Tag Archives: DJ Potts-Heard

Analysis, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

LakePoint Showcase notes

Young Guards Shine

Tyrease Jones2021 5-10 PG Tyrease Jones (Brunswick/Team Next Up): Tyrease Jones stole the show on Sunday with his ability to score in bunches. Jones came out red-hot, scoring 13 of his team’s first 18 points before finishing with a game-high 30 in electric fashion in a 73-47 win over SBT. The wired-to-score shooter nailed seven threes and scored at all three levels. Jones even collected 6 rebounds to go with his offensive outburst. The microwave scorer has lit it up this offseason and looks primed for a breakout season at Brunswick. He will be a player to keep tabs on over the next two seasons, especially if he carries his scoring prowess into the high school season.

Isaiah Logan2021 5-11 PG Isaiah Logan (Allatoona/North Metro Elite): Cat-quick with a knack for playmaking, Isaiah Logan ran wild in a 69-65 win over Team Strap. Logan was a blur in transition, outracing defenders to the basket to finish with 28 points while going 7-11 from the foul line. Logan looks like a true point guard, one who can handle pressure in tight spaces and also zip in assists out of tough angles. Logan is all gas no breaks. With more time he will get better at changing speeds and knowing when to pull back or go full throttle. Logan should be ready to take over the reins of the Allatoona offense and be able to push the tempo in Coach Chad Phillips’ system.

Rising Senior

Keon Sedgwick2020 6-0 G Keon Sedgwick (Paulding County/SEBA FCI Warriors): A true menace on defense, Keon Sedgwick is non-stop energy and effort on the perimeter. Sedgwick replicated his performance from when I first saw him last season and did not disappoint with his ability to stuff the stat sheet on Sunday. Sedgwick is a tenacious defender that thrives in an up-and-down tempo. He’s a wiry long guard that takes pride in his defense. Sedgwick has a nose for the ball that helps him be involved in nearly every play. Offensively, he uses his quickness to get to the basket but also has a steady midrange pull-up when he stops on a dime.

For the Future

2022 6-2 SG DJ Potts-Heard (Woodstock/Cherokee Legacy): D-I programs might want to keep the name DJ Potts-Heard on the backburner. The rising sophomore is a lights out shooter, one of the best in his class rivaling Chase Cormier of St. Pius X. It wasn’t just Potts-Heard’s shot-making ability that stood out on Sunday but his constant movement without the ball to get free, coming off screens and weaving his way in and out of traffic until he found freedom. Potts-Heard knows that his greatest weapon is his three-point shot, but he can do more than just stroke it from deep. As he continues to mature his body expect his game to diversify and develop into one of the toughest scorers in the North Metro area.

2022 6-5 W Trey Harris (North Paulding/SBT): Coming off of the program’s best season in school history, North Paulding will begin the rebuilding process around Tampa-signee Jacob Harris’ little brother, Trey. Much like his older brother, Trey has a smooth feel to his game with a feathery soft touch to score from all over the floor. He poured in 20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in a loss to Team Next Up while hitting three three-pointers. Harris can score in a hurry but not in a loud way, he gets his points quickly and quietly leading opponents shell-shocked when they look at the box score. Harris can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket with his length but his jump shot is probably the most reliable piece of his arsenal right now. As he gets stronger and gets more reps at the varsity level, Harris’ ceiling might be higher than his brother’s who had a historic career with the Wolfpack.

Analysis, GHSA Basketball

Summer Shootout notes Pt. 2

Cherokee County?

