Class AAAAAAA

McEachern (11-1)
Norcross (12-2)
Collins Hill (14-1)
Pebblebrook (11-2)
Grayson (10-2)
Mountain View (12-2)
Newton (10-3)
Wheeler (8-5)
Etowah (12-1)
Meadowcreek (11-3)

Class AAAAAA

Langston Hughes (11-3)
Brunswick (13-1)
Tri-Cities (12-3)
Douglas County (10-2)
Gainesville (7-6)
Dacula (6-5)
Bradwell Institute (10-4)
Jonesboro (8-5)
Cambridge (12-1)
Glynn Academy (10-4)

Class AAAAA

Buford (10-2)
Warner Robins (11-1)
Columbia (8-3)
Lithonia (14-3)
Statesboro (11-2)
Miller Grove (8-6)
Southwest DeKalb (10-5)
Villa Rica (11-0)
Maynard Jackson (13-1)
McIntosh (8-1)

Class AAAA

Upson-Lee (16-0)
St. Pius X (11-2)
Sandy Creek (8-2)
Mary Persons (12-1)
Americus-Sumter (12-1)
Westover (8-4)
Baldwin (8-4)
Salem (10-4)
Carver-Columbus (13-3)
Cartersville (7-2)

Class AAA

Morgan County (12-0)
Jenkins (7-2)
Johnson-Savannah (8-2)
Cedar Grove (7-5)
Greater Atlanta Christian (10-3)
Westside-Macon (5-6)
Windsor Forest (9-4)
Dawson County (10-3)
Central-Macon (8-3)
Monroe Area (9-2)

Class AA

Glenn Hills (11-0)
South Atlanta (11-1)
Dublin (10-1)
Banks County (12-1)
Thomasville (13-2)
Laney (10-3)
Swainsboro (8-3)
Jeff Davis (9-3)
Elbert County (11-2)
Washington County (8-3)

Class A-Private

St. Francis (11-2)
Aquinas (10-3)
Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (12-2)
King’s Ridge Christian (9-2)
Christian Heritage (12-0)
Wesleyan (4-4)
Landmark Christian (9-3)
North Cobb Christian (7-4)
WD Mohammed (6-1)
Stratford Academy (6-4)

Class A-Public

Central-Talbotton (11-0)
Manchester (6-0)
Lanier County (11-1)
Woodville-Tompkins (12-2)
Montgomery County (10-2)
Pelham (8-2)
Calhoun County (11-2)
Wilkinson County (7-4)
Macon County (8-2)
Wilcox County (8-3)

2017 is in the books! There was nowhere to run and hide this Christmas as holiday tournaments across the state tested teams and separated the pretenders from the contenders. In Class AAAAAAA, No. 4 Pebblebrook springs up five spots after winning the Peach Bracket at the Tournament of Champions Classic (TOC) at Wheeler. The Falcons beat No. 5 Grayson 71-52 and Blanche Ely, FL in the championship 76-73. Canisius-commit Mervin James was a breakout star for the Falcons, hanging 24 points and 11 rebounds against the Rams. No. 2 Norcross finished 3-0 at the FBI Classic, No. 3 Collins Hill won the Cleveland County Christmas Tournament going 3-0, No. 6 Mountain View went 3-0 at the Go Southern Beach Blowout and No. 9 Etowah captured the TOC Blue Bracket Championship by beating Milton 57-33, Impact Christian, FL 54-36, Class 5A No. 7 Southwest DeKalb 58-42, and in the championship game, Class 5A No. 4 Lithonia 37-36.

