Class AAAAAAA
1. Milton (12-2)
2. Grayson (12-3)
3. McEachern (11-3)
4. Pebblebrook (13-2)
5. Berkmar (10-4)
6. Cherokee (13-3)
7. Newton (7-5)
8. Discovery (11-2)
9. Archer (8-4)
10. Gainesville (10-5)
Class AAAAAA
1. Wheeler (10-3)
2. Kell (9-4)
3. Evans (8-1)
4. Chattahoochee (7-1)
5. Richmond Hill (10-0)
6. Shiloh (8-3)
7. Lanier (9-3)
8. Centennial (7-2)
9. Allatoona (9-3)
10. Buford (9-2)
Class AAAAA
1. St. Pius X (10-1)
2. Eagle’s Landing (11-1)
3. Tri-Cities (8-4)
4. Woodward Academy (7-1)
5. Veterans (7-0)
6. Lithonia (6-1)
7. Forest Park (4-0)
8. Jonesboro (7-0)
9. Blessed Trinity (9-3)
10. Loganville (7-3)
Class AAAA
1. Spencer (4-0)
2. Baldwin (4-0)
3. Monroe (7-1)
4. Westover (4-1)
5. Stephenson (3-1)
6. Luella (12-2)
7. Miller Grove (2-2)
8. Cedar Shoals (6-4)
9. Jenkins (6-4)
10. North Oconee (9-2)
Class AAA
1. Sandy Creek (7-4)
2. Hart County (9-1)
3. Johnson-Savannah (6-0)
4. Salem (5-1)
5. Windsor Forest (2-0)
6. LaFayette (6-0)
7. Cross Creek (7-3)
8. Cherokee Bluff (8-5)
9. Thomson (4-2)
10. Carver-Atlanta (5-3)
Class AA
1. Pace Academy (10-1)
2. Swainsboro (5-1)
3. Lovett (7-3)
4. Washington County (3-0)
5. Woodville-Tompkins (7-1)
6. Westside-Augusta (8-1)
7. Thomasville (6-1)
8. Banks County (10-5)
9. Chattooga (5-2)
10. Laney (3-3)
Class A-Private
1. Greenforest (2-2)
2. Mt. Pisgah (8-5)
3. St. Francis (4-3)
4. Providence Christian (10-3)
5. Galloway (6-0)
6. Trinity Christian (8-6)
7. St. Anne-Pacelli (4-3)
8. Christian Heritage (8-2)
9. Holy Innocents’ (3-1)
10. Tallulah Falls (6-2)
Class A-Public
1. Drew Charter (9-0)
2. Hancock Central (0-0)
3. Dublin (11-1)
4. Lanier County (6-2)
5. Towns County (4-1)
6. Turner County (5-2)
7. Chattahoochee County (3-1)
8. Manchester (2-1)
9. Calhoun County (1-1)
10. Warren County (4-1)
The calendar has flipped to 2021 and with it has come 12 new teams into the state rankings scattered across classifications. Plenty of Top 10 matchups were presented to us with the same recycled teams as the Champions Classic, Tournament of Champions and New Year’s Classic were some of the biggest events that took place over the holidays featuring the best of the best in Georgia.
