GHSA, Girls Basketball, Girls Rankings

Week 7 Girls Rankings

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Class AAAAAAA

  1. Norcross (15-1)
  2. McEachern (9-5)
  3. Collins Hill (13-1)
  4. Mill Creek (14-1)
  5. Archer (11-3)
  6. Newton (10-2)
  7. Brookwood (11-4)
  8. Westlake (10-5)
  9. Lambert (12-2)
  10. Marietta (12-3) 

Class AAAAAA

  1. Harrison (11-2)
  2. Winder-Barrow (8-4)
  3. Douglas County (13-2)
  4. Lovejoy (12-2)
  5. Grovetown (10-5)
  6. Stephenson (10-5)
  7. Sequoyah (11-2)
  8. Northview (12-3)
  9. Forest Park (11-4)
  10. Gainesville (8-3) 

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (11-0)
  2. Flowery Branch (12-2)
  3. Southwest DeKalb (12-4)
  4. Griffin (13-0)
  5. Warner Robins (13-0)
  6. Maynard Jackson (11-1)
  7. Carrollton (11-1)
  8. Villa Rica (12-1)
  9. Harris County (10-2)
  10. McIntosh (10-2) 

Class AAAA

  1. North Oconee (12-2)
  2. Carver-Columbus (13-1)
  3. West Hall (11-4)
  4. Cross Creek (11-4)
  5. Columbus (9-3)
  6. Northwest Whitfield (9-4)
  7. Americus-Sumter (11-2)
  8. Sandy Creek (8-3)
  9. Heritage-Catoosa (14-2)
  10. Henry County (11-5) 

Class AAA

  1. Beach (11-1)
  2. Johnson-Savannah (12-1)
  3. Greater Atlanta Christian (10-4)
  4. Hart County (12-2)
  5. Redan (9-2)
  6. Ringgold (11-4)
  7. Calhoun (12-3)
  8. Haralson County (10-3)
  9. Monroe (9-3)
  10. Central-Macon (8-3) 

Class AA

  1. Laney (12-1)
  2. Rabun County (13-1)
  3. Dodge County (10-2)
  4. Fitzgerald (7-0)
  5. Model (9-4)
  6. Vidalia (9-3)
  7. Dublin (7-3)
  8. Dade County (10-4)
  9. Bryan County (9-2)
  10. Hapeville Charter (9-4) 

Class A-Private

  1. Holy Innocents’ (12-1)
  2. St. Francis (8-4)
  3. Wesleyan (10-2)
  4. Pinecrest Academy (8-2)
  5. Lakeview Academy (11-4)
  6. Landmark Christian (9-3)
  7. Calvary Day (9-2)
  8. Tattnall Square Academy (8-4)
  9. Stratford Academy (8-3)
  10. Christian Heritage (6-4) 

Class A-Public

  1. Pelham (10-0)
  2. Wheeler County (12-1)
  3. Telfair County (10-1)
  4. Greenville (10-2)
  5. Woodville-Tompkins (11-3)
  6. Treutlen (8-3)
  7. Wilcox County (8-4)
  8. Taylor County (8-3)
  9. Macon County (6-3)
  10. Marion County (8-3) 

 

As they did on the boys side, holiday tournaments have tested some of the state’s best girls programs and in the process have both helped and hurt teams’ momentum heading into the heart of region play as the calendar year flips over to January 2017. In Class AAAAAAA, No. 2 McEachern overtakes No. 3 Collins Hill after the Indians went 4-1 in the Sandra Meadows Classic while the Eagles were blown out by national powerhouse Riverdale, TN 73-35 at the State Farm Classic. Mill Creek holds strong at No. 4 and looks like the best non-national team in the state behind the top three who travel all over the country. The Hawks continued to dominate in Georgia, winning the Sweet South Classic with victories over Hapeville Charter 61-49 and Spalding 56-43. Brookwood closed 2016 with authority, winning the Deep South Classic beating three teams that have been ranked over the course of the year in North Forsyth (47-44), Franklin County (66-49) and No. 9 Lambert (55-42). Hillgrove and Colquitt County fall out and are replaced by the Longhorns and first time entry into the Top 10, Marietta. Hillgrove lost to Lambert 53-50 at the Deep South Classic while Colquitt County lost to both Valdosta and Monroe. Marietta scored a 49-39 win over Creekview at the Campbell Holiday Classic before falling to Douglas County 77-58.

