Class AAAAAAA

1. Grayson (1-0)
2. Pebblebrook (1-0)
3. McEachern (1-0)
4. Berkmar (1-0)
5. Milton (0-1)
6. Norcross (1-0)
7. Cherokee (1-0)
8. Newton (0-1)
9. North Gwinnett (0-1)
10. Etowah (1-0)

Class AAAAAA

1. Wheeler (0-0)
2. Kell (0-0)
3. Lanier (1-0)
4. Buford (1-0)
5. Heritage-Conyers (1-1)
6. Douglas County (2-0)
7. Allatoona (0-0)
8. South Cobb (0-0)
9. Chattahoochee (0-0)
10. Richmond Hill (0-0)

Class AAAAA

1. Tri-Cities (1-0)
2. St. Pius X (1-0)
3. Veterans (1-0)
4. Woodward Academy (1-0)
5. Eagle’s Landing (0-0)
6. Warner Robins (0-0)
7. Chapel Hill (0-0)
8. Cass (1-0)
9. Blessed Trinity (1-0)
10. Woodland-Stockbridge (2-0)

Class AAAA

1. Miller Grove (0-0)
2. Spencer (1-0)
3. Baldwin (0-0)
4. Fayette County (0-1)
5. Westover (1-0)
6. Stephenson (0-0)
7. Jenkins (1-1)
8. Westside-Macon (0-0)
9. Monroe (1-0)
10. Mays (0-0)

Class AAA

1. Sandy Creek (1-0)
2. Windsor Forest (1-0)
3. Johnson-Savannah (1-0)
4. Hart County (0-1)
5. Salem (1-0)
6. Upson-Lee (0-0)
7. LaFayette (0-0)
8. Cross Creek (0-0)
9. GAC (0-0)
10. Monroe Area (0-0)

Class AA

1. Pace Academy (0-1)
2. Swainsboro (0-0)
3. Columbia (0-0)
4. Lovett (0-0)
5. Thomasville (1-0)
6. Butler (0-0)
7. Woodville-Tompkins (2-0)
8. Laney (0-1)
9. Vidalia (1-0)
10. Jeff Davis (0-0)

Class A-Private

1. St. Francis (0-1)
2. Greenforest (0-0)
3. Mt. Pisgah (1-0)
4. Providence Christian (0-1)
5. Galloway (0-0)
6. St. Anne-Pacelli (0-0)
7. Holy Innocents’ (2-0)
8. Mt. Vernon Presbyterian (0-0)
9. Trinity Christian (1-0)
10. First Presbyterian Day (0-0)

Class A-Public

1. Hancock Central (0-0)
2. Terrell County (0-0)
3. Drew Charter (2-0)
4. Manchester (0-0)
5. Lincoln County (0-0)
6. Calhoun County (0-0)
7. Lanier County (0-0)
8. Taylor County (0-0)
9. Turner County (1-0)
10. Wilkinson County (0-0)

The GHSA season has officially “tipped” or make that inbounded. There will be uncertainty now more than ever when it comes to the polls. Not only are we dealing with the usually football players absences, injuries and eligibility issues here and there, but with COVID contact tracing, players will be forced out of the lineup for potentially weeks at a time. There is no consistency with school districts either. DeKalb County has suspended winter sports indefinitely, meaning teams like Class 4A No. 1 Miller Grove and No. 6 Stephenson aren’t sure when their seasons will start. The same can be said about Class 2A No. 3 Columbia. With that being said, there will be, as always, a lot of movement in the polls throughout the season, especially if some schools aren’t allowed to play. A team can’t sit dormant at the top of the poll without playing a game for over a month into the season. We may have to adopt something similar to what has been done with the NCAA college football rankings: once your season starts, you will be eligible for the rankings. While it hasn’t come to that just yet, it is something to think about.

As far as the actual action on the court, there will be some moving and shaking as always at the beginning of the season when Top 10 opponents matchup. While it may look like seismic changes, up or down a handful of spots, remember that the rankings always find a way to sort themselves out as more results are tallied. With that being said, the OTR Tip-Off Classic, Jared Cook Classic, Sweet South Shootout and North Georgia Showcase already have us off and running in 2020-21.