Class AAAAAA No. 1 Langston Hughes went 2-1 at TOC, losing to Blanche Ely 60-55, but bouncing back with wins over Marshall, VA 54-51 and Sacred Heart, AL 94-73. No. 6 Dacula tumbles four spots after going 1-2 at the Lake City Classic. The Falcons’ inability to get stops on defense was glaring, even though they managed to put a tournament-best three players on the All-Tournament team, Brenden Tucker, Arusha Hunter and Quincy Ademokoya, all averaging over 16 points per game. They blew out Marianna, FL 68-51, but lost to Class A-Private No. 2 Aquinas 86-81 in 2OT and Class 3A No. 4 Cedar Grove 74-50. No. 2 Brunswick, the reigning state runner-up, reaches a new peak after going 3-0 at the McDonald’s Invitational at Tift County. The Pirates rallied to beat South Cobb 54-53 and defeated Lake Minneola, FL 54-47 and Tift County 61-55. No. 5 Gainesville steamrolled their way to the Lanierland championship for the second year in a row, beating East Hall 96-73 in the title game. No. 8 Jonesboro struggled at TOC, losing to Holy Spirit Prep 66-50, Class 7A No. 10 Meadowcreek 64-57 and Pace Academy 39-36 after beating Class 5A No. 6 Miller Grove in overtime 45-43. Coffee (5-6) falls out after losses to Leon, FL 55-46 and Colquitt County 72-62. The Trojans are replaced by debutant No. 10 Glynn Academy. The Terrors picked up a 74-49 win over Class 2A No. 7 Swainsboro at the Gentleman’s Classic.

No. 1 Buford regains control of Class AAAAA after sweeping their way to the Kingdom of the Sun Championship, beating Vanguard, FL 75-54 in the title game. The Wolves have not lost a game since Lipscomb-signee Alex Jones’ return to the lineup. No. 2 Warner Robins fell victim to the state’s hottest team, Class 4A No. 1 Upson-Lee in the Lake City Classic Championship, 84-73. The Demons finished 3-1 at the LCC, earning wins over Hillgrove (79-49), Class 3A No. 4 Cedar Grove (60-59) and Class A-Private No. 2 Aquinas (70-62). Jacolbey Owens and Georgia State-signee Nelson Phillips were phenomenal, Owens the biggest stock riser at the guard position at the event. The sure-fire D1 talent buried eight three-pointers against Aquinas – once a weakness in his arsenal. If the grades are there, Owens is a no-brainer at the Mid-Major level. No. 4 Lithonia rises two spots after getting revenge against Greenforest 70-48 and losing in the TOC Blue Bracket Championship to Etowah 37-36. No. 6 Miller Grove and No. 7 Southwest DeKalb had rollercoaster rides at TOC. The Wolverines lost in overtime to Jonesboro and got blown out by Class 7A No. 5 Grayson 68-48. The Panthers beat Class A-Private No. 3 ELCA 51-50 and Lambert 69-58, but lost to Class 7A No. 9 Etowah 58-42 and to Greenforest 52-44. No. 5 Statesboro leaps five spots thanks to the chaos above them. Eagle’s Landing (9-4) had a poor showing at the Lee County Roundball Classic, losing to Boyd Anderson, FL 46-42 and to Class 4A No. 9 Carver-Columbus 66-58, leading to the Eagles’ departure from the Top 10. They are replaced by undefeated No. 8 Villa Rica.

It’s now 48-straight wins for Class AAAA No. 1 Upson-Lee, as the Knights officially enter the state’s loft as one of the elites. Winning the Lake City Classic Championship is as good as it gets in holiday hoops, the Knights surviving a gauntlet, beating Millbrook, NC 66-62, Class A-Private No. 1 St. Francis 80-65, Alabama’s Class 7A No. 1 Huffman 72-63 and Class 5A No. 2 Warner Robins in the title game, 84-73. MTSU-commit Tye Fagan was unstoppable throughout the tournament, garnering MVP honors after averaging 26.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 blocks. He collected 33 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 6 blocks in the championship game, outplaying Georgia State’s Nelson Phillips. Travon Walker was dominant inside as well, the 6-foot-6 junior making the All-Tournament team with averages of 16.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game including 18 points and 16 rebounds in the Middle Georgia championship. No. 2 St. Pius X won their Christmas Classic with an impressive 58-38 win over New York’s Canisius. No. 5 Americus-Sumter captured the Lee County Roundball Classic Championship by beating Jeff Davis, AL 60-59. No. 10 Cartersville sinks five spots after a 1-2 showing at the Lake City Classic. The Canes were held scoreless for the first 10:34 against Allatoona in an ugly 42-33 loss. They rebounded with a 77-64 win over Class A-Private No. 8 North Cobb Christian, but wasted a monstrous nine three-pointer effort from Furman’s Jaylon Pugh in their 70-63 loss to Millbrook.

