We are officially a month into high school basketball season. There is one prevailing aspect of this year’s play that I have seen so far and it is that there is parity amongst the classifications. Outside of your top three or four teams in a handful of classes, the field is wide open for sleepers, surprisers and spoilers to all play a big role in the outcome of this season’s final results.
Class AAAAAA is one of the hardest to rank early in the year. Once we get deep into region play, hopefully the picture will begin to clear. The likes of Westlake, Shiloh, Norcross and Wheeler all seem like good bets to make deep runs, but you can never be 100 percent sure.
Teams like Pebblebrook may be unranked right now, but have more than enough fire power to get hot and take a trip to Macon in March. By the way, who would have predicted that the last three teams to be undefeated in 6A would be No. 6 Lambert (11-0), Johns Creek (10-0) and No. 5 Tift County (9-0)? If you guessed the Longhorns and Blue Devils, I’d believe you. The Gladiators? Not so much, especially coming off a 14-15 season.
In AAAAA, how about Shaw’s hot start? The Raiders are 7-1 after an 8-16 year. Dakeen Diaz (12.9 points, 7.5 rebounds), Kourtney Shakespeare (11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Cam Paulding (10.3 points, 5.4 rebounds) have all played well for Coach Terry White.
No. 1 Miller Grove and No. 2 McIntosh supply possibly the best basketball in the entire state to watch, but No. 3 Gainesville, No. 5 Heritage-Conyers and No. 6 Cedar Shoals have an arms race going on in Region 8. Don’t sleep on No. 5 Allatoona. The Bucs made it to the state title game last year but were outsized by Brunswick. With a few strong pieces at forward and off guard graduated, Allatoona finds itself at 7-0 behind Ephraim Tshimanga and sophomore Trey Doomes’ play up front.
Want bang for your buck in 5A? Check out Jones County’s Devin Wooten, a senior guard pouring in over 25 a night. East Paulding’s “System” might not be for everybody, but you will see as many shots as possible watching them play. Coach Joby Boydstone is back in Georgia and the result with the Raiders (4-7) is either very pretty or very ugly. In wins they average 98.7 points per game, but in losses they allow 93.4. East Paulding’s four wins have come by an average of 23.5 points per game, but their losses are blowouts, losing by 26.7.
So who is leading Class AAAA in scoring? Avi Toomer (25.7)? MJ Walker (22.6)? Elias Harden (22.3)? Nope. It of course is none other than Ty Pendley of Southeast Whitfield, pouring in over 26 a night. The fearless 5-foot-10 guard lives at the foul line and also isn’t afraid to pull up from beyond the arc. He has improved upon his 21.3 point per game average from 2014-15 and is currently among the top scorers in the entire state.
Class AAA’s main storyline is that there has been a profusion of unexpected turnarounds. Coahulla Creek (11-2), Douglass (10-2), Lumpkin County (9-2) and Islands (9-2) have all seen their fortunes spin in a positive direction. Coahulla Creek finished 14-11, Douglass 5-18, Lumpkin County 9-20 and Islands 11-16 in 2014-15. The one team who’s accelerated growth may not be much of a surprise has been that of the Lumpkin County Indians. After a 77-12 run over three years at Johnson-Gainesville, highlighted by last year’s 29-1 campaign, Head Coach Jeff Steele decided to bring over his Midas Touch to Lumpkin and has successfully turned them into a winner, already cracking the top ten once this year.
What has stood out the most in Class AA is the disappointment that Pace Academy has been. At 2-4 with the best junior in the country, the Knights are barely clinging onto the No. 10 spot with no room for error remaining. They have played a tough schedule, but losing to a banged up No. 4 GAC and a 3-8 Lower Richland (SC) are not good results coming off of a 27-3 season.
One player and team that has lived up to their billing has been No. 3 Seminole County and sensation Jordan Harris. The UGA signee was the best player I saw all of last year and is hands down the best player in the state in my opinion. Through seven games the ultra-athletic swingman has averaged a cool 37.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.8 blocks. Do not be surprised if he makes some noise at the next level.
If Harris isn’t your flavor, how about the man he beat in the state championship? No. 2 Crawford County’s William Jarrell. The 6-foot-5 forward’s eye-popping statline reads: 26.3 points, 12.6 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 5.7 steals and 4.3 blocks. Jarrell may be an unknown to most people in the state, but he is a special player.
In 1A-Private, it looks as if everyone is just playing for second place with No.1 Greenforest the clear cut favorite to win it all. If the Eagles can avoid mental pitfalls, there is no reason why they can’t go undefeated this year. The only way I could see Greenforest falling in-state, would take a herculean effort from some of the state’s best. No. 3 St. Francis’ Kobi Simmons (27.4 points), No. 2 SWAC’s De’Andre Ballard (24.7 points, 9.2 rebounds) or Walker’s Robert Baker (27.8 points, 14.6 rebounds, 2.6 steals, 2.3 blocks) all have the talent to take over games, but it’s unlikely that Coach Larry Thompson would let one player cut down his Greenforest.
1A-Public has seen Ahmad Rand of No. 5 Lincoln County emerge as possibly the best college prospect in the classification. The 6-foot-7 junior already has compiled a streak of three straight triple-doubles.