Prep Zone

By Meadowcreek Dad

January 25, 2009 7:35 PM | Link to this

As you all know, playoffs start a new season, This will be an exciting year, any team,on any given night can upset another. Norcross is not the only team in Gwinnett… Meadowcreek, South Gwinnett are capable of going deep in the tourney.

By THEHILLISREAL

January 25, 2009 8:05 PM | Link to this

TODD, Friday, I saw McEachern play with a big front court (6-8 deuce).Then last night I saw Wheeler!!!! McEachern can’t match up with Freeze Tate;Trae Golden very sweet game.The loafing or leisure to get back on defense is going to kill Wheeler.So now I want to see Norcross play.

By steph curry

January 25, 2009 8:44 PM | Link to this

Norcross is a very very good HS team. They just don’t have the horses around the rim to go all the way. McEachern, Wheeler, Westlake, even teams like Redan can really hurt Norcross this year. They have to rely on thier guards too much. However, I know that NO ONE wants to have to play them. They have the experience, the depth, and the coaching. McMillan has really done a good job this year. The pressure to uphold what Martin did is huge.

By Devil Lover

January 25, 2009 9:46 PM | Link to this

Todd I think you are right. Without a major upset it should be Norcross and Wheeler in the finals. But remember there are 6 teams in region 6 that can play and only 4 will go to the state championship. Also there is still a lot of good match ups in regional play in region 6.

You know every year the same people come out early and say how good wheeler is and this year is no exception. however remember that norcross has won the last three state championship with a “inferior team’ so says the dundants.

We played a team this weekend who smallest player was 6/4 and they had 6/9,6/9,6/8, and we beat them by 18 pts. So height in and of itself is not a determinant factor.

Remember that the winner of region 6 has to play the winner of region 5 before they possible play the winner of what I call the western or left backets which includes the winner of region 7.

For Norcross to have the opportunity to play wheeler,(assuming they both win their regions and progress alone)they must first play region 6’s no. 3 and then no. 2 in the quarter finals on a neutral court yet to be determined-real important. But that is what winning a championship is all about. We welcome the challenge.

Now with Centennial, I watched Miller Grove beat them like a drum at their own tounament. Other than Lorenzo Brown, I did not see any real good supporting players. And to only beat Roswell by two pts tell me something is wrong at Centennial.

A lot of people don’t know that the top teams me are all speaking about came to Norcross’ summer camp, with the exception of wheeler, and norcross beat everyone one of them includes centennial, walton, milton, maeachern and miller grove. So I think you are right.

By Todd Holcomb

January 25, 2009 10:26 PM | Link to this

Good points by all. Wheeler did have defensive lapses (so did Walton), but Wheeler has the tools to fix its shortcomings. And despite not winning in a few seasons, Wheeler historically is a good state tournament team. From a personnel standpoint, are they the most complete?

Also, regarding McEachern, a team I have not seen, some are concerned about the lack of a true point guard there. I’d be curious to hear what something thinks about that, those who’ve seen the Indians play.

By upsetcity

January 26, 2009 8:18 AM | Link to this

McEachern will give those teams all they can handle. They have a great mix of bigs and Golden at point is fine. Walton can score at will but can’t stop anyone. A better game from Harrow the other night and the story may have been different. I would not want to play Walton. More than likely, Milton or Walton will be a 3/4 seed. Norcross will have to play one of them early. Centennial has beaten Milton, Walton, and Wheeler so far in region play. Margin of victory is meaningless, they are dangerous for anyone.

Milton and McEachern were not at Norcross summer camp and Norcross didn’t play Centennial at the time.

By William

January 26, 2009 8:31 AM | Link to this

This will be a great AAAAA tournamant, probably one of the best ever. Any of the teams mentioned could win it. It seems to me that if played through four seperate times, there might be three or four different champions. There are many intriquing questions. Here are just a few: Is Centenniel weakening here at the end? Is Milton too young? Per Todd, can McCeachern play through without a true point guard? Can Walton get through with ZERO bench strength? Will Wheeler’s early killer national schedule (11 nationally ranked teams) help them or hurt them and can they put together enough “complete” enough games? Can Norcross win it all again mainly on defense? What about Valdosta, who look extremely athletic and might be the biggest unkown in the tournament? Is Westlake the late comer given what they just did to Miller Grove? We won’t know until its over. And that’s what’s great!