Class 7A No. 1 Milton traveled to Myrtle Beach for the Beach Ball Classic and returned to Georgia with hardware, beating Myrtle Beach (109-63), Gray Collegiate, SC (77-65), Greensboro Day, NC (66-65 OT) and Calvary Christian, FL (70-57) to win the title. Bruce Thornton was named MVP after averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4.3 assists while Kanaan Carlyle was tabbed to the All-Tournament Team, posting 15.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. No. 2 Grayson stayed local and beat North Gwinnett (7-6) 54-53 at TOC before edging No. 3 McEachern at the Champions Classic 74-66 as Tyrese Elliott won MVP honors with 20 points and 6 assists. North Gwinnett exits the poll after also losing to Class 6A No. 7 Lanier 56-46, part of a gauntlet of a non-region schedule. McEachern holds firm at No. 3 after wins over Class 6A No. 2 Kell 75-74, Cumberland Christian 79-77 and No. 7 Newton 67-55 at the New Year’s Classic. The Rams defeated Class 3A No. 1 Sandy Creek 63-59 at the Big South Shootout to open the new year behind Stephon Castle’s 23 points and 7 assists and TJ Clark’s 18 points. No. 4 Pebblebrook blasted the competition with blowouts of Solid Rock Academy 89-65, Class 5A No. 4 Woodward Academy 78-57 and Grovetown 78-51. No. 6 Cherokee fell to returnee No. 9 Archer in the Deep South Classic Championship 52-43. The Tigers are back in the poll for the first time since Week 2. They grinded the shorthanded Warriors who were without starting guards Ethan Pickett and Bennett Ulm. Christian Drummer and Damoni Harrison scored 14 apiece in the win while Major Freeman added 13 points. Cherokee saw Xavier-signee Elijah Tucker post 19 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Warriors bounced back at the New Year’s Classic, beating last week’s Class 5A No. 10 Dutchtown 55-40, Taihland Owens scoring 19 of his 21 points in the second half. Dropping out this week is Denmark (7-5) who has now lost four-straight. They were ousted by newly ranked Class 4A No. 8 Cedar Shoals 60-45. Debuting in the poll is No. 10 Gainesville. Fresh off winning the 61st Annual Lanierland, their 23rd title in school history, the Red Elephants rode tournament MVPs Robert Reisman (27 points) and Converse College-commit Eli Pitts (14 points) to a 75-70 win over Class 3A No. 8 Cherokee Bluff. Gainesville quietly now has five wins over ranked opponents this season beating Columbia, Banks County, Denmark and Discovery. 6-foot-5 270-pound offensive lineman heading to Ole Miss, Ced Nicely, has provided a physical presence around the rim for the Red Elephants.
The gap between No. 1 Wheeler and No. 2 Kell is nearly nonexistent in Class 6A. The Wildcats only hold onto their ranking due to a 1-1 week instead of Kell’s 2-2 mark and fortunately for Wheeler, they had a get-right game with Marietta, beating the Blue Devils 78-61 at the New Year’s Classic after getting drubbed by Class 7A No. 5 Berkmar 66-47 at TOC. Kell lost somewhat of a controversial finish against Class 7A No. 3 McEachern 75-74 but drilled last week’s Class 4A No. 4 Fayette County 89-50 at the Champions Classic to get back on track. Kell finished the event with a 72-66 loss to Class 3A No. 1 Sandy Creek but won at home at the New Year’s Classic against Berkmar, 73-68 as Scoot Henderson dumped in 29 points and Jaylen Harris scored all of his 15 points in the second half. Though it means nothing, it’s interesting to note that Wheeler beat both McEachern (79-68) and Sandy Creek (62-61) in their matchups. No. 4 Chattahoochee is up three spots while No. 7 Shiloh is down three, swapping positions. The Cougars beat Shiloh at TOC 71-68 behind AJ White and St. Francis in-season transfer Jordan Brown’s 20 points apiece. The Generals would lose again to Class 5A No. 4 Woodward Academy 56-55 at the Champions Classic before blasting Solid Rock Academy 89-57. No. 5 Richmond Hill will have to ramp it up a notch after barely surviving Savannah Country Day in overtime 54-49. They have an interesting test this Tuesday as they host 8-1 Statesboro. No. 7 Lanier put together a perfect week beating East Coweta 74-65, Habersham Central 55-53 and last week’s Class 7A No. 8 North Gwinnett 56-46, James Madison-signee Andrew McConnell scoring 22 points in the win. Tucker (6-4) drops out after losing to Roswell 63-49 and Class 2A No. 1 Pace Academy 60-53. No. 10 Buford returns to the rankings. They went 2-1 at the Marlin Classic to earn runner-up, Jaylon Taylor and Caleb Blackwell each scoring 16 points in the 74-66 title game loss to Choctawhatchee, FL.