Mays has lost five straight games and now sits at 5-7 an unranked in Class AAAAAA. The Raiders have played a difficult schedule, going 0-3 at the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic and will need to regain their footing once they return to Georgia which is more than doable. Lovejoy rises to No. 4 as No. 5 Grovetown slipped against Cross Creek 57-51 at the Monterrey Christmas Classic. No. 3 Douglas County defeated No. 7 Sequoyah at the Campbell Holliday Classic 56-45. The Lady Chiefs also dropped to Creekview 36-33. Joining Mays on the unranked circuit is Jonesboro. The Cardinals finished 1-2 at the Grayson Ram Classic, losing 64-44 to Buford and 37-36 to Rockdale County. No. 9 Forest Park and No. 10 Gainesville crack the poll. Forest Park debuts after a 2-1 showing at the Balln Prep Invitational. The Red Elephants opened the year ranked but quickly fell out. They are back in after a 2-1 Lanierland, beating Chestatee 56-44, losing to West Hall 59-50 and defeating Lakeview Academy 65-55.

Region 8-AAAAA cruised in their respective tournaments with No. 1 Buford going 3-0 at the Grayson Ram Classic and No. 2 Flowery Branch winning Lanierland for the second straight season, beating West Hall 59-50 in the title game. Arabia Mountain stumbled against Spalding 47-37 and beat Hapeville Charter 41-35 but it wasn’t enough to hold off No. 10 McIntosh who makes a Top 10 appearance after winning the Mary Persons Tournament Championship and beating Perry 47-37.

Carver-Columbus is up to No. 2 in Class AAAA after a strong showing at the Balln Prep Invitational, but North Oconee still clings onto No. 1 with a 2-1 trip at the Carolina Invitational. No. 4 Cross Creek knocked off Grovetown 57-51, but West Hall still has the slight advantage over the Razorbacks for the No. 3 spot after beating East Hall (51-39) and Gainesville at Lanierland. Perry and Jefferson don’t survive the final week of 2016. Perry lost to McIntosh while Jefferson went 1-2 at the Carolina Invitational. No. 9 Heritage-Catoosa and No. 10 Henry County climb back into the poll. The Warhawks finished 2-1 at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational. Keep an eye on unranked Burke County (7-4). The Bears picked up wins over ranked Class A-Private programs Tattnall Square Academy and Stratford Academy at the Tattnall Christmas Tournament. Burke County hosts Cross Creek tomorrow in both teams’ first Region 3 contest of the season.

In AAA, No. 6 Ringgold went 1-2 at the Beech Christmas Tournament while No. 4 Hart County earned two wins at the 9th annual McDonald’s Shootout before falling to Greenville, SC 75-44. Monroe slips three spots following losses to Rickards, FL (51-39) and Colquitt County (67-45). Central-Macon debuts at No. 10. The Lady Chargers are 8-3 coming off a Greenville Classic Championship, beating Class A-Public No. 4 Greenville 48-42.

Class AA has seen No. 5 Model not fully hit their stride yet. They went 1-2 at the Disney KSA event, losing to Pope 49-43 in the process. Dodge County hangs tight at No. 3 after a strong showing at the Volume Hyundai Classic at GSCU, losing in the championship to Class AAAAA No. 6 Maynard Jackson 54-50. No. 4 Fitzgerald moves up two spots and No. 7 Dublin moves up three spots while Heard County drops out after losses to LaGrange 43-37 and Troup County 44-24. No. 9 Bryan County sneaks back in the Top 10 at 9-2.

Holy Innocents’ claims No. 1 in Class A-Private as No. 2 St. Francis hasn’t been as dominant on the national circuit as they were last year, this time losing to Mercer County, KY 77-72. No. 5 Lakeview Academy disappointed at Lanierland going 1-2. They beat North Hall in the opening round 68-54, but were beat by Flowery Branch 70-48 and Gainesville 65-55. Fellowship Christian departs from the rankings after losing to Pickens and Gilmer at the Fannin County Christmas Tournament. No. 9 Stratford Academy jumps into the picture following a 50-34 win over Macon County.

Speaking of Macon County, after skyrocketing up to No. 6 last week in Class A-Public, their first week in the poll, the Bulldogs have dropped three straight and now find themselves at No. 9. They went 0-3 at the Tattnall Square tournament losing to Stratford, Fairview Christian Academy, TN and Carver-Atlanta. No. 2 Wheeler County went to Vidalia and won their tournament, beating the Class AA No. 6 in the process 68-56. Terrell County falls out after a 54-51 loss to Westover. Marion County takes a hold of No. 10.