Just one game into the season and there is already a new top dog in Class 7A. No. 5 Milton drops four spots after Randy Brady beat them with a late bucket 56-55 at the OTR Tip-Off Classic to give No. 3 McEachern a huge win and move the Indians up two spots. Both teams weren’t at full strength. Milton was missing LT Overton and Devin Farrell due to football while McEachern saw Arkansas-signee Chance Moore and Bobby Moore miss the game. Brady had 15 points in the win while Braden Sparks stepped up with 14 and UGA-commit Cam McDowell finished with 13. Bruce Thornton was held to 11 points while Campbell-signee Broc Bidwell and Kanaan Carlyle scored 16 apiece for Milton. The new number one? Last year’s best team throughout the season: No. 1 Grayson. The Rams got 19 points and 8 rebounds from Robert Cowherd and 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks from Clemson-signee Ian Schieffelin in their 67-56 win over Class A-Private No. 1 St. Francis at the OTR Tip-Off. Alabama-signee Jusaun Holt led the Knights with 24 points. New addition Tyrese Elliott made a big difference in the backcourt for the Rams, tallying 13 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. No. 2 Pebblebrook rises a spot after securing a 77-56 win over Class 4A No. 4 Fayette County behind South Alabama-signee Tyler Shirley (17) and Aaron Reddish (15). No. 4 Berkmar pounded Brookwood 89-59 at the Jared Cook Classic, the Team Huncho core of Malique Ewin (29 points, 13 rebounds), Jermahri Hill (25 points, 8 rebounds), Destin Logan (11 points) and Jameel Rideout (8 points and 5 assists) overpowering the Broncos. No. 6 Norcross blasted Osborne 65-35 at the OTR Tip-Off with new faces London Johnson (17) and Jahki Howard (12) leading the while No. 7 Cherokee put on a show in their 83-47 throttling of Alexander, Xavier-signee Elijah Tucker (21), Ethan Pickett (15) and Taihland Owens (14) combining for 50 points. No. 8 Newton and No. 9 North Gwinnett both suffered close losses but remain entrenched in their preseason positions. The Rams lost 70-69 to Class 5A No. 4 Woodward Academy while the Bulldogs fell 56-54 to Shiloh.

No. 5 Heritage-Conyers sinks three spots in Class 6A after an 81-60 loss to Salem, who cracks the poll in Class 3A after the win. No. 3 Lanier inches up one spot after a wild comeback in the North Georgia Showcase against Class 3A No. 4 Hart County 72-69, grabbing their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter. With three players fouling out on each team, it was Lanier’s depth and youth that won the game. Junior Justin Birch led the Longhorns with 14 points while Makai Vassell had 12 points and 7 rebounds before fouling out. Freshman Boogie Morgan chipped in 11 points and 5 rebounds. No. 4 Buford hammered Class A-Private No. 4 Providence Christian at the OTR Tip-Off as Caleb Blackwell erupted for 26 points and 8 assists followed by Alahn Sumler’s 16 points and 8 rebounds. No. 6 Douglas County scored road wins over New Manchester (60-44) and Marietta (59-44) to start the year.

The Top 3 in Class 5A enjoyed blowout wins. No. 1 Tri-Cities obliterated Hapeville Charter 102-38, No. 2 St. Pius X raced away in the second half to beat Duluth in the North Georgia Showcase 69-44 with Rollins College-commit Brookes Kahlert dazzling to the tune of 18 points, 7 assists and 4 steals.  No. 3 Veterans handled West Laurens 75-42. No. 4 Woodward Academy climbs a spot after Logan Stephens hit a game-winner with 1.2 seconds remaining to knock off Class 7A No. 8 Newton 70-69. Stephens finished with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists while Belmont-signee Will Richard dumped in 31 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals. No. 8 Cass defeated Woodstock 73-56 and No. 9 Blessed Trinity survived North Cobb 57-55 behind Ben Hamacher’s 18 points. Out of the poll is Mundy’s Mill (1-1). The Tigers beat Hampton 78-34 before losing to replacement No. 10 Woodland-Stockbridge 63-46. The Wolfpack went 2-0 at the Sweet South Shootout, beating Troup County 65-48 in their first game. In the win over Mundy’s Mill, Jaedon Martin (20) and Gregory Kearney (17) combined for 37 points.

If Class 4A wasn’t confusing enough with transfers and then no clear juggernaut to choose from, now with DeKalb County schools suspending play, we won’t know how good No. 1 Miller Grove and No. 6 Stephenson are for quite some time. It will be a waiting game until they officially get the green light. With that being said, there are no changes in this week’s poll. One team that hasn’t had any issues with the county is No. 2 Spencer. The Greenwave stormed Dougherty 76-61 with JaQuez Holt (16), Jhalil Parker (12), Quran Hoskin (11), James Smyre (10) and Tycen McDaniels (10) leading a balanced attack. No. 5 Westover handled Dougherty as well, 62-46 with Isaac Abidde scoring 15 points and Effrin Smith adding 12. Another South Georgia program got off on the right foot in No. 9 Monroe. They survived Lee County 40-39 behind Domonik Henderson’s 15 points. No. 7 Jenkins defeated St. Andrew’s 55-37 before falling 77-68 to Class 3A No. 2 Windsor Forest. The Warriors hold tight to their position even with the loss.

