Week 8 GHSA Boys Basketball State Rankings
Rankings

Week 8 GHSA Boys Basketball State Rankings


PRO Movement

Class AAAAAAA

1. Newton (9-1)
2. Pebblebrook (12-2)
3. Berkmar (7-3)
4. Milton (7-5)
5. McEachern (8-4)
6. North Gwinnett (10-3)
7. Grayson (8-4)
8. Norcross (10-4)
9. South Gwinnett (13-1)
10. East Coweta (9-2)

Class AAAAAA

1. Wheeler (8-3)
2. Buford (10-2)
3. Shiloh (11-0)
4. Osborne (8-0)
5. Westlake (9-4)
6. Statesboro (11-0)
7. Centennial (10-1)
8. Alexander (8-1)
9. Tucker (8-3)
10. Kell (5-6)

Class AAAAA

1. Eagle’s Landing (12-2)
2. St. Pius X (10-2)
3. Tri-Cities (7-2)
4. Jonesboro (8-4)
5. Southwest DeKalb (10-2)
6. Chapel Hill (9-2)
7. Walnut Grove (10-3)
8. Woodland-Stockbridge (12-2)
9. Lithia Springs (10-1)
10. Lithonia (9-5)

Class AAAA

1. McDonough (13-1)
2. Westover (10-0)
3. Baldwin (9-2)
4. Jefferson (13-1)
5. Spencer (8-2)
6. Monroe (10-2)
7. Bainbridge (12-1)
8. Fayette County (7-6)
9. Mays (9-4)
10. Marist (9-3)

Class AAA

1. Windsor Forest (10-3)
2. Sandy Creek (9-2)
3. Sumter County (13-1)
4. Salem (8-3)
5. Cross Creek (9-4)
6. LaFayette (11-0)
7. Thomson (7-1)
8. GAC (7-2)
9. Groves (7-2)
10. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (12-0)

Class AA

1. Columbia (12-3)
2. Pace Academy (8-4)
3. Westside-Augusta (9-1)
4. Washington County (7-2)
5. Butler (5-5)
6. Thomasville (9-2)
7. Putnam County (10-2)
8. Vidalia (13-1)
9. Rabun County (12-4)
10. Chattooga (8-4)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (9-4)
2. Galloway (9-4)
3. King’s Ridge (12-2)
4. North Cobb Christian (7-4)
5. Darlington (9-1)
6. Christian Heritage (10-3)
7. Mt. Pisgah (8-3)
8. WD Mohammed (5-2)
9. Providence Christian (7-5)
10. Heritage School (10-3)

Class A-Public

1. Drew Charter (10-1)
2. Social Circle (12-0)
3. Dublin (10-1)
4. Lanier County (11-0)
5. Manchester (10-1)
6. Calhoun County (8-0)
7. Portal (5-3)
8. Chattahoochee County (6-1)
9. Warren County (5-2)
10. Turner County (11-1)

Happy New Year. 2021 was another memorable calendar year filled with shocking upsets, unforgettable finishes and of course, unfortunately, discombobulated schedules due to COVID. The final week of the year was littered with holiday tournaments both in and outside of Georgia. With that being said, only one new team cracks into the prestigious ranked 80.Class 7A No. 1 Newton suffered their first loss of the season to Prolific Prep, CA at the Big South Shootout, 76-63. UConn-commit Stephon Castle netted 27 points in the defeat. The Rams remain No. 1 considering the level of competition. No. 2 Pebblebrook has a strong case for the top spot however, earning wins over Pinson Valley, AL (82-62) and Class 3A No. 1 Windsor Forest (86-68) at the Champions Classic, Rider-signee Kami Young with 28 points against the Knights. No. 3 Berkmar lost in the Arby’s Classic Championship to Long Island Lutheran, NY 71-58 after scoring wins over Bearden, TN in overtime (67-58), Dorman, SC (71-70) and Greenville, TN (71-50). No. 4 Milton fell to Bishop O’Connell, VA in the Beach Ball Classic Championship 71-49. No. 5 McEachern is scolding hot still, beating Dacula 81-72 and last week’s Class 6A No. 6 Kell 84-43 at Tournament of Champions. The only movement in the poll sees No. 7 Grayson and No. 8 Norcross trade spots. Coach Geoffrey Pierce recorded his 200th career win at the Chick-fil-A Classic, beating Carmel Christian, NC 65-58 and Lexington, SC 54-53 with a 72-64 overtime loss to Archbishop Stepinac, NY sandwiched in between. Norcross lost 56-55 to Brentwood, TN at NXT LVL Hoopfest but rebounded with victories against Christ Presbyterian Academy, TN (69-59) and Oak Ridge, TN (84-49). No. 10 East Coweta split at Sunshine State Explosion, losing 67-51 to St. Thomas Aquinas, FL before topping Westminster Academy, FL on a Sammy Moss buzzer-beater.