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Rankings

Week 7 Boys Rankings

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Class AAAAAAA

  1. Newton (13-0)
  2. McEachern (12-0)
  3. Pebblebrook (7-5)
  4. Norcross (13-3)
  5. Wheeler (10-4)
  6. Westlake (8-5)
  7. Tift County (13-1)
  8. Berkmar (11-5)
  9. Collins Hill (13-3)
  10. Discovery (12-5)

Class AAAAAA

  1. Gainesville (13-0)
  2. South Paulding (12-1)
  3. Jonesboro (10-4)
  4. Langston Hughes (9-4)
  5. Heritage-Conyers (9-3)
  6. South Cobb (12-2)
  7. Alpharetta (15-1)
  8. Brunswick (11-2)
  9. Dacula (9-4)
  10. Alexander (10-4)

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (11-2)
  2. Eagle’s Landing (10-2)
  3. Cedar Shoals (12-2)
  4. Warner Robins (11-3)
  5. Fayette County (11-5)
  6. Miller Grove (9-6)
  7. Union Grove (11-3)
  8. New Hampstead (10-4)
  9. Columbia (9-5)
  10. Southwest DeKalb (10-6)

Class AAAA

  1. Sandy Creek (8-3)
  2. Upson-Lee (15-0)
  3. Henry County (12-5)
  4. Richmond Academy (12-3)
  5. Eastside (9-4)
  6. LaGrange (11-2)
  7. Carver-Columbus (11-3)
  8. Burke County (8-3)
  9. Perry (11-3)
  10. Baldwin (8-4) 

Class AAA

  1. Westside-Macon (9-3)
  2. Greater Atlanta Christian (10-4)
  3. Liberty County (8-5)
  4. Morgan County (8-3)
  5. Islands (10-3)
  6. Pace Academy (4-7)
  7. Central-Macon (10-2)
  8. Jenkins (9-6)
  9. Cedar Grove (5-4)
  10. Dougherty (9-4)

Class AA

  1. South Atlanta (12-1)
  2. Josey (12-2)
  3. Dublin (7-4)
  4. Monticello (8-5)
  5. Laney (10-3)
  6. Thomasville (6-5)
  7. Therrell (9-5)
  8. Chattooga (11-1)
  9. Putnam County (10-3)
  10. Banks County (9-4)

Class A-Private

  1. Greenforest (10-2)
  2. North Cobb Christian (10-3)
  3. Southwest Atlanta Christian (7-5)
  4. St. Francis (11-3)
  5. Aquinas (9-1)
  6. Holy Innocents’ (6-4)
  7. Lakeview Academy (8-4)
  8. Whitefield Academy (8-5)
  9. Tallulah Falls (13-0)
  10. Darlington (8-3)

Class A-Public

  1. Calhoun County (9-0)
  2. Quitman County (11-1)
  3. Taylor County (7-2)
  4. Treutlen (11-0)
  5. Wilkinson County (8-3)
  6. Wilcox County (10-2)
  7. Clinch County (10-1)
  8. Central-Talbotton (8-3)
  9. Crawford County (8-4)
  10. Trion (8-3)

It was a make or break week full of holiday tournaments across the country as contenders and pretenders separated themselves from the field. Newton officially takes over the No. 1 spot in Class AAAAAAA after shutting down the best player in the country, Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day, SC, in the second half to rally and win the Farm Bureau Classic Championship 73-64. The young Indians of No. 2 McEachern are certifiably terrifying after beating No. 5 Wheeler in the Tournament of Champions National Division Championship 77-67 behind sophomore Isaac Okoro’s 25 points and seven rebounds. Slipping to No. 4 is Norcross who lost in the Fab Four Championship of the Tournament of Champions to No. 3 Pebblebrook 77-69 after Collin Sexton poured in 32 points to fuel the Falcons. No. 9 Collins Hill had its ups and downs at the Lake City Classic, losing to Class AAAAA No. 4 Warner Robins 55-45, beating Hale County, AL and falling to Class AAAAAA No. 4 Langston Hughes at the buzzer 74-73. Peachtree Ridge drops out after a respectable 2-2 showing at The Kingdom of the Sun. Entering for the first time in school history is No. 10 Discovery. The second-year program has won seven straight including winning their own Christmas tournament, beating Monroe Area 73-55 in the championship.