By Shane

January 26, 2009 9:12 AM | Link to this

I was able to sneak a listen to the Holcomb/Hood conversation Saturday night. Hood knows that DEFENSE along with fundamental boxing out will be the determining factor.

Sounds like it will be a great tournament with VERY talented teams. If Predator I and Predator II decide to play 50% quality defense and handle the boards, well, I don’t see any one beating them. Too many lapses in this area by any team and you are toast.

By "thecreek"

January 26, 2009 9:21 AM | Link to this

Don’t “Sleep on the Creek”, Meadowcreek has lost only once all year, against South Gwinnett, which they got back at friday night in front of a huge South home crowd, to take the lead in the region. They are very balanced on offence and are playing “winning-D”.

By I LOVE YANCY

January 26, 2009 10:49 AM | Link to this

YANCE MASTER FLEX WILL LEAD THE INDIANS TO A STATE TITLE!

By Stanley Treaser

January 26, 2009 11:14 AM | Link to this

FOR ANYONE INQUIRING ABOUT THE MILLER GROVE LOST TO LAKESIDE, I WAS THERE AND SAW WHAT I ASSUMED TO BE A FAIR AND SQUARE LOSS BY THE WOLVERINES. THEY LOOKED FATIGUED AND TOOK EXCELLENT SHOTS THAT DID NOT FALL BUT U COULD SEE THE FATIGUE IN THEIR DEFENSE WHICH IS USUALLY THE STATES BEST. IF THESE TEAMS WERE TO PLAY 10 TIMES MILLER GROVE WOULD WIN CONVINCINGLY 9 1/2 OF THOSE. IT WAS JUST LAKESIDES LUCKY NITE AND MILLER GROVES HORRIBLE NITE. THEY ARE STILL BY FAR THE MOST DANGEROUS TEAM IN THE STATE.

By Shane

January 26, 2009 12:27 PM | Link to this

show me the rebounding totals and turnover totals and i’ll show you the winner 93.4% of the time. the talent has to be superior otherwise…rebounding is as much talent as execution while defense dictates turnovers especially those lovely unforced turnovers…coach’s nightmare…

By Ernest

January 26, 2009 12:29 PM | Link to this

Todd:

Based on the brackets, could Wheeler and Norcross meet prior to the finals? Sometimes you wish you could ‘reseed’ the tournament so the best teams can meet in the finals. I guess then the argument would be who are the best teams…

By Daniel

January 26, 2009 12:40 PM | Link to this

I think that Centennial has a great team and a great chance to make it in the final round of the state championship. Remember that Centennial beat Wheeler at Wheeler. Miller Grove had a good game vs. Centennial but its not just Brown who is good on this team, keep in mind that Belin is very good and was really sick the week Centennial played Grove and Roswell. Also White has been good, but inconsistent.

By Todd Holcomb

January 26, 2009 1:13 PM | Link to this

Based on the brackets, could Wheeler and Norcross meet prior to the finals? Sometimes you wish you could ‘reseed’ the tournament so the best teams can meet in the finals. I guess then the argument would be who are the best teams.

If both win their regions, they can meet in the final.

Seeding based on strength won’t work because there’s no way of ranking them that wouldn’t ignite a firestorm. It would be worse than the BCS.

By ernestine wilson

January 26, 2009 6:08 PM | Link to this

we better not sleep on the druid hill red devils they have a senior roy wilson no. 20 looking good he had 10 rebounds against dunwoody on jan. 20 and he score the winning basket against clarkston on friday jan. 23. come see him they play columbia tommorrow jan 27. and druid hills.

