A look at five boys basketball teams to watch this season

The Chargers defeated a game and previously unbeaten squad from Athens Academy, 44-17, to win their fourth consecutive state title – joining West Rome (1982-85) and Buford (2007-10) as the only teams in Georgia history to do so. ELCA finished with 737 points in 14 games. The 52.6 per-game average is the highest in state history.

Public Champion: Clinch County (13-1)

The Panthers won their eighth state title, and third in four years, with a 27-20 win over Region 2 rival Irwin County. It was the second year in a row Clinch loss to Irwin in the regular season but beat the Indians in the finals. Only Valdosta, Buford and Lincoln County have more state titles in the GHSA than Clinch. Head coach Jim Dickerson became the eighth coach in GHSA history to win five state titles as a head coach.

Three Big Things in 2019

Drive for Five – Part I: ELCA will be going after its fifth consecutive state title, which would be an all-time record. The Chargers will have to find a new quarterback, as three-year starting QB Brayden Rush will move on to the next level, in football, baseball or wrestling. Junior Gabe Wright is next in line. Defensively, ELCA will lose all-state LB Johnathan Youngblood, a four-year starter. However, the Chargers return their top two rushers – junior Keaton Mitchell (2,509 yards, 49 TDs), who will most likely be the Class A Offensive Player of the Year, and sophomore Josh Rogers – and their top two receivers – juniors Devon Dorsey and Justin Robinson. On defense, sophomore LB Deandre Allred and junior DL Marquis Black will lead the way.

Drive for Five – Part II: Though recruiting rankings and stars are not nearly as important as some make them out to be, they are no doubt part of the high school sports lexicon. As such, a handful of Class A players could return next season as "five-star" recruits. The list includes current "four star" juniors OL Tate Ratledge (Darlington), LB Zykeivous Walker (Schley County), WR Jeremiah Johnson (Clinch County), as well as RB/LB D.J. Lundy (Irwin County), who has yet to earn any "stars" but is one of the most highly-recruited players in Georgia.

Fifth Time a Charm?: Irwin County has advanced to the public championship game four of the last five seasons, but has come up short each time – three times to Clinch County, after last week's loss to the Panthers. But could 2019 finally be the year Irwin breaks through? The Indians will return a possible Player of the Year candidate, in junior RB/LB D.J. Lundy, junior QB Zach Smith, junior OL/DL Ramont Edge and sophomore OL/DL Jalen Billingsley.

Five Boys Basketball Teams to Watch

Private

Eagle's Landing Christian Academy. The Chargers finished 27-4 last season and advanced to the Final Four – before being ousted by eventual champion Aquinas. However, after losing their top two scorers via transfer (senior F Malachi Rhodes to Wheeler, senior F Jamaine Mann to Starr's Mill), ELCA has struggled a bit out of the gate at 3-3 thus far. A trio of senior guards from last year's team – Kelvin Jones III, Trevon Reddish and Mekhi Cameron – hope to gel with 6-9 junior F Izzy Momodu, a transfer from London, to make another deep playoff run.

Greenforest. The Eagles have almost an entirely new roster from the team that finished 16-11 and advanced to the Elite Eight. Greenforest is 6-3 thus far on the efforts of newcomers junior G Lamar Oden (Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy), sophomore G R.J. Noord (Columbia) and junior F/C Christian Fussell (Holy Spirit Prep).

Mount Bethel Christian. The Eagles join the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) this season after winning two consecutive titles in the Georgia Independent Christian Athletic Association (GICAA). Mt. Bethel is 5-3 thus far with junior F Jordan Meka leading the way, along with sophomore guards Jace Harrison and Alex Langford.

St. Francis. The Knights are off to a 7-2 start after finishing 27-4 last season, including a perfect 14-0 in Region 6, when they advanced to the finals. Leading the way thus far is one of the state's top back court duos – senior CJ Riley and junior Dwon Odum – and junior guard Chase Ellis.

Trinity Christian. Trinity is the second newcomer to the GHSA this season. The Lions finished 28-7 and advanced to the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Final Four last season. Trinity graduated three players that signed with colleges last year, but the Lions still have a competitive squad, led by senior G Tyler Whitefield and senior wing player Brady Burnett. Bastianoni Sanchez, a 6-9 post player from the Dominican Republic, will provide an inside presence. 

Public

Hancock Central. After a .500 season last year that saw the Bulldogs dispatched from the state playoffs in the first round, they have started this season 8-2 behind the efforts of a strong group of seniors – F/C Kaben Hunt, F/C Reginald Reynolds, G Mortegus Bell, F/C Jamiyah Fountain and G/F Antwaun Henderson – along with juniors G JaMarcus Morris and F/C Qintavious Moss.

Macon County. The Bulldogs are following up on last season's strong effort, when they finished 20-6 and advanced to the Elite Eight. This year, they are 7-1 after an upset loss last week at region rival Schley County. Leading the way are juniors G Lakeviyon Walker and G Shomari Gaines, along with senior F Makevion Bonner.

Treutlen. The Vikings are a robust 137-27 since Tyree Coney arrived in Soperton to take over in 2012. He has them undefeated this far this season at 7-0.

Wilkinson County. Aaron Geter led the Warriors to 10 state titles in the 19 years he spent as head coach, including the last three in a row. Geter, also the superintendent of Wilkinson County Schools, has turned the program over to one of his former players, Xavier Whipple, who starred at LSU in the mid-2000s. But so far things have gotten off to a rough start as Wilkinson County has started the season 1-6.

Wilcox County. The Patriots are off to their best start, 10-0, since they advanced to the semifinals in 2009 and 2010. Wilcox is paced by a talented junior class that includes G Demetric Young, G Jordan Brown, F Azavion Deans and F Desmond Tisdol.