No. 1 Gainesville is simply scary in Class AAAAAA. Without D-I prospect KJ Buffen still, the Red Elephants demolished the field at the 57th Lanierland, romping its way to the title in the most dominant fashion the event has ever seen. They won by an average of 37 points, highlighted by a 104-67 blowout of Class A-Private No.7 Lakeview Academy and a 88-38 destruction of East Hall in the finals. There is a new No. 2 in South Paulding. No. 3 Jonesboro has played a national schedule and have played extremely well, but the Spartans have been as consistent as it gets and they were rewarded by winning the Lake City Classic Smile Generation Bracket, getting revenge against Class A-Private No. 2 North Cobb Christian in the championship 70-64. Along the way South Paulding also stopped Hale County 46-44 and Warner Robins 62-55. Unsigned 6-foot-7 senior wing JaCori Wilson averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds and was named overall tournament MVP. As good as Wilson was, No. 4 Langston Hughes’ Landers Nolley was the best player in the gym. He averaged 28.6 points per game as the Panthers finished 2-1, losing in the first round to Auburn, AL and 6-foot-10 Mississippi State-signee Garrison Brooks 75-63, but bouncing back to beat Allatoona 62-53 and Collins Hill on a Nolley buzzer beater. No. 5 Heritage-Conyers, No. 6 South Cobb, No. 7 Alpharetta and No. 10 Alexander all took care of business, winning their respective holiday tournaments. Heritage crushed the field at the Newnan Holiday Classic. South Cobb took home the Tournament of Champions American Division Championship by beating Doral Academy, FL 47-39. Alpharetta hoisted the trophy at the Deep South Classic while Alexander won the Lake City Classic Mellow Mushroom Bracket Championship, beating Carrollton 73-56. Lakeside-Evans was replaced by Alexander after losing to Grovetown 69-66.

Buford dropped two tough games at the Arby’s Classic, but the Wolves retain the No. 1 spot in Class AAAAA. Ever since their loss to Buford, No. 3 Cedar Shoals has been red hot winning eight straight. They beat Class AAA No. 4 Morgan County for the second time this year, beating them in the Sweet South Classic at Morgan County 57-48 to win the championship. Miller Grove struggled on the big stage at Tournament of Champions and finished 1-3, dropping them three spots to No. 6. Fayette County and Warner Robins both have tough tournaments as well, but the Demons’ win over Collins Hill and close losses to South Paulding and Auburn at the Lake City Classic are stomachable. Southwest DeKalb tumbles to No. 10 following a 1-2 showing at the Tucker Shootout, losing to Brainerd, TN (53-42) and Class A-Private No. 1 Greenforest (92-69). Riverwood falls out after losing both their games at the Lake City Classic. Replacing them is No. 9 Columbia. The Eagles went 3-1 at T.O.C. with a 88-86 double overtime victory over Class A-Private No. 4 St. Francis and a 86-66 victory over Grayson.

There are two clear cut front runners in Class AAAA as of now: No. 1 Sandy Creek and No. 2 Upson-Lee. The Patriots had a spectacular showing at the Arby’s Classic going 3-1 while Upson-Lee went to LaGrange and won the Toyota Classic, beating the formerly No. 3 ranked LaGrange Grangers 68-50 while taking a 61-31 lead into the fourth quarter. The loss sinks LaGrange three spots. Tye Fagan was marvelous with 31 points in the drubbing and was rewarded by taking an unofficial visit to MTSU today. Don’t look now, but No. 3 Henry County is starting to surge. They went a perfect 3-0 at the Tucker Shootout, winning three shootouts highlighted by an 86-84 win over Class AA No. 7 Therrell. Americus-Sumter and North Clayton don’t survive the week. The Eagles went 0-3 at Tucker while Americus-Sumter suffered a bad loss to Northview 66-61 and were beat by Class AAAAAAA No. 7 Tift County 71-55. Debuting are No. 7 Carver-Columbus and No. 10 Baldwin. The Tigers won back-to-back impressive games against Alabama’s Lanett (95-77) and Central (83-77). Already in just Year 2, Buck Harris has turned the Braves into statewide contender. They have scored wins over Class AA No. 9 Putnam County (65-46), Class A-Public No. 5 & defending state champs Wilkinson County (63-46) and now just won the Antebellum Christmas Classic, drilling Creekside in the finals 52-34. The Braves face their toughest stretch in region play as they visit No. 4 Richmond Academy and Thomson this week with a home game looming against No. 8 Burke County on the 10th.

No. 6 Pace Academy continued its poor play on the national circuit with a 1-2 showing at the Beach Ball Classic. The Knights slip a spot in the Class AAA poll. Islands is on the move, peaking at No. 5 after beating Pope 70-54 in the championship of the Westminster Holiday Tournament. No. 7 Central-Macon had an interesting performance at the Lake City Classic going 2-1 with an opening round loss to Hillgrove. The Chargers earned wins over Riverwood and Morrow in the later rounds. Calhoun saw its 48-game regular season winning streak snapped with a loss to King’s Ridge Christian at the Antebellum Classic 65-40. They were beat back-to-back by Maynard Jackson the following day, the first string of consecutive losses since Dec. 18 & 19 in 2014. The Yellow Jackets and Johnson-Savannah Atomsmashers both exit the poll. Johnson came up north and had a poor showing at T.O.C. going 0-3. Reentering the poll is No. 8 Jenkins who went 3-1 at T.O.C. Following them is Dougherty who debuts at No. 10.

