Class AAAAAAA
1. Milton (12-2)
2. Grayson (14-3)
3. McEachern (14-3)
4. Pebblebrook (13-2)
5. Berkmar (11-4)
6. Cherokee (14-3)
7. South Forsyth (14-3)
8. Discovery (11-2)
9. North Gwinnett (9-7)
10. Collins Hill (8-3)
Class AAAAAA
1. Wheeler (12-3)
2. Kell (11-4)
3. Evans (10-1)
4. Chattahoochee (9-1)
5. Richmond Hill (12-0)
6. Lanier (11-3)
7. Centennial (9-2)
8. Shiloh (9-4)
9. Buford (11-2)
10. North Atlanta (13-2)
Class AAAAA
1. St. Pius X (12-1)
2. Eagle’s Landing (12-1)
3. Tri-Cities (10-4)
4. Veterans (9-0)
5. Forest Park (6-0)
6. Lithonia (7-2)
7. Woodward Academy (7-3)
8. Loganville (10-3)
9. Cass (10-4)
10. Jonesboro (10-1)
Class AAAA
1. Spencer (4-0)
2. Baldwin (4-0)
3. Stephenson (3-1)
4. Westover (4-2)
5. Monroe (7-3)
6. Luella (13-3)
7. Cedar Shoals (8-5)
8. Dougherty (7-3)
9. North Oconee (11-2)
10. Arabia Mountain (5-1)
Class AAA
1. Sandy Creek (10-4)
2. Hart County (10-3)
3. Windsor Forest (3-1)
4. Johnson-Savannah (7-1)
5. Salem (6-2)
6. LaFayette (7-0)
7. Cross Creek (7-3)
8. Carver-Atlanta (7-3)
9. Dawson County (10-5)
10. Upson-Lee (7-4)
Class AA
1. Pace Academy (12-1)
2. Swainsboro (6-1)
3. Lovett (8-4)
4. Woodville-Tompkins (9-1)
5. Washington County (4-0)
6. Thomasville (8-1)
7. Westside-Augusta (8-2)
8. Banks County (11-6)
9. Chattooga (7-2)
10. Laney (4-3)
Class A-Private
1. Greenforest (3-2)
2. Mt. Pisgah (9-5)
3. St. Francis (2-5)
4. Providence Christian (14-3)
5. Galloway (7-0)
6. Trinity Christian (9-6)
7. St. Anne-Pacelli (4-3)
8. Christian Heritage (10-2)
9. Holy Innocents’ (4-1)
10. Tallulah Falls (8-2)
Class A-Public
1. Drew Charter (10-0)
2. Dublin (12-1)
3. Lanier County (8-2)
4. Towns County (6-1)
5. Chattahoochee County (4-1)
6. Manchester (4-1)
7. Bowdon (12-2)
8. Calhoun County (1-1)
9. Warren County (4-1)
10. Turner County (7-3)
Region play is here as classifications start to configure their Top 10 alignments. Some classifications are settling in while others are getting even more unpredictable especially with some key players being ruled ineligible and a few programs forfeiting games.
For the fourth straight week, the top six in Class 7A remains unmoved and for six consecutive weeks, there is no new team that has broken into the top six. No. 2 Grayson helped knock both Archer (9-6) and Newton (7-6) from the Top 10. The Rams beat the Tigers 52-46 and Newton 61-43. Archer also lost to No. 9 North Gwinnett 58-42 who returns to the poll after Thomas Allard scored 17 points to lead the Bulldogs. No. 3 McEachern picked up wins over Marietta 62-50 and East Coweta 99-76. No. 5 Berkmar took care of Dunwoody 69-45 while No. 6 Cherokee survived Etowah 43-41 as Xavier-signee Elijah Tucker scored 20 points. Following Newton and Archer out of the rankings is Gainesville (10-6). The Red Elephant lost in overtime to red-hot debutant No. 7 South Forsyth 73-70. The War Eagles also beat North Gwinnett 53-50 before finishing the week with a 52-41 win over Hillgrove. Brandon Stoudamire dumped in 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks vs. Gainesville while Devin McGlockton had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. Ethan Underwood scored 19. Against North Gwinnett, it was McGlockton’s 14 points and 10 rebounds that led the way while Stoudamire and Kohl Harris scored 13 apiece. Also debuting is No. 10 Collins Hill. The Eagles beat Brookwood 83-68 and get even more athletic and deeper with five-star Florida State football-commit Travis Hunter returning from the gridiron. He scored 16 points in his debut. The breakneck pace of Collins Hill’s 32-minute full court press has led to the Eagles averaging a robust 73.6 points per game.