Class AAA No. 4 Cedar Grove impressed at the Lake City Classic following an ugly 45-40 win over Alexander to open. The Saints lost 60-59 to Class 5A No. 2 Warner Robins, but beat Class 6A No. 6 Dacula 74-50 before dropping to Class A-Private No. 1 St. Francis 69-61. Jamari Dean was the breakout player of the tournament, picking up multiple offers headlined by a James Madison bid, his first D1 school. Dean was fabulous inside, averaging 22.2 points and 11.9 rebounds. The unsigned 6-foot-6 senior forward rebounded everything in his area, using his electric second leap. He showed range extending to the three-point line and finished through contact inside on the low block. He solidified himself as a D1 recruit. As the Saints impressed, Region 5 rival Pace Academy (5-6) continued to struggle and dropped back out of the rankings. The Knights lost to Sacred Heart, AL, Wheeler and Shiloh before edging Class 6A No. 8 Jonesboro 39-36 at TOC. Pace is replaced by first-timer No. 9 Central-Macon. The Chargers had a challenging week, but managed to score a 49-47 win over Class 4A No. 7 Baldwin.

In Class AA, No. 1 Glenn Hills thumped Class 6A No. 10 Glynn Academy 75-41. No. 2 South Atlanta finished 3-0 at the First State Bank Shootout. No. 3 Dublin got its revenge in an emotional 77-75 win at Class A-Public No. 8 Wilkinson County, Clarence Jackson’s official homecoming. No. 7 Swainsboro slips two spots as they were trounced again by a bigger school, Glynn Academy winning 74-49, highlighting a glaring divide between the Tigers and No. 1 Glenn Hills. Chattooga (10-2) and Metter (10-2) exit the Top 10. The Indians lost in their tournament championship to Cass 54-43 while Metter was drilled by Class 6A No. 7 Bradwell Institute 73-40. Into the poll is red-hot No. 9 Elbert County and returnee No. 10 Washington County. The Blue Devils have won 10-straight while the Golden Hawks beat Marist 69-56 and Class 3A No. 9 Central-Macon 63-54.

No. 1 St. Francis retains their spot atop Class A-Private after a 3-1 showing at the Lake City Classic. A 69-61 win over Class 3A No. 4 Cedar Grove is their best while grinding out a 57-55 win over Allatoona’s matchup zone is never easy. No. 3 ELCA rebounded from a 51-50 loss to Class 5A No. 7 Southwest DeKalb to win the Red Bracket Championship at TOC, beating Holy Innocents’ 75-35 in their rematch and handling Heritage School 52-44 and North Atlanta 52-45 in the title game. Greenforest (5-7) is out of the Top 10 again after a 70-48 loss to Class 5A No. 4 Lithonia. A 52-44 win against Southwest DeKalb shows promise however. The Eagles are replaced by No. 10 Stratford Academy. The Eagles finished 2-1 at the Tattnall Square Holiday Classic and are slowly starting to play better.

The only change in Class A-Public is No. 9 Macon County swapping places with No. 10 Wilcox County following the Bulldogs’ impressive 3-0 week at the Alvin Copeland Christmas Classic, beating Mundy’s Mill (73-60), First Presbyterian Day (74-41) and Northeast-Macon (80-56).

Sandy's Spiel

Week 7 Boys Rankings