Class AAAAAAA

1. Norcross (13-2)
2. Grayson (9-3)
3. Wheeler (8-5)
4. McEachern (8-6)
5. Newton (10-5)
6. Pebblebrook (10-6)
7. Archer (12-2)
8. Buford (10-4)
9. Carrollton (13-2)
10. Milton (12-3)

Class AAAAAA

1. Alexander (11-3)
2. Jonesboro (11-3)
3. Lanier (10-4)
4. St. Pius X (11-4)
5. Etowah (8-7)
6. Grovetown (5-8)
7. Marist (10-5)
8. Blessed Trinity (13-4)
9. Woodward Academy (13-2)
10. South Paulding (12-3)

Class AAAAA

1. Eagle’s Landing (16-0)
2. Kell (13-2)
3. Hiram (11-2)
4. Mays (9-4)
5. Dutchtown (12-5)
6. Jones County (12-3)
7. Chapel Hill (8-5)
8. Tri-Cities (6-7)
9. Northside-Columbus (9-2)
10. Tucker (9-5)

Class AAAA

1. McDonough (13-2)
2. Pace Academy (10-4)
3. Southwest DeKalb (11-1)
4. North Oconee (14-2)
5. Bainbridge (15-1)
6. Madison County (15-2)
7. Fayette County (9-3)
8. Lovett (9-7)
9. Seckinger (12-4)
10. Westover (10-5)

Class AAA

1. Sandy Creek (11-3)
2. Beach (11-2)
3. Johnson-Savannah (11-3)
4. Cedar Grove (10-3)
5. Calvary Day (10-3)
6. Monroe (10-4)
7. Cross Creek (6-10)
8. Monroe Area (10-2)
9. Oconee County (11-4)
10. White County (9-7)

Class AA

1. Westside-Augusta (10-4)
2. Columbia (14-1)
3. Providence Christian (13-2)
4. Thomson (9-2)
5. Spencer (10-4)
6. North Cobb Christian (11-4)
7. Drew Charter (10-4)
8. Windsor Forest (10-5)
9. Putnam County (11-3)
10. Model (10-3)

Class A D-I

1. Mt. Bethel (11-4)
2. Mt. Pisgah (12-5)
3. King’s Ridge (11-4)
4. Mt. Vernon (10-7)
5. Darlington (12-2)
6. Tallulah Falls (11-2)
7. Savannah (12-4)
8. Dublin (11-2)
9. Social Circle (6-6)
10. Oglethorpe County (8-8)

Class A D-II

1. Greenforest (7-6)
2. Christian Heritage (12-0)
3. Portal (11-1)
4. Mitchell County (13-1)
5. Calhoun County (12-2)
6. Charlton County (12-1)
7. Wilkinson County (8-5)
8. Manchester (11-2)
9. Macon County (12-2)
10. Chattahoochee County (11-3)

Welcome back to the analysis portion of the state rankings! Two new number ones emerge along with some serious movement in the polls as the first week of 2023 was nothing short of fascinating.

No. 3 Wheeler relinquishes their hold atop Class 7A as the Wildcats fell 66-55 to Sierra Canyon, CA on the campus of USC. While the Wildcats haven’t lost a game in Georgia and have only played three in-state teams, the top two teams ahead of them have balanced a national schedule as well as secured key in-state victories. No. 1 Norcross, the defending state champs, climb to the top following an 86-61 win over Peachtree Ridge and have five wins over teams that have spent time in the rankings. No. 2 Grayson outlasted last week’s Class 5A No. 1 Kell in overtime at the Grayson New Year’s Classic 71-67 behind Anthony Alston’s 19 points and Gicarri Harris’ 18, topping at the time who many considered was the best team in the entire state. No. 5 Newton held off South Gwinnett 62-57 while No. 6 Pebblebrook won at Campbell 59-45 before topping Cannon, NC at the Nike Winter Shootout 70-69. No. 7 Archer received 26 points from Kahmare Holmes in a 60-54 victory against Parkview. No. 8 Buford drilled Mountain View on the road 66-49 while No. 9 Carrollton beat last week’s Class 6A No. 5 Langston Hughes 55-40 and East Coweta 60-58. No. 10 Milton tumbles five spots after a 71-69 loss at Lambert before bouncing back with a 64-58 win over Mountain View at the Grayson New Year’s Classic.