The showdown Class 6A has been waiting for will take place in Cobb County this Friday as No. 2 Kell visits No. 1 Wheeler. The Longhorns beat South Cobb 63-51 and Sprayberry 86-59 while the Wildcats hammered Lassiter and Osborne 85-63 apiece. Max Harris had 23 points and 7 rebounds in the win over Osborne while Isaiah Collier flirted with a triple-double recording 13 points, 10 rebounds and 9 steals. No. 4 Chattahoochee survived River Ridge 63-60 on the road with Jordan Brown scoring 20 points and AJ White hitting the game-winning three with 1.9 seconds left to finish with 16. No. 5 Richmond Hill won their Region 2 battle with Statesboro 67-57. Liam Markgraf scored 20 points while Jaeden Marshall had 17 points and 6 rebounds. UGA baseball-commit Leighton Finley tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds. Brayden Baker pitched in 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. No. 6 Lanier earned wins over Winder-Barrow 77-63 and No. 8 Shiloh 48-46, dropping the Generals two spots as they have lost four of their last six. Makai Vassell led the Longhorns with 16 points and James Madison-signee Andrew McConnell netted 13 in the win over Shiloh. Allatoona (10-4) saw their 9-game winning streak snapped with an upset loss at North Cobb 58-53, dropping the Bucs from the poll. Debuting is No. 10 North Atlanta. The Warriors swept Langston Hughes with a 66-65 win. The veteran group saw senior Tyson Motton score 22 points followed by junior K’hamani Olivacce’s 15, senior Montavious Myrick’s 10 and senior Khamani Johnson’s 8.
Things are starting to shift in Class 5A. Region 3 was the focal point in the state as their four ranked teams started to go head-to-head. No. 3 Tri-Cities blasted No. 7 Woodward Academy 91-68, dropping the War Eagles three spots. The Bulldogs led wire-to-wire draining 12 threes. Vanderbilt-signee Peyton Daniels had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Jackson Watson scored 15 points off the bench. Davon Cottle added 14 points and 3 assists while Simeon Cottle tallied 13 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals. Woodward got 35 points and 6 rebounds from Belmont-signee Will Richard in the loss before they fell again, this time to Class A-Private No. 6 Trinity Christian 53-48 to end the week. In a battle of unbeatens, No. 5 Forest Park mauled No. 10 Jonesboro 64-55, holding on after leading by 25 at the half. 6-foot-7 junior Daniel Pounds looked like a future High Major, pouring in 18 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Sophomores Jaquez Akins and Dawshawn Brown scored 13 apiece while freshman Montez Redding had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks and 6-foot-5 sophomore Jacob Feagin collected 6 points and 6 blocks. With no seniors on the roster, the Panthers look like one of the most talented teams in the state in Class 5A, but their youth showed in the second half as the Jonesboro pressure sped them up and forced cacophony of errors. The Cardinals were led by 6-foot-7 forwards Nathaniel Adams (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Yannis Woods (12 points, 9 rebounds). Outside of Region 3, No. 1 St. Pius X defeated Southwest DeKalb 57-41 and held off No. 6 Lithonia 59-52 behind Rollins College-commit Brookes Kahlert’s 18 points withstanding 29 points from Raheem Swain. DeAngelo Hines scored his 1,000th point in No. 4 Veterans’ 65-42 win over Bleckley County. No. 9 Cass is back in the rankings after knocking off Blessed Trinity (10-4) in double overtime 83-78. CJ Pipkin (26), Braxton Benham (22) and Zaylan Chaney (21) combined for 69 points. The Colonels closed their week with a 62-51 win at last week’s Class 3A No. 8 Cherokee Bluff as Benham scored 19 and Chaney netted 15. Pipkin, Jackson Hale and Ethan McIntyre scored 8 apiece.