Laney leaps four spots to No. 5 in Class AA after a 62-59 win at Thomson. Therrell and Thomasville both slip while No. 3 Dublin is hot with their second 1-point win over Wilkinson County, this time at the Palace 54-53. No. 8 Chattooga won their Christmas Tournament with a 60-57 victory over Cartersville. Callaway exits the Top 10 after a 3-3 start and a 69-66 loss to Villa Rica. Back in the mix is No. 10 Banks County who has won six straight.

Demiere Brown of No. 2 North Cobb Christian is as good as any scorer in the state and is in my opinion the toughest cover in the state in Class A-Private. He poured in 27.3 points per game as the Eagles finished second at the Lake City Classic. They defeated Allatoona in overtime 70-68 and held off Auburn 55-51 to make it to the finals where they fell to South Paulding in a SEBA Hoop Festival rematch, 70-64. No. 1 Greenforest received a scare from Holy Spirit Prep 55-52, but the Eagles went 3-0 at the Tucker Shootout. The freshmen and sophomore-laden No. 4 St. Francis Knights went 1-3 at T.O.C. with their three losses by a combined five points, losing to Columbia in 2OT 88-86, Lakewood, SC 75-74 in OT and Douglas County 60-58. King’s Ridge’s victory over Calhoun couldn’t propel them to an Antebellum Classic Championship as they sunk in their final two games losing 46-45 to Creekside and 43-41 to Marist and dropping from the poll in the process. Replacing them is No. 10 Darlington.

Calhoun County continues to roll in Class A-Public. They knocked Montgomery County out of the Top 10 with their 72-51 rout. No. 7 Clinch County took care of the Eagles as well, 71-65 after falling to Turner County in the Ronalda Pierce Holiday Hoopfest Championship 77-70. Replacing Montgomery County is No. 10 Trion, who debuts.

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Tye Fagan, No. 2 Upson-Lee officially announce their statewide legitimacy in destruction of No. 3 LaGrange

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No. 2 Upson-Lee 68, No. 3 LaGrange 50

In the LaGrange Toyota Classic Championship, No. 2 Upson-Lee (15-0) faced its biggest test yet: No. 3 LaGrange (11-2) in a bandbox gymnasium harkening back to decades and decades of success with four state title banners hanging on the walls. Over the past three seasons, both teams have seen the wins pile up. Upson-Lee gained relevancy back in 2014-15 as a No. 4 seed in the Class AAAA playoffs, taking a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight. Last season the Knights rolled off 17-straight wins heading into the playoffs but were upset in the first round by New Hampstead. Fast forward to present day, the Knights marched into the Championship game with a chance to make a statement – and they did.

From the opening tip, the Knights and junior wing Tye Fagan were locked in. The potent 6-foot-3 lefty who averages upwards of 24 points per game banked in a baseline three to open the game from the right corner and from there the rout was on.

Laperion Perry, LaGrange’s senior leader at guard, knocked in a three to answer as it looked like a back-and-forth game was in store, but instead it was just a Fagan coming out party. He scored 10 points in the first quarter and got help from senior Michael Smith and sophomore Zyrice Scott throughout. Smith picked up a steal and bucket to help the Knights go up by seven as the game quickly started to slip away from the Grangers with the quarter ending with the Knights ahead 19-9.

Upson-Lee’s quick start proved to be the haymaker and knockout punch in the first round. LaGrange never got off the mat as they saw the lead balloon to 31-16 after a Fagan jumper,

and even higher following a Scott triple.

Scott, a baby-faced sophomore who is nowhere near done growing and maturing, played like a grizzled vet alongside Fagan, dropping in 16 points and collecting five rebounds and four steals. The two powered the Knights to a 36-20 halftime lead, Fagan with 20 points by himself as the Granger fans were at a loss for words with the gym buzzing about the opening 16 minutes.

Things got uglier and uglier as the Fagan show entered its second act. He netted nine more points and drilled his second three of the game in the process.

Entering the fourth quarter Upson-Lee and Head Coach Darrell Lockhart called the dogs off up 61-31. Fagan exited the game with 2:05 left with the Knights up 28, finishing with a game-high 31 points.

Covan Huzzie scored 12 points all in the fourth quarter for the Grangers to make the score more palatable including a three at the buzzer. Bo Russell played hard and finished with 11 points, but Perry and 6-foot-6 Bryan Fanning were held to six and four points respectively.

