Georgia State held its Ron Hunter Team Camp on Friday and Saturday. The single elimination tournament saw North Clayton come away victorious with a win over Dacula in the championship game. Tournament games lasted only 20 minutes while non-tournament games played the full 40.

Monticello 58, Houston County 45

Coming off of a Final Four appearance in Class AA, the Hurricanes got out of the gates quick against Houston County. Monticello relies on its speedy guards to initiate offense. Junior Ashton Bonner netted a team-high 17 points and added three assists while senior CJ Adams tacked on 11 points and four assists. As a team, the Hurricanes drilled eight threes, three via Adams. The duo of Jakeir Stone and Malik Crawford did damage inside and out. Stone, a 6-foot-3 senior, knocked down two threes and collected six rebounds, two assists and three blocks. Crawford, a rising sophomore that stands 6-foot-5, posted eight points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. A lot will be asked of Crawford after the graduation of De’miria Glover, who averaged a team-leading 13.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.0 block per game inside.

A slow start did in Houston County, but the Bears outscored Monticello 27-26 in the second half. Keep an eye on senior guard Ma’Kel Wallace. Wallace transferred over from Veterans last season but was ruled ineligible and had to play junior varsity. The 6-foot guard pumped in 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for Coach Stephen Walls. He scored at all three levels, hitting three three-pointers, collecting four points from the foul line and got to the basket for his other hoops. Wallace was a vocal leader as well, communicating well with his teammates. The Bears feature important pieces from the football team and weren’t fully 100% at camp. They should be a competitive bunch once all their pieces come together.

Miller Grove 43, McEachern 42

A great game on paper instead saw a plethora of top players unable to suit up. On the McEachern side, Isaac Okoro, Babatunde Akingbola and Sharife Cooper were all away at Elite Camps while Miller Grove was without defensive specialist Joshua Jackmon, who tore his ACL and MCL. With big names out of the lineup, other players were able to step up in the spotlight. Rob Clemons led McEachern from his point guard position with 11 points and two steals.  Miller Grove was led by senior Tae Hardy, who hit the game winner and finished with 19 points and two steals. Hardy is a Collin Sexton-lite – a pure bucket getter. He will have an opportunity to score the ball a lot this upcoming season. Miller Grove will need production from big men Kevin Paige and Tworn Seals. Paige, a junior, is a meaty 6-foot-7 while Seals, a sophomore, goes 6-foot-6. Both bigs are a bit raw, but have imposing size and can rebound the ball well.

Gainesville 53, Douglas County 34

Without D’Marcus Simonds (GSU) and KJ Buffen (injury), the Red Elephants did not miss a beat. They pummeled the Tigers from the opening tip and never relented. While most of the attention will be locked on the juniors, Buffen, Bailey Minor and Xavier Bledson, senior Michael White had a sensational game. The big guard goes 6-foot-4 and can score in a multitude of ways. He heated up and drilled three threes en route to a game-high 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal. Gainesville is always a very unselfish team on offense and shares the ball extremely well, especially with Bledson at the point. He scored eight points and added three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Minor did what he usually does, stretch defenses and create mismatches. He finished with 15 points and two blocks while canning three three-pointers.

Douglas County will need to find a go-to guy on offense after the graduation of Brandon Robinson (UNC). They struggled to score and had a hard time slowing down Gainesville’s crisp attack.

Eagle’s Landing 45, Allatoona 44

Sophomore Chris Hood buried a dribble handoff three at the buzzer to knock off Allatoona after the Bucs came storming back to take the lead late. Hood has exceptional size at 6-foot-4 and posed problems for Allatoona, finishing with nine points and two steals. The Eagle that turned my head the most however, was Hamilton Heights (TN) transfer Mohammed Abubakar. The 6-foot-8 senior center was a load inside and had a good idea what he was doing on the low block, using quick spins in the lane to free himself on drop steps. Allatoona didn’t have an answer for him as he posted 16 points and six rebounds.  The addition of a post presence like that could help the Eagles come close to repeating their 24-win campaign.