Class 4A is a nightmare to decipher. Every team in the Top 10 that played lost except for No. 9 North Oconee who blasted Chestatee 94-49 behind Jace Saxton’s school-record 54 points; Saxton surpassing the 1,000th point mark with his mother in attendance. The mayhem starts at the top of the poll. No. 5 Monroe is down two spots after losing to Tift County 46-44 and finally recording their 72-52 loss back at the end of 2020 to Class 5A No. 2 Eagle’s Landing. No. 3 Stephenson moves up but are in quarantine and didn’t even play this past week. They are just a placeholder for now as No. 4 Westover couldn’t move up after losing to newly ranked No. 8 Dougherty 60-55. Remember weeks ago when we talked about Dougherty being the ultimate measuring stick in Class 4A having lost to No. 1 Spencer 75-62 and Westover 62-46 before beating Westside-Macon in overtime 76-71? Now all of a sudden, the Trojans have found their footing and look like a legitimate threat as a Top 10 team, winning four-straight. 6-foot-6 bulldozer Jadyn Shider is averaging 11.6 points and 7.9 rebounds followed by juniors Elijah West (9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Chris Lamar (8 ppg, 3.7 apg). Region 1 could hold the answer to a lot of questions in 4A as No. 4 Westover, No. 5 Monroe, No. 8 Dougherty and Bainbridge all look like they could be dangerous teams come state tournament time. Outside of the Albany area, No. 6 Luella couldn’t climb following a 60-56 loss at McDonough. No. 7 Cedar Shoals is up a spot and could have risen even higher if it wasn’t for a 49-46 loss to Madison County. The Jaguars, who have had a rollercoaster of a season, beat Elbert County 66-54 before stunning Class 3A No. 2 Hart County 68-65 as Coach L’Dreco Thomas had to watch from home due to COVID protocol. Jitterbug guards Kashik Brown and Jerdavian Colbert did major damage, Brown finishing with 23 points and 5 assists while Colbert had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Roger Walker added 15 points. Tumbling out of the Top 10 is Miller Grove (2-4) and Jenkins (7-6). Miller Grove was upset by debutant No. 10 Arabia Mountain 40-37 in overtime. The Rams were led by 5-foot-9 junior Omari Taylor (10), 5-foot-10 senior Khalib Drake (8) and 6-foot-3 junior Kevin Amponsah (7). Jenkins had a chance to climb with a great 58-55 win over Class 3A No. 3 Windsor Forest, but it was sandwiched between two losses: 76-71 at New Hampstead and 64-54 to 3-6 Groves.
In Class 3A, No. 1 Sandy Creek pounded Fayette County 70-48. No. 2 Hart County barely holds onto their spot after losses to Rabun Gap 87-82 and Class 4A No. 7 Cedar Shoals 68-65 on the road. The Bulldogs earned an 88-50 Region 8 win over Monroe Area in between. No. 3 Windsor Forest should have taken over the two-hole if it weren’t for a 58-55 loss to last week’s Class 3A No. 9 Jenkins after a long quarantine layoff. The Knights bounced back in a big way though defeating No. 4 Johnson-Savannah in their long-awaited showdown 74-52, dropping the host Atomsmashers one spot in the rankings. Emondre Bowles’ 31 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals weren’t enough to stop a balanced Windsor Forest attack which saw Shamar Norman pour in 22 points followed by D’ante Bass and Abasi Scott’s 13 apiece and Ray Williams’ 11 points. No. 5 Salem sinks a spot after a 61-53 loss at GAC. No. 6 LaFayette powered past Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 65-51 behind Aidan Hadaway’s 23 points and 14 rebounds. No. 8 Carver-Atlanta moves up two spots following wins over Westminster 43-41 and GAC 57-44. 6-foot-4 junior Amari Floyd collected 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks vs. GAC while 5-foot-7 senior Dominque Stovall tallied 14 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals and 6-foot-2 junior Mitchell Taylor posted 12 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Falling out this week are Cherokee Bluff (9-7) and Thomson (4-2). The Bears closed the week with losses to returnee No. 9 Dawson County 61-57 and Class 5A No. 9 Cass 62-51. The Tigers are back in the poll for the first time since the preseason rankings. They have now won five-straight with their pieces starting to gel together. Joakeim Celestin had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the win over Cherokee Bluff while Jake Craft pitched in 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists and Jaden Gibson double-doubled with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Thomson dropped due to another week of inactivity and are replaced by another familiar face, No. 10 Upson-Lee. The Knights resurface after exiting in Week 3 following a 74-39 loss to Class 6A No. 5 Richmond Hill at the CTC Classic. It’s taken some time, but the Knights’ football players have finally gotten their legs under them. Upson-Lee is now 3-1 in Region 2 with a key 60-53 win at Peach County this week. The Knights closed the week with a 60-46 win over Taylor County, star running back Milique Smith looking like a completely different player than his first game of the season vs. Richmond Hill where he scored only 2 points. Smith netted a career-high 33 against the Vikings and is back to his Region Player of the Year form.