By William

January 27, 2009 10:49 AM | Link to this

Wheeler’s Howell, Stewart, Tate and Taylor are as talented and athletic combination of four players as I’ve ever seen anywhere at the high school level. Howell, as Walton’s coach was quoted as saying after Saturday’s game, “is a beast”. Their trouble is that they are perhaps too athletic. Their over reliance on atleticism too often contriutes to (1)a lack of focus and effort on defense (2)a failure to adequately block out (3)an absence of concentration offense that results in sloppines,unforced turnovers and poor shot selection and/or (4)a frequent desire to put on a highlight show as opposed to play fundamentally sound basketball. When they DO NOT play beyond these deficiencies, they CAN be beat by a team with inferior talent, as evidenced by loss to Calloway from Jackson MS and Winter Park (FL). They WILL be beaten by a more fundamentally sound team with simiar talent,as evidenced by the loss to Mater Dei(CA) and St. Benedict (NJ) But, when they play beyond these four defeciencies, they are absolutely scary good and can beat anybody,as evidenced by wins over Lincoln (NY) and Dominquez (CA). It will be intersting to see how many solid games they can put together from here on out because they’ll need to do so given the quality of the AAAAA field, particularly Norcross, McEachern and the other Region 6 teams. Please note that I am neither a Wheeler lover nor a Wheeler hater, but just a generic high school basketball fan sharing a perspective.

By Harts Mill Howard

January 27, 2009 11:54 AM | Link to this

Hey Stanley Treaser, how can you think Miller Grove has the best “D” in the state???!!!??? Their 61 pts. per game allowed is only 5th best in Region 6, 4-A! But don’t let the facts get in the way of your illogical argument.

By Teasers Rigt

January 27, 2009 1:56 PM | Link to this

Harts Mill Howard, when looking at Miller Grove’s D take into account that the 61 given up is often time when they are up 20 to 30pts on a team, and the third team enters the game. Which from top to bottom i would argue Miller Grove has the deepest team in AAAA. There have been games the MG has given up less than 10pts per quarter. Thats impressive no matter who your playing. But they have a tough one tonight against Marist, lets see how that plays out. Looking at GASPORTS.com MG loss to Marist last year at home in 3 OT’s. anyone back to the title of the blog, i like Wheeler all the way…

By comeonDaniel

January 27, 2009 2:00 PM | Link to this

By Daniel : I see you say Belin was sick the week Cent. played MG and Roswell. Maybe i am mistakened he looked good against Walton the Friday before the MG matchup. He dropped 21, but anyway thats basketball. In this state on anygiven night anyone can win or loss, well almost anyone.

By Shane

January 27, 2009 2:05 PM | Link to this

Good post by William (Jan 27 10:49 AM)…he knows his stuff and is dead on in his comments. Thanks to Todd HolcombNATOR for getting me jacked up for high school basketball again. Nothing better than some good tournament action.

My Lassiter friends remind me that any one can get BLAZED by the Trojans. Reference to their stellar Senior PG of course….Wheeler host Lassiter Friday night…

By Shane

January 27, 2009 2:22 PM | Link to this

Correction: It’s BLAISE White. I got too excited earlier. So the Raiders and Wildcats need to be careful and not get BLAISED by the Trojans of Lassiter this week. Tonight at Lassiter (Walton) and Friday the Wildcats host Lassiter. The Trojans sit at #6, 15-3 and 6-1 in region….gotta love this area for some good ball…

By slalom1

January 27, 2009 7:27 PM | Link to this

My nomination for “World’s Worst high School Basketball coach” goes to Northside Columbus. Having 2 D-1 recruits standing at 6’10 and 6’11, one committed to Oklahoma St. and the other to Ga. State. Even with that kind of size and talent, Northside can barely remain competitive against the rest in Region 2 AAA. Amazing.

By William

January 27, 2009 9:49 PM | Link to this

How prophetic you are Shane. Just got back from Walton@Lassiter. Almost didn’t go, but glad I did as it was an extremely interesting game. Lassiter won 61-58. The strategy was about the only one they could employ, that is to make the game as ugly as possible and stay in it to win at the end. And, that they did in a real stinker. But more power to them. A win is a win. Credit has to be given where it is due as they are one of the scrappiest teams I’ve seen, they don’t ever quit and they sure don’t mind roughousing it. They looked like the team in Hoosiers. Harrow played a mediocre game to be extremely gratuitous and I overheard the stats person say that Walton had 32 TOs. She was joking I hope.

I was planning to stay home on Friday, but now I’m going over to Wheeler to see if Lassiter can pull this kind of stunt of again. Who knows?!?!