The spotlight in Class 5A was a little too bright for No. 2 Eagle’s Landing but the Eagles stay put even after their 50-49 loss to Tift County. No. 1 St. Pius X suffered their first loss as well, losing to Ensworth, TN 77-57 at the NXT LVL Hoops Festival before finishing the event with wins over Center Hill, MS (83-61) and Ravenwood, TN (66-58). No. 3 Tri-Cities lost 73-65 to Class 3A No. 1 Sandy Creek at the Champions Classic but got revenge against last week’s Class 4A No. 4 Fayette County 67-58. No. 4 Woodward Academy also lost their first game, 78-57 to Class 7A No. 4 Pebblebrook, but bookended the week by beating Class 6A No. 6 Shiloh 56-55 and Class A-Private No. 7 St. Anne-Pacelli 71-61, Belmont-signee Will Richard exploding for 35 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals in Columbus. No. 5 Veterans slips a spot. They defeated Crisp County 72-62 but took double overtime to escape 3-10 Lee County 70-59 as DeAngelo Hines netted 24 points. The Warhawks can’t afford too many scares with their weaker strength of schedule. Up two spots is No. 6 Lithonia who pounded Mays 73-48 as Raheem Swain continued his torrid pace pouring in 28 points. Griffin (7-1) and Dutchtown (8-6) exit the rankings. Griffin was inactive this week while Dutchtown lost to Newnan 57-51 and Class 7A No. 6 Cherokee 55-40. No. 9 Blessed Trinity surges back into the poll after beating Class A-Private No. 2 Mt. Pisgah 53-50 behind Flagler-commit Jax Bouknight’s 19 points and Ben Hamacher’s 12. No. 10 Loganville impressed at the McDonald’s Shootout and earns a spot in the Top 10. The Red Devils blasted Lincoln County 66-38 behind Jafari Law’s 14 points and Sherman Johnson’s 12 points and 11 rebounds. Loganville then beat Elbert County 70-52 before falling to host Class 3A No. 2 Hart County 59-51. The Red Devils share the ball extremely well, paced by guards Cooper Rubio, Avery Hamilton and Thomas Grayson. Johnson, a baseball standout, provides energy and athleticism while Law and 6-foot-5 Chris Dorbor bring toughness to the interior.
Things are changing in Class 4A. Fayette County (5-9) has officially run out of leash. The Tigers have played the toughest schedule possible in Class 4A but with four-straight losses, Fayette County will have to work their way back into the poll. They fell 51-43 to Meadowcreek, 89-50 to Class 6A No. 2 Kell and 67-58 to Class 5A No. 3 Tri-Cities. The antithesis of Fayette County, No. 10 North Oconee, replaces them. The Titans have played a weak schedule and can’t afford any losses or they will be bounced quickly. They did play well to finish 2020 however, beating Elbert County 56-41 to avenge an earlier loss and then beat Class A-Public No. 10 Warren County 51-43. Seniors Dylan Garrington, a LaGrange-commit and Jace Saxton form a talented backcourt for Coach Rick Rasmussen. Back near the top of the poll, No. 3 Monroe is up two spots after taking care of Florida competition Marianna (62-52) and Lake Minneola (72-31). No. 6 Luella sinks three spots while No. 5 Stephenson climbs three as the Jaguars beat the Lions 62-48 at the Sweet South Classic, EJ Walker dumping in 31 points vs. Luella. Stephenson also beat Morgan County 50-40 with Walker netting 32. But right as it seems Stephenson is gaining momentum; they have just been placed under a two-week quarantine. Bainbridge (4-3) exits the Top 10 after a loss to Valdosta 55-52. The Bearcats also finally reported a 43-42 loss back on December 19 to Colquitt County. No. 8 Cedar Shoals is back in the picture following a signature 60-45 win over Denmark. Kashik Brown had 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists while Roger Walker double-doubled with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Believe it or not, the distance between No. 1 Sandy Creek and the rest of the field in Class 3A is starting to shrink ever so slightly. The Patriots lost their fourth game, this time 63-59 to Class 7A No. 7 Newton, but had great wins over Class 5A No. 3 Tri-Cities 73-65 and Class 6A No. 2 Kell 72-66 at the Champions Classic to cement the Patriots in the top spot. But with four losses, there is now game film out on how to beat Sandy Creek. There might not be as much firepower in Class 3A to do so, but all it takes is one bad game in February or March to knock the heavy favorites off. No. 2 Hart County inches closer and closer to the top as they jump inactive No. 2 Johnson-Savannah who is supposed to finally play No. 5 Windsor Forest on Saturday, the Knights dropping another spot with just 2 games under the belt this season. Hart County won the McDonald’s Shootout drilling South Atlanta 80-38 and beating Class 5A No. 10 Loganville 59-51 in the championship as Emmanuel-commit Shone Webb collected 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. No. 4 Salem beat Class A-Private No. 7 St. Anne-Pacelli 83-78 while No. 7 Cross Creek edged Cumberland Christian 68-61 at TOC behind Corey Trotter’s 21 points. There are mass causalities at the bottom of the poll. GAC (5-5), Southeast Bulloch (3-3) and Monroe Area (6-6) all drop at .500. GAC struggled at the McDonald’s Shootout, losing 55-52 to Elbert County in an ugly game before picking up wins over Lincoln County (68-61) and Madison County (76-54). Southeast Bulloch lost 71-51 at Effingham County while Monroe Area went 1-2 at the Deep South Classic, beating Brookwood 59-57 but losing to Class 7A No. 6 Cherokee 80-37 and Collins Hill 87-69. Three first-timers get a crack at the Top 10 in No. 8 Cherokee Bluff, No. 9 Thomson and No. 10 Carver-Atlanta. Cherokee Bluff lost 75-70 to Class 7A No. 10 Gainesville in the Lanierland Championship seeing Corey Thomas’ 28 points go by the wayside. The Bears are dangerous in 3A centered around the 6-foot-9 Thomas and high-octane backcourt of Shad Dabney, Dre Raven and Cade Simmons. Thomson is powered by 6-foot freshman Lavonta Ivery. The Bulldogs beat Lincoln County 66-61 and fell to No. 2 Hart County 72-66 in two of their biggest games. The transfer bug bit Carver-Atlanta this offseason but the Panthers have responded well behind 6-foot-2 junior Mitchell Taylor. At the Campbell Holiday Classic, Carver lost to Cass 64-59 but beat Maynard Jackson 78-66 and Southwest Atlanta Christian 68-52, avenging a season-opening loss. Taylor poured in 29 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while Amari Floyd added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks vs. SACA.