No. 1 Pace Academy fended off No. 3 Lovett 64-60 in Class 2A. Cleveland State-signee Cole Middleton had 18 points and 12 rebounds while Josh Reed totaled 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Florida State-signee Matthew Cleveland had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Madison Durr had 5 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 steals. Jay Joshi led Lovett with 20 points while Georgetown-signee Ryan Mutombo had 15 points. Freshman Christian Anderson netted 11 points. A pair of wins pushes No. 4 Woodville-Tompkins ahead of No. 5 Washington County who sees Preston Kent jump to his third school of his career, Brentwood, after transferring back to Washington County from GMC this offseason. The Wolverines defeated Vidalia 54-44 and East Laurens 81-38. No. 6 Thomasville scored wins over Cook (66-33) and Worth County (79-40) leapfrogging No. 7 Westside-Augusta who saw their nice season-opening win over Effingham County turned into a forfeit loss. No. 8 Banks County survived Elbert County 74-62 in overtime before falling to Class A-Public No. 4 Towns County 63-62.
No. 1 Greenforest finally returned to action in Class A-Private earning a 72-49 win over Southwest Atlanta Christian. Trouble is afoot as No. 3 St. Francis sees their record change from 4-3 to 2-5 after having to forfeit wins over Brandon Hall and Lakeview Academy due to using an ineligible player, nonetheless, the Knights remain in their position as there is no movement again in the Top 10. No. 4 Providence Christian picked up four wins highlighted with victories against Parkview (70-66) and GAC (61-59) to bookend the week. Elijah Williams had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists against the Spartans while Chance Thacker contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Tony Carpio posted 11 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocks. No. 6 Trinity Christian beat Class 5A No. 7 Woodward Academy 53-48 behind Sami Pissis’ 24 points. Isaac Britto added 15 points and 7 rebounds. No. 10 Tallulah Falls edged Prince Avenue 54-48 as Gabe Keene netted 12 points.
Two weeks into the season and Class A-Public defending state champion Hancock Central (0-0) has yet to play a game, or even worse, has but hasn’t recorded their scores on MaxPreps. Either way, I’m done waiting on the champs and they are bounced from the poll. At this point, the season is getting shorter and shorter by the day with way too many missed opportunities. Terrell County, another highly ranked preseason team hasn’t played either according to MaxPreps. It looks like basketball is not a priority down south and I feel terrible for the kids. With a newly shaped Top 10, nothing changes at the top with No. 1 Drew Charter still the overwhelming favorite to roll to an undefeated season and a state title with or without Hancock Central to challenge them. The Eagles blasted another huge school, lighting up 6A Alcovy 103-68 as JaKobe Strozier scored his 1,000th point. No. 2 Dublin takes over for Hancock Central in the two-hole. They haven’t been afraid to play and picked up their 12th win by beating Dooly County 64-46. No. 3 Lanier County has won eight-straight finishing the week with an 83-74 win at Clinch County. No. 4 Towns County is representing for North Georgia. They beat Class 2A No. 8 Banks County 63-62 before stomping Rabun County 79-56. All-State guard Kolby Moss poured in 27 points while 6-foot-7 Jake McTaggart scored 12 in the win over Banks. No. 6 Manchester finally got back to business, beating Pike County (74-31) and Schley County (51-43). No. 10 Turner County sinks four spots following a 68-63 loss at Brooks County. Replacing Hancock Central in the poll is No. 7 Bowdon. Region 6 is a one-horse race with No. 1 Drew Charter leading the way but incase there is an unforeseen catastrophic disaster, Bowdon looks like the only team capable of not getting the doors completely blown off by the Eagles. The Red Devils are have played weak schedule, beating up on Region 6 – doing what they are supposed to. They clobbered Atlanta Classical Academy 109-39 for their 12th win. The Red Devils are averaging 80.5 points per game and every win has been by double digits except for three. 5-foot-7 sophomore Authur Johnson is their flashy sparkplug that pours in 21.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.