My Take

When I started this website, I did it for fun and because I wanted to cover the entire state the way it deserves to be covered. With the state being as good as it is – it’s the best in the entire nation – it’s a darn shame that there will always be a handful of fringe D-I/II kids who have major college talent but don’t get enough exposure to have the opportunity to play basketball at a high level. Not every kid like this has to go D-I or deserves to be, but their name needs to be out there for colleges to at least acknowledge their presence and do their due diligence and at the bare minimum take five minutes out of their day to watch a video clip of a player. With that being said, players like Tye Fagan are what high school basketball and Sandy’s Spiel are all about. Thomaston, Ga. is far from the glitz and glam of Metro Atlanta, but boy do they have a special team at Upson-Lee, fueled by Fagan, a nearly straight-A student and a habitual winner. Fagan was a man amongst boys against a very good high school program in LaGrange. Fagan made LaGrange look like they didn’t even belong on the same floor as the Knights and that’s against very good high school players like Laperion Perry, Bryan Fanning, Bo Russell and more. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap and that’s what everyone in the crowd did for Fagan. From his opening three-pointer, the lefty was on a mission. He showed the full arsenal, slipping his way to the basket, taking the ball in the low post, hitting two threes and even finishing with his right hand in traffic twice. Defensively he blocked shots and played the passing lanes. He along with sophomores Zyrice Scott and 6-foot-6 defensive end with an Alabama offer, Travon Walker, know nothing but winning. The core has gone somewhere around the record of 125-8 since they all started playing together and the group won the 16U USSSA National Championship this year with the locally based Middle Georgia Supersonics, going a perfect 6-0 in the tournament, winning by an average of 29.5 points per game. The scary part is the trio has one more year together and they will only get better. Scott is a rock solid point guard and Walker sucks up rebounds and has soft hands and good feet on the block. He admittedly said he didn’t play well after the game but he still contributed five points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Senior Michael Smith is a crucial fourth scoring option. The shooter knocked down three triples on the night. Upson-Lee’s biggest issue come state tournament time will be their depth. If any of the big three get in foul trouble, there will be problems. Outside of Walker, there isn’t a ton of height inside for Coach Lockhart. If this isn’t the year for a state title run, next year has a very real possibility of being it, as long as the Knights can develop one or two more players around their core. Expect the Knights to be in a gym near you this time next year in a major holiday tournament…

LaGrange is a much better team than they showed. They were just shell-shocked by Upson-Lee and I fully expect Coach Mark Veal to use the game as a teaching moment and to build momentum heading into an interesting region schedule. They host No. 1 Sandy Creek on January 13, a game with enormous statewide implications. The score will of that game will be something everyone will want to keep an eye on. There wasn’t much to pull from against Upson-Lee other than Bo Russell playing extremely hard all night and Kenan Grey being a load inside, but even he was held to four points along with Bryan Fanning as they ran into Walker inside.

Top Performers

Upson-Lee
Tye Fagan – 31 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Zyrice Scott – 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Michael Smith – 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Travon Walker – 5 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

LaGrange
Covan Huzzie – 12 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Bo Russell – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Laperion Perry – 6 points, 1 assist, 3 steals

GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Under the Radar Seniors 2017 *UPDATE*

Seven of this June’s 18 highlighted under the radar seniors have already either committed or signed to D-I programs. Here’s a look at how everyone has done so far in their final season in the GHSA.

Mohammed Abubukar – 6’8” – Eagle’s Landing

***NORTH CAROLINA A&T***
12 GP – 10.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg

Mo Merritt – 6’7” – North Cobb Christian

*Unsigned*

Avery Wilson – 6’3” – Forest Park

*Unsigned*
11 GP – 29 ppg, 9 rpg, 4 apg

Isaiah Miller – 6’0” – Newton

*Unsigned*
9 GP – 19.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2 apg, 3.2 spg

Khalil Cuffee – 6’4” – Langston Hughes

 ***SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE***
10 GP – 15 ppg, 4 rpg, 2 apg

Evan Cole – 6’8” – South Forsyth

***UNC-WILMINGTON***
11 GP – 20 ppg, 10 rpg, 2 bpg

Kane Williams – 6’3” – South Paulding

***GEORGIA STATE***
10 GP – 15 ppg, 8 rpg, 6 apg, 3 spg

Phlan Fleming – 6’5” – Cedar Shoals

***CHARLESTON SOUTHERN***
11 GP – 17.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 3.4 spg, 2 bpg

Trevion Lamar – 6’5” – Jenkins

*Unsigned*
10 GP – 16.6 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 1.1 bpg

Jules Erving – 6’5” – Holy Innocents’

*Unsigned*
5 GP – 13.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 bpg

Ahmad Rand – 6’7” – Lincoln County

*Unsigned*
3 GP – 19.3 ppg, 19 rpg, 11.3 bpg

Marcal Knolton – 6’6” – Crawford County

*Unsigned*

Tyreke Johnson – 6’4” – Woodstock

*Unsigned*
12 GP – 21.6 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.8 spg