No. 1 Wheeler regains control of Class 6A, taking down No. 2 Buford 69-64 at Tournament of Champions to usurp their position atop the poll. Isaiah Collier tallied 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals followed by 16 apiece from Radford-signee Kyle Burns and Arrinten Page to top the Wolves. Jaylon Taylor led Buford with 20 points while Alahn Sumler chipped in 17. No. 3 Shiloh put together a 4-0 week and rises a spot. The Generals rallied to stun Sequoyah at the Tournament of Champions, down 30-13 at the half and winning on three free throws at the buzzer from Seryl Slater to secure an improbable 56-55 victory, Trevon Payton leading the way with 25 points. The Generals closed the weekend with a 69-49 win over last week’s Class 4A No. 4 Fayette County at the Champions Classic, Payton scoring 15. No. 6 Statesboro is up two spots following a 3-0 showing at the Gentleman’s Classic, beating three ranked teams in Class 3A No. 9 Groves (43-36), last week’s Class 2A No. 3 Washington County (57-49) and last week’s Class A-Public No. 6 Portal (73-60). No. 10 Kell tumbles four spots. The Longhorns cling onto their position in the poll despite their sub .500 record. Kell has played a challenging schedule with up-and-down results. They beat Class A-Private No. 2 Galloway 62-54 in overtime at the Tournament of Champions before losing 84-43 to Class 7A No. 5 McEachern. At the Champions Classic the Longhorns fell 66-65 to Class 3A No. 1 Windsor Forest, blowing a 12-point halftime lead and also lost 60-56 to Pinson Valley, AL.

Class 5A’s No. 1 Eagle’s Landing went down to Florida and shined, going 4-0 en route to winning the Kingdom of the Sun Championship. The Eagles held off IMG Blue 63-60 in the title game as AJ Barnes was named tournament MVP. No. 2 St. Pius X went 2-1 at their Christmas Classic, losing to Charlotte Latin, NC 59-42 between wins over Cardinal Newman, SC (66-50) and Canisius, NY (72-60). No. 4 Jonesboro lost 49-46 to Class 4A No. 1 McDonough at the Chuck Miller Classic. No. 7 Walnut Grove climbs two spots after bringing home the Innisfree Hotel Championship, beating Vicksburg, MS 58-56. No. 8 Woodland-Stockbridge went 2-1 at the Campbell Holiday Classic, losing 45-42 in overtime to Allatoona but bouncing back with wins against Campbell (54-50) and Cambridge (60-40). No. 10 Lithonia holds tight after beating Therrell 47-39 at the Champions Classic but losing 61-53 to Dillard, FL.

No. 1 McDonough continues to stack their resume in Class 4A, beating Class 5A No. 4 Jonesboro 49-46 at the Chuck Miller Classic behind Da’Avion Thomas’ 23 points. No. 8 Fayette County and No. 9 Mays are going in the wrong direction. Fayette County falls four spots after a 2-2 week at the Tournament of Champions and Champions Classic. The Tigers, who have played a tough schedule much like last season, lost 77-48 at Class 6A No. 1 Wheeler and 69-49 to Class 6A No. 3 Shiloh with quality wins against Cumberland Christian (67-58) and Solid Rock Academy (61-56) in between. Sitting at just 7-6, the Tigers are better than their record suggests. The Raiders sink three spots as Mays went 0-2 at the Sunshine State Explosion, dropping to Westminster Academy, FL 77-65 and Sagemont, FL 80-48. No. 4 Jefferson won the McDonald’s Shootout at Hart County, topping JL Mann, SC 57-51 in the title game. No. 5 Spencer finished 2-0 at the Muscogee County Christmas Showcase, highlighted by a 64-60 win over Northside-Columbus. No. 6 Monroe won the Roundball Classic Championship, winning at Lee County 64-45. No. 7 Bainbridge captured the Milton H. Johnson Optimist Invitational crown with wins over Valdosta (48-36), Coffee (66-45) and Malone, FL (52-42).

The tug of war for number one is officially underway in Class 3A. No. 1 Windsor Forest holds the slight edge, fending off No. 2 Sandy Creek for another week. The Knights rallied to beat last week’s Class 6A No. 6 Kell 66-65 at the Champions Classic, Georgetown-signee D’ante Bass dropping 25 points. Windsor Forest closed the week losing to Class 7A No. 2 Pebblebrook 86-68 and beating Hamilton Heights, TN at the Big South Shootout, 52-41. Sandy Creek went 2-0 at the Big South Shootout on their home floor, even without Micah Smith, outlasting Class A-Private No. 2 Galloway in triple overtime 75-68 and topping Class A-Private No. 10 Heritage School 67-51 behind Aidan Bevrotte’s 20 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks. No. 3 Sumter County went 3-0 at the Tifton McDonald’s Invitational highlighted by a 56-47 win against Rome.  No. 4 Salem survived Holy Innocents’ 52-50 at Tournament of Champions while No. 5 Cross Creek rises two spots with a 63-59 win over Archer and a hard-fought 51-43 loss to Class A-Private No. 1 Greenforest. No. 6 LaFayette’s weak schedule and yearly refusal to test themselves against tough non-region opponents is hurting them in the polls again. The Ramblers had to scratch and claw their way to beat 6-5 Heritage-Catoosa 43-42 to win the Gordon Lee Chick-fil-A Christmas Tournament, dropping them a spot in the rankings. No. 9 Groves fell 43-36 to Class 6A No. 6 Statesboro at the Gentleman’s Classic. No. 10 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe blew out the competition at the South Pitt Christmas Tournament for a pair of wins.