In Class 2A, No. 1 Pace Academy beat last week’s Class 6A No. 10 Tucker 60-53. It looked like Region 2 could challenge the Knights some this year and No. 3 Lovett still may be able to, coming off a 73-44 win over McNair, but Columbia (5-4) has plummeted all the way out of the Top 10. The Eagles have been disappointing this year with the amount of talent on their roster. They have played a challenging schedule but things haven’t clicked yet and they will need to regroup outside of the rankings. They lost 63-51 at Statesboro and then fell 65-60 in overtime to Sequoyah at the New Year’s Classic. There is still plenty of time for the Eagles’ pieces to come together. They remain dangerous moving forward as one of the most talented teams in 2A. No. 8 Banks County lost 74-70 to Heritage-Conyers but beat Hebron Christian 52-48 and Lincoln County 52-50 to end the week. Pierce Martin scored 18 in the win over Lincoln County while Dakota Orr recorded 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks while earning Banks County Christmas Tournament All-Tournament Team in the third-place game against Hebron. Climbing back into the Top 10 is No. 10 Laney. All three of Laney’s losses have come against ranked opponents.
The top of the poll in Class A-Private was quiet outside of No. 2 Mt. Pisgah and No. 4 Providence Christian. Mt. Pisgah went 1-2 at The Rock Holiday Classic down in Florida, battling prep schools and returned to Georgia where they lost 53-50 at Class 5A No. 9 Blessed Trinity while Providence Christian went 2-1 at the Visit Panama City Beach Invitational. No. 6 Trinity Christian went 3-0 at the LaGrange Toyota Classic before falling in overtime 65-60 to Meadowcreek at the Big South Shootout. No. 7 St. Anne-Pacelli tested themselves against four teams that have spent time in the Top 10 this year. They beat Class A-Public No. 7 Chattahoochee County 85-73 and Douglas County 59-52 but lost 83-78 to Class 3A No. 4 Salem and 71-61 to Class 5A No. 4 Woodward Academy, Travis Harper II pouring in 27 points vs. Woodward. Out of the Top 10 is Walker (8-2) who played without leading scorer Omari Daniel, losing 75-68 to Etowah and 63-44 to Sequoyah before beating Gilmer 72-53. They are replaced by No. 8 Christian Heritage. The Lions went 2-0 at their Carpet Capital Christmas Classic beating Gilmer 63-30 and Sequoyah 63-47 as freshman phenom Jax Abernathy returned to action and scored 17 points vs. the Chiefs. Christian Heritage’s only losses have come against national powerhouse Hamilton Heights, TN who finished 28-3 last year, 58-54 and to Webb, TN who went 22-7, 61-60.
There is no movement in Class A-Public. No. 3 Dublin earned wins over Wheeler County (73-48), Johnson County (46-33) and West Laurens (67-50) while No. 4 Lanier County won at Atkinson County 59-54 and No. 5 Towns County lost 78-68 to Class 7A 7-3 Collins Hill, 6-foot-7 Jake McTaggart posting 23 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. No. 7 Chattahoochee County beat Wayne County 63-56 at the Lee County Roundball Classic and lost 85-73 at Class A-Private No. 7 St. Anne-Pacelli as sophomore Dexter Holloman pumped in 32 points.