In Class 6A, No. 1 Alexander went to Florida and posted an impressive 67-59 win over Sagemont, FL at the Jackson Pre MLK Classic – a team who holds wins over Class 7A No. 6 Pebblebrook (72-69) and Class 7A No. 2 Grayson (65-59) – before the Cougars fell 62-60 to North Florida Educational Institute. No. 3 Lanier scored wins over North Forsyth 59-51 and North Gwinnett 77-63. No. 7 Marist lost 71-69 to Class A D-I No. 2 Mt. Pisgah. Langston Hughes (7-5) drops out riding a three-game losing streak, beat at Class 7A No. 9 Carrollton 55-40 and defeated by Class 5A No. 1 Eagle’s Landing 66-50 at the Grayson New Year’s Classic. The good news for the Panthers is that they have played a difficult schedule and John McQueen made his long-awaited return to the lineup this weekend but the bad news is impact football players 6-foot-6 Jelani Thurman (Ohio State) and 6-foot-7 Bo Hughley (UGA) look to have retired from basketball as they prepare for the transition to college. Replacing Langston Hughes is Region 5 foe No. 10 South Paulding who returns to the poll for the first time since Week 6. The Spartans are on a six-game winning streak with their latest victories against Paulding County 69-64 and at Kennesaw Mountain 62-52. South Paulding lost 59-57 in overtime earlier in the season at Langston Hughes after missing a potential game-winning free throw at the end of regulation with under a second left, a game in which Thurman played a key role with 13 points.

After posting the most impressive resume in the state over the first eight weeks of the season, No. 2 Kell has temporarily lost control of Class 5A after a heartbreaking 71-67 overtime loss at Class 7A No. 2 Grayson, a Longhorn point missed in the third quarter on a Peyton Marshall free throw that should have made the score 35-29 not 35-28. The Auburn-commit was physically dominant in the loss, posting 23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 5 blocks, finishing with five dunks. The Longhorns trailed 51-42 in the fourth quarter before springing a 15-5 run with the press to ultimately force overtime, Connor Staphylaris a catalyst with eight points down the stretch. No. 1 Eagle’s Landing can’t be denied much longer, one of just two remaining teams in Georgia that are undefeated. The Eagles overwhelmed last week’s Class 6A No. 5 Langston Hughes in the second half at the Grayson New Year’s Classic, outscoring them 36-21 to pull away for a 66-50 win as Mercer-signee David Thomas poured in 29 points and 12 rebounds while Khylan McKennie netted 13 of his 15 points over the final 16 minutes. The Eagles play with relentless effort, the hardest playing team in the state. They check all the boxes with signature wins over Class 2A No. 1 Westside-Augusta (85-72), Class 4A No. 3 Southwest DeKalb (54-58), Class 6A No. 4 St. Pius X (58-55), Class 5A No. 6 Jones County (69-62), Class 6A No. 7 Marist (68-37), Class 7A No. 8 Buford (73-50) and three wins over Florida teams, highlighted by a 50-45 victory against Riviera Prep who beat Class 7A No. 2 Grayson 67-58 and Class 7A No. 6 Pebblebrook 60-55. No. 4 Mays rises four spots after parting ways with Roc Lee, earning key wins against No. 8 Tri-Cities 70-60 and No. 7 Chapel Hill 68-47, dropping the Panthers two spots. Before losing to the Raiders, Tri-Cities knocked off Creekside (9-4) by a final of 78-61 to send the Seminoles out of the rankings. No. 5 Dutchtown won at No. 6 Jones County 62-58 to sink the Greyhounds three spots. Back in the poll, last appearing in Week 4, is No. 10 Tucker. The Tigers have won four-straight and host 11-3 Lithonia on Tuesday with first-place in Region 4 on the line.