Tae Hardy – 6’3” – Miller Grove

*Unsigned*
10 GP – 20 ppg, 4 spg

Damion Rosser – 6’4” – Henry County

***NEW ORLEANS***
9 GP – 21 ppg, 8 rpg, 6 apg, 2 spg, 2 bpg

Evan Jester – 6’7” – Sandy Creek

*Unsigned*
7 GP – 19.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.9 spg, 1 bpg

Noah Gurley – 6’8” – Fayette County

***FURMAN***
10 GP – 16.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.3 bpg

Preston Horne – 6’6” – Tift County

*Unsigned*
8 GP – 23.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.5 steals, 1.3 bpg

GHSA, Girls Basketball, Girls Rankings

Week 6 Girls Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

  1. Norcross (15-1)
  2. Collins Hill (12-0)
  3. McEachern (5-4)
  4. Mill Creek (11-1)
  5. Archer (9-2)
  6. Westlake (9-3)
  7. Newton (8-1)
  8. Hillgrove (7-4)
  9. Colquitt County (9-2)
  10. Brookwood (8-4) 

Class AAAAAA

  1. Harrison (9-1)
  2. Winder-Barrow (8-4)
  3. Douglas County (10-2)
  4. Grovetown (8-4)
  5. Mays (5-4)
  6. Sequoyah (10-0)
  7. Lovejoy (9-2)
  8. Northview (11-1)
  9. Stephenson (8-4)
  10. Jonesboro (7-4) 

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (8-0)
  2. Flowery Branch (9-2)
  3. Southwest DeKalb (10-3)
  4. Griffin (13-0)
  5. Warner Robins (13-0)
  6. Carrollton (9-0)
  7. Maynard Jackson (9-1)
  8. Villa Rica (11-1)
  9. Arabia Mountain (9-0)
  10. Harris County (10-2) 

Class AAAA

  1. North Oconee (10-1)
  2. West Hall (9-3)
  3. Carver-Columbus (11-1)
  4. Cross Creek (8-4)
  5. Columbus (7-2)
  6. Northwest Whitfield (7-3)
  7. Sandy Creek (7-1)
  8. Jefferson (8-3)
  9. Perry (10-2)
  10. Americus-Sumter (8-2) 

Class AAA

  1. Beach (11-1)
  2. Johnson-Savannah (12-1)
  3. Greater Atlanta Christian (10-4)
  4. Ringgold (10-2)
  5. Hart County (10-1)
  6. Monroe (8-1)
  7. Redan (8-2)
  8. Calhoun (11-3)
  9. Franklin County (8-2)
  10. Haralson County (8-3) 

Class AA

  1. Laney (9-1)
  2. Model (8-2)
  3. Dodge County (8-1)
  4. Rabun County (11-1)
  5. Vidalia (8-1)
  6. Fitzgerald (6-0)
  7. Heard County (10-2)
  8. Dade County (10-3)
  9. Hapeville Charter (8-2)
  10. Dublin (5-2)

Class A-Private

  1. St. Francis (8-3)
  2. Holy Innocents’ (9-1)
  3. Wesleyan (10-2)
  4. Lakeview Academy (10-2)
  5. Pinecrest Academy (8-2)
  6. Landmark Christian (9-3)
  7. Calvary Day (9-2)
  8. Fellowship Christian (5-3)
  9. Christian Heritage (6-4)
  10. Tattnall Square Academy (6-3) 

Class A-Public

  1. Pelham (10-0)
  2. Wheeler County (9-1)
  3. Greenville (9-1)
  4. Telfair County (9-1)
  5. Woodville-Tompkins (10-3)
  6. Macon County (6-0)
  7. Treutlen (7-3)
  8. Taylor County (7-2)
  9. Terrell County (6-2)
  10. Wilcox County (7-4)

 

Over in South Carolina, the CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational was as good as it gets with a handful of Georgia powers in attendance. One of those state championship favorites was Class AAAAAAA No. 1 Norcross, who went 3-1 with their lone loss coming to eventual tournament champion Monacan, VA 58-57.  Along the way the Lady Blue Devils knocked off Wesleyan 58-53. Back in Georgia, No. 6 Westlake and No. 9 Colquitt County were tested at the Peach State Classic. The Lions went 2-1 with a win over Colquitt 45-42. The Packets finished 1-2 with losses to Southwest DeKalb and Westlake. Lambert and Camden County drop out. The Wildcats shouldn’t have been ranked last week as there was an error on MaxPreps saying they beat Calvary Day when they actually lost 48-41. Replacing Camden County is No. 8 Hillgrove. The record isn’t sexy, but the Hawks have played a tough non-region schedule and head into a stingy Deep South Classic field with host No. 10 Brookwood, who reappears in the poll after a 55-46 victory over Lambert. The Broncos draw North Forsyth in Round 1 of the tournament, a great matchup between two Top 10 worthy squads.

