need a third option? Coach Julian Stokes has a third and fourth. Sophomore Will Richardson is a name to write down. He is posting 13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a 6-foot-3 guard. The Panthers don’t have much size, with their tallest player 6-foot-4, but the 6-foot-3 Martial Washington is up to the task averaging close to eight points and eight rebounds. Against Thomson, he carved them up for 23 points and 19 rebounds. Aside from the win over the Bulldogs, Liberty County also stomped Burke County 88-68. Thomson has the size and talent with 6-foot-8 San Antonio Brinson being able to play inside and out, and Darius Turman, Marquez Winfrey and RJ Johnson all talented players making the 47-point loss inexcusable. The Bulldogs have come a long way however, finishing just 8-21 a year ago.
Region 4
Team Overall Region
(B) No. 1 Jonesboro 17-3 6-0
(A) No. 6 Eagle’s Landing 19-1 5-0
(A) No. 8 Walnut Grove 17-3 3-2
(A) Eastside 14-5 3-2
(B) Riverdale 7-10 3-2
(B) Spalding 7-14 3-2
(B) Mt. Zion 5-16 3-3
(A) Henry County 12-8 2-3
(A) Locust Grove 7-12 2-3
(B) Griffin 5-15 1-4
(B) Pike County 1-15 0-5
(A) Hampton 0-19 0-5
Just when you think No. 1 Jonesboro’s dominance of Class AAAA is finally over after winning back-to-back state titles, junior MJ Walker decides to take his game to the next level and keep the Cardinals atop their perch as the team to beat. Walker is posting 23.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and is quickly becoming one of the best juniors in the country. Eric Lovett (14.2 ppg) and sophomore Jamari Smith (10 ppg) have picked up the slack and filled roles left behind by Austin Donaldson (GSU) and Tracy Hector (KSU). Point guard Tariq Jenkins has also stepped up his play with 9.1 points and 4.6 assists. Region 4 is no cakewalk however. No. 6 Eagle’s Landing and No. 8 Walnut Grove are threats to dethrone Jonesboro. Even Henry County, with the explosive duo of Damion Rosser and Javon Greene, has pushed Jonesboro to the brink, falling 70-65 in overtime. Griffin may not be ready to compete, but keep tabs on the progress of 7-foot junior center Tyshaun Crawford. He is new to the game but has continued his steady improvement, averaging 9.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks on the year.
Region 5
Team Overall Region
Sandy Creek 14-5 4-1
Woodward Academy 9-9 3-2
Whitewater 12-7 3-2
Carrollton 9-11 2-3
Fayette County 10-7 2-3
Troup County 6-10 1-4
Sandy Creek is as talented a group as they come in Class AAAA, that’s why it’s puzzling why they haven’t taken the region by the throat. The Patriots’ only loss came to Whitewater last Friday 56-54, closing their margin for error. They survived rival Fayette County 78-73 in overtime and held on against last year’s state runner-up Carrollton, 61-59. Gardner-Webb signee Christian Turner is a true bulldog at point guard, averaging 14.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3.8 steals. Both AJ Freeman (10.8 ppg) and Evan Jester (10.1 ppg) score double digits with Freeman providing three-point marksmanship and Jester a double-double threat, grabbing 9 rebounds a night. The most talented player is junior Elias Harden. The 6-foot-6 wing averages 21.3 points and 6.4 rebounds, but gets too trigger happy from deep, launching a team-high 123 three-pointers, but connecting on just 28 percent. Both Whitewater and Fayette County will be tough outs. The Wildcats of Whitewater are led by Garrett Owen and Zach Yeager. 6-foot-7 junior power forward Noah Gurley paces the Tigers with 17.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks after averaging just 2.1 points and 2.6 rebounds as a sophomore. Four players average over eight points for Woodward Academy led by Julian Cameron’s 11.8. Carrollton has go-to guys in Desmond Webb and Jarel Rowe, who can carry the Trojans.