Class 4A No. 1 McDonough lost a gut-wrencher to Class A D-II No. 1 Greenforest at the Grayson New Year’s Classic, 56-54 after leading the vast majority of the game, sunk on a pull-up jumper with 3.5 seconds left. Da’Avion Thomas scored 18 points in the loss. No. 2 Pace Academy is closing the gap on their Region 5 rival, notching wins against Woodland-Stockbridge 63-47 and No. 8 Lovett 68-48, Eric (20) Chatfield and Kyle Greene (17) combining for 37 points while Michigan-commit Christian Anderson poured in 38 for the Lions. No. 3 Southwest DeKalb continues to dominate with defense allowing just 35.9 points per game, 54 being the high mark this season. The Panthers clawed Hapeville Charter on the road 59-31, Xzaviah Taylor scoring 14 points followed by Isaiah Taylor’s 12. No. 5 Bainbridge held off No. 10 Westover 54-50. No. 7 Fayette County drops three spots with an 81-80 overtime loss at the buzzer at Whitewater. Baldwin (8-5) exits the Top 10 as leading scorers Rudolph Satcher and Quamond Dennis appear to no longer be on the team. The Braves lost 65-60 to Westside-Macon and 47-43 to Washington County. First the first time in school history No. 9 Seckinger breaks into the state rankings. The first-year program debuts after a 62-52 win over Chestatee buoyed by IV Redmond’s 20 points and Carter Watkins’ 18.

There were missed opportunities in the Class 3A top five. No. 2 Beach rises two places with a 64-57 win over No. 3 Johnson-Savannah, who falls a spot. Shamarrie Hugie (24) and Chandler Reid (18) combined for 42 points in the win against the Atomsmashers, Antonio Baker held in check with 12 points. Beach couldn’t keep momentum however, losing 56-48 to SLAM, FL at the Jackson Pre MLK Classic while Johnson-Savannah bounced back with a strong 56-51 win over Paxon, FL, Baker recording 21 points. No. 4 Cedar Grove slips a slot with a 62-52 loss to South Gwinnett at the Grayson New Year’s Classic, spoiling a 19-point, 10-rebound effort from freshman phenom Manny Green. No. 8 Monroe Area plumets three spots following a 59-44 loss to West Forsyth at the Gold City Classic. No. 6 Monroe took down Thomasville 54-46 before surviving a sneaky good Terrell County in overtime 62-59. No. 9 Oconee County nearly drops out following a 63-48 loss at Class A D-I No. 10 Oglethorpe County after beating them twice already by double digits. Wesleyan (9-5) sinks out of the Top 10 with a 38-32 loss to West Hall. No. 10 White County debuts in the midst of winning five of their last six games, most recently victorious at North Hall 65-54 behind Jadon Yeh’s 20 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.

Class 2A No. 1 Westside-Augusta pounded No. 9 Putnam County 90-68. No. 6 North Cobb Christian saw Christian Hernandez hit a 40-foot Hail Mary at the buzzer to stun No. 7 Drew Charter 64-62. Albert Wilson III collected 29 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Earlier in the week the Eagles downed Washington on the road 65-58 as CJ Wallace tallied 16 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. No. 8 Windsor Forest defeated Vidalia 62-46 while No. 10 Model toppled undefeated North Murray 65-55.

In Class A D-I, No. 1 Mt. Bethel went 1-2 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic in Louisiana. No. 2 Mt. Pisgah won at Class 6A No. 7 Marist 71-69 but was upset by Paideia 66-58 in overtime. No. 4 Mt. Vernon lost 68-61 to Parkview at the Grayson New Year’s Classic. No. 10 Oglethorpe County survives another week in the rankings, beating Class 3A No. 9 Oconee County 63-48 but losing to Athens Christian 59-52. Rabun County (8-7) couldn’t last a week in the Top 10, losing 59-52 at Stephens County and 56-47 to Jefferson. No. 9 Social Circle resurfaces as Quindarius Jackson returned to the team and scored 19 points to pair with twin Lamarius’ 32 as the Redskins routed Lamar County 80-47.

Class A D-II No. 1 Greenforest got a pull-up jumper with 3.5 seconds left from Isaiah Lloyd – his only points of the game – to stun Class 4A No. 1 McDonough 56-54 at the Grayson New Year’s Classic. Jax Abernathy dumped in 45 points to keep No. 2 Christian Heritage undefeated, beating Excel Christian 79-66. No. 5 Calhoun County went to The Palace and came away with a 63-60 win against No. 7 Wilkinson County. No. 6 Charlton County is up two spots with a 3-0 week highlighted by a 71-67 win at Hilliard, FL while No. 8 Manchester falls two places after a 73-70 upset loss to Greenville. Telfair County (10-2) slips out of the poll due to a 56-46 loss to Houston County. No. 10 Chattahoochee County returns following three blowout wins.