Allatoona didn’t deploy its best five on the court and used an array of players to mix-and-match and gain experience. When it was time to score, it was junior Trey Doomes that was leaned on. Doomes was confident with his jumper and wasn’t afraid to let it rip, netting a team-high 16 points to go with his five rebounds, one assists, two steals and one block. In order for Allatoona to go far, Doomes will need to carry the bulk of the load offensively. Versatile forward Chima Ogboi was out on vacation and will be an important piece upon his return. The 6-foot-4 forward is an exceptional passer and his lanky build projects him to have upside defensively once he completely grasps Coach Markus Hood’s defensive concepts. Senior guard Mike Johnson will need to shoulder some of the offensive scoring burden while senior Tyler Jackson will be asked to handle the ball. Juniors Rolan Wooden and Tobi Adeyeye need to fill the void left by 6-foot-8 center Randy Legros.

Langston Hughes 37, St. Francis 24

The three-headed monster of a backcourt led by seniors Derrick Cook and Khalil Cuffee along with Curie (IL) transfer junior Landers Nolley II, overpowered the new look Knights. Nolley fit in seamlessly with 11 points and was able to drive and dish, creating opportunities for corner threes. Cuffee netted nine points, five rebounds and two assists while Cook went for eight points and six rebounds. The Panthers have good athletes scattered across the floor. Senior forward Ahmid Bryant is a 6-foot-6 post that rebounds well and can alter shots inside. Sophomore Jaylen McCluney will play a huge role this year after seeing limited playing time as a freshman. I like McCluney’s ability as a springy forward that attacks the glass and plays tough defense. The 6-foot-4 forward could have a bright future ahead of him.

A litany of transfers and graduates have zapped St. Francis’ roster, but Coach Drew Catlett is optimistic and loves his young talent moving up through the ranks.  Seniors Wallace Tucker and Drew Smith will be relied upon to shepherd the Knights’ youth and get them ready for the rigors of Class A-Private basketball.

Other Observations

Holy Innocents’ Jules Erving, a senior, looked like he packed on a little muscle. Erving is a superior athlete and used it to his advantage against Eagle’s Landing V2 team. By no means was it the level of competition he will see during the regular season or the rest of the summer, but it was nice to see him impose his will, posting 16 points and eight rebounds in the first half alone. Matt Meadows and Cole Smith also played well throughout the weekend.

In a 24-19 loss to Allatoona, Carrollton senior guard Carson Culverhouse splashed in three deep balls and finished with a game-high 11 points. The 5-foot-11 guard is a sharp-shooter that has the green light to pull from anywhere. Culverhouse is also a deceptive athlete, blocking two shots on the day.

Langston Hughes knocked off Miller Grove in Round 2, 23-21. Derrick Cook hit an And-1 with seconds remaining to give the Panthers the go-ahead hoop. He scored a game-high 12 points and chipped in four rebounds. He has had great summer.

Coming off of a rebuilding 8-17 season, Clarke Central had a nice camp, picking up wins over St. Francis and Heard County before falling to Allatoona in the quarterfinals. Junior Jack Mangel shot the ball very well. He led the Gladiators in scoring at 9.7 points per game last season.

Dacula built off its impressive Georgia Cup Finals showing and made a run to the title game before bowing out against North Clayton’s frontline. Sophomore Mekhail Bethea continued to lead the Falcons flawlessly and went toe-to-toe with every guard put in his way. A win over Langston Hughes in the semifinals was a good barometer as of how good this young Dacula team can be in 2016-17.

Surprise, surprise, North Clayton took home the trophy after edging Dacula. Coming off of a 19-11 season with a Sweet 16 appearance, the Eagles graduated their second, third and fourth leading scorers. Luckily for them, 6-foot-8 senior Ahsan Asadullah is back. The skillful center dominated at Georgia State, one of the latest schools to offer the wide-body big.  After averaging 15.1 points per game last year, Asadullah is in line for another productive season. With enough help around him, the Eagles should be a force in the tough Region 4-AAAA.