The ultimate state champion in Class AAAAAAA boys basketball is anyone’s guess – and not many guessed Meadowcreek as their first choice last season – but the guess right now for most is McEachern, a program that hasn’t won a state title in the sport, but has been knocking on the door.

The current team is 5-0, ranked No. 7 nationally by MaxPreps and has a game tonight the nation’s No. 11 team, Paul VI of Fairfax, Va., in the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. McEachern will play Findlay Prep of Nevada, ranked No. 4 nationally, next month, so the Indians’ place in the national picture will be known soon.

The team’s top players are Isaac Okoro, a 6-6 wing who is committed to Auburn; Jared Jones, a 6-9 forward committed to Northwestern; and Sharife Cooper, a 5-10 point guard who is a five-star recruit reportedly down to Kentucky or Auburn.

Here are five more teams that bear close watching this season:

*Grayson – The Rams made the semifinals last season. Gone are Travis Anderson and Nick Edwards, who made up one of the state's best backcourts. Returning is Deivon Smith, a 6-2 guard with offers from Georgia and Florida. Transfers Javon Tatum (from Tucker), Josh Smith (Holy Innocents'), Ashton Malone (Norcross) and Xavier Ayers (Greensboro Day, N.C.) are bolstering the backcourt. Ian Schieffelin and Taje Kelly are 6-7 sophomores on a talented front line that also includes Kenyon Jackson, a 6-6 senior and Texas A&M football recruit. Grayson is 10-2 with losses to Mill Creek and Peachtree Ridge, so it's still a work in progress. Grayson will be in Wheeler's Tournament of Champions Holiday Classic Dec. 27-30 with Meadowcreek and Wheeler, so find out more then.

*Meadowcreek – The defending champions graduated three of their top four players but returned Jamir Chaplin, a 6-4 guard who is committed to South Florida. From North Carolina came transfers Damian Dunn (6-4 forward, leading rebounder so far, committed to Temple) and Jalen Benjamin (point guard/scorer committed to UAB). They've become the big three, all seniors. Meadowcreek also got a fourth starter, junior Jaimonnie Watkins, from North Clayton. They've meshed quickly. Meadowcreek has beaten perennial contenders Wheeler (70-54) and Norcross (63-55) and lost only to Mountain Brook (Alabama's best overall team, by one point) and Wasatch Academy (Utah's best team, ranked No. 12 in Maxpreps' national Xcellent 25).

*Norcross – The Blue Devils, five-time state champions since 2006, have been the runner-up the past two seasons. Kyle Sturdivant, a four-star point guard committed to Southern Cal, is as good a point guard as there is in Georgia.  Brandon Boston, a 6-7 shooting guard who is the No. 1 junior prospect in the state, and Issa Muhammad, a 6-9 power forward and top-250 national recruit, also are returning starters. Norcross got its share of transfers in Daniel Ramsey (6-8 power forward who is committed to Xavier and came from Deerfield-Windsor in Albany), Jaden Harris (6-3 sophomore guard from Stratford Academy) and Isaac Martin (6-5 wing from Wheeler). Norcross is 8-3 and doesn't have a validating win yet, but the opportunity will be there with Montverde Academy and DeMatha on the early 2019 schedule.

*Pebblebrook – The Falcons have made the quarterfinals or better each of the past five seasons with notable players such as Collin Sexton and Derek Ogbeide. They'll be a threat again, but it might take some time with the graduations of all-Cobb players D.J. Murray, Grant Howard and Mervin James from a team that went 26-3. It's a young team. Pebblebrook has three or four top prospects in the sophomore class led by Jamal Clyce, a 6-6 wing. The point guard is Jalen Harper point guard, brother of Auburn point guard Jared Harper. Pebblebrook is 9-1 with a loss to Morgan County. The Falcons are playing in California after Christimas.

*Wheeler –This could be the best Wheeler team since the 2015 state champion. The Wildcats have gone down in the quarters the past two seasons and lost center E.J. Montgomery to Kentucky. But help has arrived in transfers Malachi Rhodes (6-8 power forward from Eagle's Landing Christian who is committed to Bucknell), Sam Hines (6-6 small forward from St. Francis) and Charles Smith IV (a 6-5 shooting guard and Cal-Berkeley commit who came from McEachern). They join 6-8 center Darius Gaddy, a junior, and senior point guard Jaire Eastmond, who has signed with the University of Denver. Wheeler is 9-2 with an overtime loss to Buford last week and a 70-54 loss to Meadowcreek in the opener. The Wildcats have beaten Norcross 62-55 and Holy Spirit Prep 76-68 in overtime. They're playing in the Adidas Emerald Coast 16 in Destin, Fla., this week.