By Shane

January 27, 2009 10:10 PM | Link to this

Yep. I hustled over to Lassiter this evening as well. Blaise passed well, ran the team, looked like a leader among leaders. Keep in mind that Phillip Lutzenkirchen is the TE that made the youtube catch and I am fairly certain #30 Hutson Mason was the QB for Lassiter. What I am saying is, Blaise was looked to all night to lead. He did it and his coach certainly had his guys ready.

The two clutch free throws to make it 61-56 were truly inspiring.

Some one wise said DEFENSE and execution (turnover minimum) win ballgames…

I’ll try to hustle over and watch the Wheeler/Lassiter tilt Friday…May even talk Todd HolcombNATOR into joining me…He’s probably extremely busy covering the upcoming Football Signing day for sure…

On paper Wheeler should win by 15…but they play the game on the hard wood…Wheeler can not afford to get BLAISED Friday night…

By Devil Lover

January 27, 2009 10:25 PM | Link to this

Hey UpSetCity. You should only talk the truth. Norcross did not loss a game this summer and beat; Centennial…………………………………… MaEachern……………………………………. Miller Grove ………………………………… Walton……………………………………….

Undefeated and still the 5A defeating championship and has not lost a game this year to a GA team. Just beat Peachtree Ridge 76-52 and now 18-1.

By devil lovers lover

January 28, 2009 9:23 AM | Link to this

Our boys look GOOD! and POLISHED

By azcat225

January 28, 2009 10:42 AM | Link to this

Just catching up with this blog. I’m the father of two Wheeler alums so I probably have some bias though I haven’t been to a game this year. I have attended a lot of games in the past five or six years, home and away. Was thinking about going to the Walton game but when I drove by at a little after 7 p.m. and saw the line out the door and down the street, I knew the fire marshal would be closing the doors before all of those fans got in.

William, you are dead on with your analysis of Wheeler, at least as far their past teams (haven’t been to a game yet this season, as mentioned above). When Wheeler is “on”, they remind me of Nolan Richardson’s 40 Minutes of Hell back when the Razorbacks were monsters. When Wheeler is off, they can be had by a team with some moxy and discipline. You summarized the Wheeler program succintly and accurately.

I may try to make it to the Lassiter game Friday night. I didn’t give them much of a chance against Walton but “that’s why you play the game”. Lassiter will try to make the Wheeler game just as ugly as the Walton game, but as some one noted, a win is beautiful, especially if achieved by having a plan, working hard and executing.

The real shame of it is that only four teams will go on to the state tournament from Region 6 this year.

By Adam

January 28, 2009 2:45 PM | Link to this

Walton should not be ranked in the Top 10, nor the Top 50 in the state of Georgia. Granted, they lost to a good Lassiter team last night. However that team is a joke, led by Glen Rice Jr who is the biggest joke of Georgia High School Basketball. He is suppossed to be ACC talent? I think he had nine points last night, which did not include a shot. His nine points came from a couple of free throws and a couple of dunks. Best of all, to start the third quarter, HE was scored on for four straight times by a Lasiter player who can’t play college ball on any level. Had it not been for a back door missed layup after Rice tried to go for a steal, it would have been 10 straight points to open up the second half. Also, he was constantly bending over and grabbing his shorts as if he was tired. “Hey Glen,….ITS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL!!!” The only question I have now is, where will Glen transfer to after a year at Georgia Tech. Their was a Lagrange College coach their last night, perhaps that would be a more suitable place for Glen. Mark it down, Walton does not make state.

By wsimon

January 30, 2009 9:47 PM | Link to this

wow adam sounds like todd during walton’s football season , good luck coach you be missed. ooo adam what about harrow buddy the ncstate bound point guard dont hate on the raiders basketball there ga basketball rays and cards

By predIpredII

January 30, 2009 9:55 PM | Link to this

wheeler beat lassiter tonight by 17. score of 69-52. It was a closer game though; lassiter led at halftime. (I go to Wheeler, btw, and AM PROUD OF THAT!) Yes we showboat every five seconds, and we cant play consistent d to save our lives. What people dont realize can easily get is, even when he is off, Richard Howell can easily have a 20/10 game. Per Goydish, he “is a beast.” He is a man among boys. Make him mad, make our gents mad, and be prepared. AND, just for the record, this is basketball season. Nobody gives a rat’s behind about where lutzenkirken (sp?) can do on the gridiron. THIS is basketball, and requires the ability to dribble the ball and play a game without paying off the refs.