The Olivia Nelson-Ododa tour went to the CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational and nearly captured the championship. Class AAAAAA No. 2 Winder-Barrow went 3-1, beating Wesleyan 65-60 and falling to Monacan in the finals 54-49. In the loss Nelson-Ododa finished with 16 points and 22 rebounds. In Region 5 play, No. 3 Douglas County held off No. 5 Mays at Mays 67-60. Mays holds firm at No. 5 even with the loss due to strength of schedule. The two square off again on January 7. Stephenson leaps Jonesboro for No. 9 in the state after the Cardinals were tripped up by Holy Innocents’ 53-39 at the War Eagle Classic.

Class AAAAA is shaping up to be tons of fun with No. 1 Buford as the early favorite. They crushed Morgan County 74-17 heading into the holiday break. Southwest DeKalb jumps Griffin for No. 3 in the state. The Panthers won the Peach State Classic beating Tucker (52-46), Colquitt County (60-51) and No. 7 Maynard Jackson 72-58 in the title game. Jackson moves up after beating Westlake 46-38. The Jaguars likely would have been ranked much higher to start the year if I knew that Southwest Atlanta Christian’s two best seniors (6-foot-5 Dominique Banks & 5-foot-7 Tiamya Butler) had transferred to Jackson. In effect, SACA would have never been ranked to open the year. No. 5 Warner Robins hosts No. 10 Harris County on January 6.

It’s now nine straight wins for No. 2 West Hall heading into Lanierland. The Spartans won the Holidays on the Hardwood Championship in North Carolina over Cherokee, NC 76-71. No. 3 Carver-Columbus pounded No. 5 Columbus 69-53, dropping them three spots in the Class AAAA poll. Heritage-Catoosa departs the rankings after a 60-45 loss to Ringgold and is replaced by No. 10 Americus-Sumter, who drilled Monroe 61-40 at the Phoebe Sumter Shootout, the Tornadoes first loss of the year.

No. 1 Beach and No. 2 Johnson-Savannah will battle for Region 3-AAA supremacy all season long and even though it wasn’t a region game, it was Beach’s turn to stun the Atomsmashers. The Bulldogs won the Memorial Health Holiday Classic Championship in overtime 62-56 just six days after losing 45-42 on a buzzer beater to Johnson. The Bulldogs take ahold of No. 1 and will see Johnson for the third time on January 27. No. 4 Ringgold had a strong week, beating Christian Heritage 56-37 and Heritage-Catoosa, their rival, 60-45. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe drops out after losing to Heritage-Catoosa 68-43. Replacing them is No. 10 Haralson County, who knocked Pepperell out of the AA poll with a 60-39 victory.

No. 2 Model is starting to heat up in Class AA, beating Darlington 56-47 and Rome 60-54. Dodge County leaps Rabun County for No. 3 due to more resume building wins, their most recent coming at Wayne County 50-45. Bryan County and Pepperell exit the Top 10. Bryan County was upset by Long County while the Dragons have dropped three straight by double digits. Entering is No. 9 Hapeville Charter and No. 10 Dublin. The Hornets have some sting and are a team to keep an eye on with a High Major player leading the way.

There’s shuffling along the top of Class A-Private with St. Francis reclaiming No. 1 even after two losses at the Nike Tournament of Champions. The Knights have played the toughest schedule in the state and are still a force in Georgia. Holy Innocents’ climbs up to No. 2 after a clean week with a win over Jonesboro. Wesleyan went 2-2 at the CresCom Invitational, their only two losses coming to GHSA opponents in Winder-Barrow and Norcross. Darlington has lost two in a row and is out of the rankings, replaced by No. 10 Tattnall Square Academy.

No. 1 Pelham is a monster in Class A-Public, beating Tift County 40-38 just to show their dominance from the state’s smallest classification. Below Pelham there were some state-changing results. Wheeler County jumps up two spots to No. 2 following No. 3 Greenville and No. 9 Terrell County’s losses. Greenville was upset by Cook 73-71, but rebounded with an 81-75 win over Turner County, knocking the Rebels from the poll.  Terrell County lost to Taylor County 49-41; not a terrible result at first glance. But the Greenwave fall six spots to No. 9 and Taylor County drops two spots to No. 8 after the Vikings were demolished by No. 6 Macon County 67-35, who debuts in the Top 10. The Bulldogs are officially a problem led by junior Jasmine Larry who is posting 23.4 points, 5.8 assists and 5.8 steals per game. Ranking just ahead of the ‘Dogs is Woodville-Tompkins. They defeated Calvary Day 49-47. Treutlen holds at No. 7 after a 64-59 win over No. 10 Wilcox County and a 64-62 loss to No. 4 Telfair County.

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