No. 1 Sandy Creek represented for Class 3A in their 63-59 win over Class 2A No. 1 Pace Academy at the OTR Tip-Off. Washington State-signee Myles Rice scored 22 points while Auburn-signee Jabari Smith netted 18 – 12 in the fourth quarter to lead the comeback. No. 2 Windsor Forest defeated Class 4A No. 7 Jenkins 77-68. No. 3 Johnson-Savannah got Coach Chuck Campbell his first career win, beating New Hampstead 74-55 as Antonio Baker Jr. poured in 26 points. Emondre Bowles added 19. No. 4 Hart County hangs onto their position after a narrow defeat to Class 6A No. 3 Lanier at the North Georgia Showcase 72-69. The Bulldogs led the entire game until the 5:30 mark of the fourth quarter when fouls began to pile up. Six players fouled out – three on each team. The Bulldogs, who led 37-28 at the half and 56-48 after three, had to play nearly the entire fourth quarter without 6-foot-7 Tahj Johnson and guard Sean Teasley, Johnson fouling out after a controversial double-foul and then a technical. Best on best, Hart County looked like the better team on Saturday but the difference was 6A depth vs. 3A depth. Lanier’s young guards stepped up in a major way while Hart County ran out of bullets in the chamber. But the best player on the floor last night was indeed 6-foot-4 wing Shone Webb, a recent Emmanuel College-commit, who finished with 26 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks. Webb guarded James Madison-signee Andrew McConnell the entire game, holding him to 9 points before fouling him out by drawing an offensive foul. Webb is the state’s best defender and his dynamic play makes Hart County a legitimate title contender. Another title contender? Try No. 5 Salem who skyrockets into the poll after Dawson County (0-1) drops out following a 72-70 loss to Creekview at the GetMickey Raider Classic. Coach Wallace Corker bagged a signature win by controlling preseason Class 6A No. 2 Heritage-Conyers 81-60. An influx of talent has poured in with 6-foot-1 senior Javen Flowers-Smith, a former All-State guard that was second in DeKalb County in scoring (18.2) as a freshman at Redan before transferring to Florida, 6-foot-1 junior Jarrod Taylor from Nashville, who netted 18 in the win over Heritage, 6-foot-4 senior Avion Young (Alcovy) and 5-foot-10 junior Ju’Wel Wilson (Heritage School). Add in freshman guard Clark Mastin and junior forwards 6-foot-6 Jason Shropshire and 6-foot-4 Jeremiah Flournoy and you have a dangerous team in Region 5 that could potentially pose problems for No. 1 Sandy Creek and No. 9 GAC.

A 63-59 loss to Class 3A No. 1 Sandy Creek does not affect Class 2A No. 1 Pace Academy’s status atop the poll. Josh Reed scored 15 points in the loss followed by Florida State-signee Matthew Cleveland and Cleveland State-signee Cole Middleton’s 14 apiece. Madison Durr added 13. No. 8 Laney is down three spots after getting thumped by Evans 88-66. No. 7 Woodville-Tompkins is up one position following a 2-0 start with wins over Islands 71-41 and Groves 50-47. Four players scored in double digits vs. Groves led by Zion Powers’ 13 points.

In Class A-Private, no one stood out in Week 1. No. 1 St. Francis remains on top after a tough 67-56 loss to new Class 7A No. 1 Grayson. No. 3 Mt. Pisgah beat The Weber School 50-40 while No. 4 Providence Christian lost 66-48 to Class 6A No. 5 Buford, Chance Thacker (14) and Tony Carpio (12) leading the Storm. Wesleyan (0-1) is out after a 60-48 loss to a West Forsyth team that was decimated by graduation and more-so transfers this offseason. In at No. 9 is Trinity Christian. The Lions beat Marist 61-47 with transfers Sami Pissis (Florida) and Jackson Barnes (Landmark Christian) doing damage. Pissis had 23 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists while Barnes chipped in 14 points. Holdover Isaac Brito netted 18 points.

Only No. 3 Drew Charter and No. 9 Turner County played in Class A-Public. The Eagles destroyed Atlanta Classical 94-45 and WD Mohammed 87-54. JaKobe Strozier poured in 28 points in the season opener. Turner County beat Echols County 70-25.