GO WHEELER!

By William

January 30, 2009 9:55 PM | Link to this

Just got back from Wheeler vs. Lassiter. Watched a good basketball team play a good football team in a rollicking and rambuncious game of “footketball”. Forearm shivers, pushes, shoves, blocks in the back, holding and even a couple of tackles were all in play. A few times bodies were sprawled over the floor. Tonight the basketball team won. Next week, in the rematch at Lassiter, the story may be quite different.

By predIpredII

January 30, 2009 10:14 PM | Link to this

William. This is not football. GO Home. and id put my money on rich being able to tackle lutzenkirken any day of the week. There were no tackles in this game, unless you count a couple of scared white kids floppin on the ground and tripping people “tackling”

By WheelerFan

January 30, 2009 11:26 PM | Link to this

went to the game tonight as well, had to leave at start of 4th quarter though…pretty ugly game to be honest, wheeler sometimes plays stupid basketball…..they had HUGE advantage inside with Howell and yet most times would just try to out athlete lassiter….every time they did go to richard he scored easily….Ari needs to be more consistent, he disappeared much of the game i saw, only scoring a few points on easy put back dunks…when wheeler goes through Richard and plays 32 minutes with intensity and desire, they are borderline unstoppable…..unfortunately wheeler usually starts slow, lets an outmanned team like lassiter hang around, build momentum and actually lead at halftime….hopefully they will correct things before tournament time, and try learning to play for 32 minutes

By steph curry

January 31, 2009 12:17 AM | Link to this

Don’t you Wheeler people get tired of having to make excuses for Lipscomb’s INABILITY to coach? They win off talent alone.

Every Wheeler fan around has to make excuses why they:

1. Start poorly
2. Finish poorly
3. Take too many threes
4. Don’t get Richard involved
5. Can’t get Ari to understand the game
6. etc.
7. etc.

Wake up! It’s NOT the players’ fault!

By Michael

January 31, 2009 1:53 AM | Link to this

I went to the Lassiter/Wheeler game tonight. All I can say is Wheeler might want to take a breath of fresh air because the score was clearly not evident of how it was played and in my opinion they “ESCAPED!” To start, as stated similarly above, Wheeler might be the dumbest basketball team in the state. If they would ever learn to play hard and to their strengths for 32 minutes, they might never lose a game. Instead they take an unbelievable amount of plays off including every SINGLE defensive possession, try to outshoot “shooters”, and play 100 times faster than their minds can process. Secondly, according to Adam, Glen Rice Jr. is the biggest joke of Georgia High School basketball. I beg to differ. Phil Taylor is the BIGGEST joke of HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL, not just in Georgia. The kid can’t shoot, can’t finish under duress, and makes bad decisions when being pressured. Unfortunately, he thinks he is much better than he is or ever will be. To end, and the best of all, Ari Stewart ACC talent???? Your kidding. He was shut down completely tonight by a 5’10” white kid (PG Blaise White) who clearly wanted it more and just simply out worked him. I think he had 11 points of which at least 6 came on dunks that he got because of loose balls or fast breaks. If I were Wheeler, I would not be looking forward to next Friday night at Lassiter. Doug better try to get some more players to transfer in by then or it just might be a surprise ending!

By predIpredII

January 31, 2009 3:49 PM | Link to this

i agree with most of what “steph curry” said. We take too many threes because ARI IS AN IDIOT! I go to Wheeler, so shoot me. He is going to Wake Forest, yet the Wake coaches told him he was guaranteed a spot on the wake roster no matter what he did this season. Wheeler has one and a half big men, Rich and Joey Jerome(who is 6’4” but who plays much bigger on d). Ari is a showboating three happy kid who a. has no muscle. b. CANNOT play inside to save his life. c. shoots way too many threes and d. is trying to make up for current Miami Hurricane frosh Dequan Jones’s ability to take over a high school game. Yes, if wheeler played with they brains and not their egos, they could beat anyone. IF. And im not gonna say anything bout coach lip, but his success has to mean something.