Region 6
Team Overall Region
No. 4 Grady 18-2 12-1
No. 2 Lithonia 15-4 12-1
No. 3 St. Pius 17-2 11-2
Redan 13-6 7-6
Stone Mountain 9-10 6-7
Marist 8-12 6-7
Columbia 7-10 4-9
Arabia Mountain 7-12 3-10
Chamblee 5-14 3-10
Make no bones about it; Region 6 is the best region in AAAA with Region 4 close behind. Three teams litter the top five with a wild push towards the region tournament ready to ensue. No. 4 Grady and No. 2 Lithonia have both held the No. 1 ranking in the state for multiple weeks. The Knights have four wins over ranked teams at the time they played them. Grady holds a slim lead atop the standings thanks to a Dec. 1 51-50 win vs. No. 3 St. Pius and a 62-52 win at Lithonia on Dec. 11, but last Friday the Golden Lions trimmed into their region lead with a 62-50 win at the X-Dome. The region will be won and lost on Jan. 26 and Jan. 29. On the 26th, Lithonia travels to Grady and on the 29th, St. Pius visits Lithonia. Stars headline the region’s top teams. Lithonia has 6-foot-7 Cedar Grove transfer Jacara Cross and Rodney Chatman (UTC). Coach Brian Weeden of Grady features Avi Toomer (Bucknell) and St. Pius uses Kerney Lane (18.5 ppg, 7 rpg) to power the Golden Lion offense. Redan and Stone Mountain are likely battling for the fourth-seed come playoff time. They may not have the amount of wins they would like, but they are tough teams that could surprise Region 7’s No. 1 seed. There’s a good chance that Region 6 could advance every playoff team through to the next round.
Region 7
Team Overall Region
Heritage-Catoosa 15-5 9-1
Cartersville 13-5 9-1
Northwest Whitfield 15-5 8-2
Southeast Whitfield 7-13 4-6
Pickens 5-14 3-6
LaFayette 9-9 2-7
Gilmer 5-13 2-8
Ridgeland 3-14 1-7
Region 7 brought home the state title in football this year thanks to Cartersville. Don’t expect the same in basketball as they draw the brutal Region 6 with three top five teams. The race to grabbing the No. 1 seed will be imperative for playoff survival. Cartersville has split the season series with Northwest Whitfield, but has beaten Heritage 60-54 with their final meeting coming at Heritage on Jan. 29. Jaylon Pugh, Cade Archer and JKobe Orr are dangerous for the Purple Hurricanes with football standout Kobie Whitfield chipping in as well. 6-foot-5 sophomore Cole Wilcox averages 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds for Heritage while Hunter Erickson adds 13.5 points a night as well. Northwest Whitfield has split with Heritage, but their Nov. 27 win didn’t count in the standings because it was in a holiday tournament. Sophomore Luke Shiflett and junior Paxton Pardee are key contributors for the Bruins. Southeast Whitfield is powered by the state’s leading scorer, Ty Pendley, who averages 27 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists. If the Raiders want to make it into the postseason, Pendley will have to carry them. He is a free throw magnet, taking nearly 10 attempts a game, sinking 90 percent of them. His 90 percent mark was tops in the entire country last year.
Region 8
Team Overall Region
Stephens County 15-4 3-0
Buford 9-11 4-0
North Hall 15-5 3-1
White County 14-6 2-1
Monroe Area 10-8 1-2
North Oconee 4-15 1-2
Johnson-Gainesville 5-15 1-3
Madison County 12-8 1-3
Chestatee 1-18 0-4
My preseason Sandy’s Spiel Super Sleeper Stephens County has delivered, but both Buford and North Hall are coming on strong. Buford scheduled a brutal non-region schedule and have been better for it. Alex Jones is starting to heat up with Sahil Patel causing problems inside with his 6-foot-8 frame. Coach Eddie Martin will find a way to make the Wolves a team others do not want to face in the state playoffs. Coach Tyler Sanders’ North Hall Trojans are making some noise. Their only loss came to Buford 58-55 last Friday but they quickly rebounded this Tuesday, stopping White County on the road 65-52. The trio of Carson Heinen, Sam Jackson and Evan Easton has been a handful to stop for opponents. Even with their latest loss, don’t count out White County as a contender for the region title. The Warriors defeated Stephens County 71-57 in a non-region game on Dec. 1.