Jared Russo
Jared Russo

Cherokee County a basketball county? It hasn’t been one for a longgg time. That is changing however. The cavalry is on the way in the form of the 14U Deep South Blue Devils and 16U Cherokee Legacy. The Deep South Blue Devils executed to precision. A program that has racked up the wins, its exciting to see what they can do at the high school level next year. 2022 6-4 C Jared Russo (River Ridge) shined in a 67-62 win over Pro One Select White. The big man finished with 22 points, showing a soft touch around the basket and even knocking down a three. Russo never seemed rushed in the post and showed some nice finishes, including a turnaround jumper. He already is in the weight room preparing his body for the rigors of high school competition. He will need to crash the glass harder and become more of a two-way player. Russo will likely see major minutes as a freshman for River Ridge, a program that hasn’t sniffed .500 since Nick Masterson’s graduation in 2014.

6-3 F Caleb Richardson looked good off the bench for the Blue Devils, putting up 13 points and 5 rebounds as a skilled stretch-four. He knocked down two threes.

A lot of the talent in Cherokee County is starting to accumulate at Cherokee, where Class 7A Freshman of the Year Tai Owens and 6-foot-6 center Johnny Sweeney already reside. The Deep South Blue Devils are set to send 6-3 G Brandon Drummer and 6-1 G AJ Swann to the Warriors while 16U Cherokee Legacy already has 6-5 F Zack Vickers and nearly the rest of their entire roster in place. Drummer is a big guard that can make plays going downhill. He had 10 points, 6 assists and 3 steals against Pro One. Swann, a rising QB prospect, can hit the three-ball and competes on defense. He had 11 points. Vickers, a Region 4-AAAAAAA Second Team selection, posted 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in a 78-67 win over HypeSouth.

Maybe the best rising freshman in the county is 5-11 SG DJ Potts-Heard. Potts-Heard played up this week with 16U Cherokee Legacy and didn’t disappoint, providing his trademark three-point shooting. He has dominated in his own 14U division, most notably going for 24 points in the Atlanta Jam championship. He is a smooth scorer that has a bright future. Potts-Heard is currently undecided as to where he will attend high school, with private schools already in the mix.

16U Update

Bryson Wooten
Bryson Wooten

HypeSouth battled with just five men this week. Their top two players came from the backcourt. 2020 6-2 CG Bryson Wooten (Jones County) stuffed the stat sheet. He collected 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in a 52-46 win over BCB followed by going for 20 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a 78-67 loss to Cherokee Legacy after having to play the final 7:30 of the game with just four players. Wooten has a nice quick first step and explosion to the basket. He has a high motor and likes to put his finger prints all over games whether its defensively up top or creating offense on the other side. As good as Wooten was, his inability to finish drives haunted him this week. He missed at least five layups from point blank range that should have been finished. Call it fatigue or maybe just bad luck. Once he can convert those, Wooten has a chance to really pick up some steam. He averaged 6.9 points at Jones County as a sophomore and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him double that total next season.

2021 6-2 SG Kowacie Reeves Jr. (Westside-Macon) finished with 17 points and 20 points in the two games I saw, drilling 7 threes in the process. Reeves cashed in on his first offer yesterday, picking up a bid from Florida. When Reeves is hot, he can carry a team. When he’s not, he needs to find a way to still positively affect the game. The scouting report is already out on the freshman: Don’t let him get an open look from three. When teams start running him off the line, he must make them pay whether it be getting all the way to the basket for a layup or a floater or making the right drive-and-kick pass to the next open shooter. Defensively, Reeves has active hands that help him deflect passes and collect steals. It is easy to forget that he is only a freshman after already logging monster minutes with Westside-Macon and playing up this week. Having the lethal weapon of a three-point shot at his age is a major boon and once he gets stronger and more assertive on the dribble drive, Reeves will be in play as one of Middle Georgia’s brightest players.

Alphonso Meadows
Alphonso Meadows

16U Cherokee Legacy saw 5-11 PG Alphonso Meadows (Sprayberry) kick it into high gear against HypeSouth. Meadows played within the flow of the game and found the right spots to be aggressive. He finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with his 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. He was strong with the dribble and orchestrated the Cherokee Legacy offense. He hit some tough shots in the paint and hit two three-pointers. Meadows’ game wasn’t overly flashy, but it got the job done.