Michael……… go watch EVERY team in the state of Georgia, and then you can say we are the dumbest team out there. til then, shut up. and just for the record…………phil never has been rated. he is an ok point gaurd who tries to do too much. BUT…..he can shoot like no other. do not challenge that. put him on an nba court, and he could nail threes easily. im not making excuses. im presenting my side of the argument

By Shane

January 31, 2009 7:17 PM | Link to this

Wheeler beat Lassiter Friday night because Wheeler has more talent.

Lassiter is the better “team” and they play inspiring, fundamental ball.

The game was a good one and Wheeler should have won at home…that is what you need to do. Lassiter could beat Wheeler at their house (the cafeteria gymn). The key word is “could” and certainly not should. IF Wheeler puts their mind to it, I think they can beat just about any one except maybe Norcross.

Now that is what this column started out as: A prediction that Wheeler and Norcross will face each other again for the title for team of the decade.

If Lassiter gets in and plays the way they are capable then they have a shot. As team’s try not to get BLAISEd, they need to be careful about #30, #21 and of course big dude Lutzenkirchen…the whole team handles the ball well. Plus Lutzenkirchen did the best he could to handle Predator I and Predator II…he, like the rest of the team gave out of gas.

A key moment Friday night was Lassiter up 40-34. The coach from Wheeler called a time out, looked his men in the face and just shrugged his shoulders. Wheeler promptly went on an 11-0 run and never looked back…

A LEGEND that was sitting with me Friday night stated it clearly: “The Wheeler coach has a different job from the Lassiter coach. One has to convince superior talent to get up and play while the other needs to motivate his players to play good fundamental ball and beat a team that is extremely talented…”

It is what it is: Some teams “recruit” or attract superior talent and others home grow and compete every 4 to 5 years the old school way….

The only question or at least the underlying question is: Which do you prefer? That is almost like saying do you prefer the fake blonde or the natural red head or the sultry brunnette…does it really matter? It’s sort of a preference…kind of like how to coach for the playoffs and then how to coach during the playoffs…you scratch your head sometimes…

By kd

February 4, 2009 10:32 AM | Link to this

THis blog is totally nonsense. Why isnt anyone showing the Knights of Centennial any love??? I mean they beat Wheeler and why is everyone so in love with them? The knights pressure defense had them rattled. The knights are currently ranked number 22 in the nation and are playing good basketball right now. They defeated Milton last night in their place in a dog fight. They have the 2nd toughest schedule in the state behind wheeler. They have defeated tough teams such as; Ravenscroft, United Faith Christain Academy, WHEELER

By kd

February 4, 2009 10:34 AM | Link to this

THis blog is totally nonsense. Why isnt anyone showing the Knights of Centennial any love??? I mean they beat Wheeler and why is everyone so in love with them? The knights pressure defense had them rattled. The knights are currently ranked number 22 in the nation and are playing good basketball right now. They defeated Milton last night in their place in a dog fight. They have the 2nd toughest schedule in the state behind wheeler. They have defeated tough teams such as; Ravenscroft, United Faith Christain Academy and suposibly the best team in the state WHEELER. Although the knights lost two games to S.Atlanta and Miller Grove they didnt lose to any one that wasnt someone. And norcross really dosent want to play centennial this year they just dont have the fire power that the knights do. Mark it down the knights will win its all when its said and done!

By HouseOfBlue

February 7, 2009 12:34 PM | Link to this

Hey kd…it is over for the Knights. I saw them get beat by Miller grove at home and it was not as close as the score. Brown can only score 25 to 30 pts. So who is going to score the other 35 pts against a good defense team like Norcross.

The biggest issue for Centennial is will they even make it to the state championship tournament. Since region 6 has 6 good teams and only 4 can go on to the state tournament, the big question is who will be the 4 teams that will advance. Remember the regional tournament is single elimination.

I only question I have is who will Norcross play in the final championship game?

By John

February 9, 2009 10:57 AM | Link to this

Lassiter is a very good team and is going to only get better now that Alex Gilmore is back from his ankle injury. The Centenial game is going to be the game of the year at Lassiter on Tuesday night.

By don

February 10, 2009 12:56 AM | Link to this

Turner county should play some out of state teams since beating the georgia school on every level AAAAA through A is not enough to be ranked or respected by the so called sports writers in georgia. The coach could do more by posting on MaxPreps, GAprep, ect.