In Class 2A, No. 1 Columbia lost 75-54 to Bartlett, TN but finished 3-1 at the Kingdom of the Sun. No. 3 Westside-Augusta rises a spot with a 2-0 week highlighted by a 78-57 win over Calvary Day at the Showdown in Savannah. No. 4 Washington County slips a place after going 2-1 at the Gentleman’s Classic. The Golden Hawks took advantage of a barebones Class A-Public No. 7 Portal 66-34 before losing 57-49 at Class 6A No. 6 Statesboro and bouncing back to top Swainsboro 68-55. No. 6 Thomasville went 2-0 at the Thomasville Christmas Classic, No. 7 Putnam County finished 2-1 at the Roundball Classic, losing at Lee County 72-56 before edging Mitchell County 57-55. No. 8 Vidalia rises a spot with an undefeated showing at their Paul Thigpen Motor Group Christmas Classic. Bryson Whited dumped in 37 points on 10-13 shooting from three in the Indians’ 92-64 win over Metter. No. 9 Rabun County lost in heartbreaking fashion in the Battle of the State Championship to Towns County 63-61. Lovett (7-5) falls out after a 2-1 showing at the Hounds Holiday Classic saw Michigan-commit Christian Anderson have to score 49 points and make the game-winning assist as time expired to survive Woodstock 85-84 before losing 66-47 to Pope. No. 10 Chattooga resurfaces in the poll, winners of five-straight including capturing the Tiger Christmas Clash Championship, beating Hebron Christian (61-50), Calhoun (60-53) and Adairsville (59-57). Freshman Xaviar Gray has lived up to the hype. He was named tournament MVP and is averaging a double-double for the Indians.

No. 1 Greenforest continues to show they are the team to beat in Class A-Private, taking down Class 3A No. 5 Cross Creek 51-43 at the Tournament of Champions. No. 2 Galloway lost 62-54 to last week’s Class 6A No. 6 Kell in overtime and then beat Dacula 73-47 at the Tournament of Champions. The Scots’ long week concluded with a 75-68 triple overtime marathon loss at Class 3A No. 2 Sandy Creek at the Big South Shootout. No. 3 King’s Ridge went to Savannah and gutted their way to three wins at the Showdown in Savannah, picking up victories over Calvary Day (68-43), Richmond Hill (71-57) and Johnson-Savannah (59-58). No. 4 North Cobb Christian fell 54-37 to Baylor, TN at the Carpet Capital Christmas Classic while host No. 6 Christian Heritage beat White County 74-61 before losing to Baylor, TN in the championship 54-47. No. 5 Darlington scored a pair of wins at the Holiday Hoopsfest in Panama City after dropping 55-42 to Rutherford, FL to start the event. No. 7 Mt. Pisgah went 2-1 at the Milton H. Optimist Invitational. No. 8 WD Mohammed has been idle since 12/7 and now drops three spots. No. 10 Heritage School clings onto their place after going 1-2 combined at the Tournament of Champions and Big South Shootout. The Hawks lost 68-51 to Druid Hills, beat Woodville-Tompkins 62-57 and fell 67-51 at Class 3A No. 2 Sandy Creek.

There is serious momentum in Walton County as No. 2 Social Circle is inching closer to taking over the top spot in Class A-Public. The Redskins won the Hounds Holiday Classic, scoring three wins over Class 7A schools. Social Circle toppled South Forsyth 65-54, Walton 59-52 and rallied from down double digits in the second half to shock host Pope 78-73 as KJ Reid erupted for all 28 of his points in the second half while Tyrhell Branch netted 25. No. 1 Drew Charter withstood Rockdale County 71-67 at the Chuck Miller Classic while No. 3 Dublin bullied Wheeler County 75-43 as Zion Davis recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds. No. 5 Manchester finished 2-1 at the Oscar Wimberly Classic, losing 61-48 to Dutchtown after beating Westside-Macon 79-69. No. 7 Portal is down a spot after losing 66-34 to Class 2A No. 4 Washington County and 73-60 at Class 6A No. 6 Statesboro at the Gentleman’s Classic. The Panthers have staggered their lingering suspensions and played without leading scorers Elijah Coleman and Amir Jackson vs. Washington County. It was Joseph Thomas’ turn to sit vs. Statesboro. The Panthers have not lost a game with their starting five intact and should climb up the polls once everything returns to normal. No. 10 Turner County went 2-0 at the Tifton McDonald’s Invitational.