St. Pius coach Aaron Parr believes ths is the best squad he’s had in his five seasons. The Golden Lions will need to be to compete in the toughest region in Class AAAA.
Four teams from Region 6-AAAA—No. 2 Grady, No. 3 Lithonia and No. 4 St. Pius—are ranked in the top five, with Redan coming in at No. 9. It’s brutally tough.
St. Pius (11-2, 6-2) hosts archrival Marist tonight. The Golden Lions have bounced back from an early December loss to Lithonia with six straight wins.
“We’re just really balanced, playing from the inside out,” Parr said. “We shoot the ball well and are good defensively.”
The Lions’ inside-out attack begins with Kerney Lane, a 6-6 versatile wing averaging 19 points per game. Parr also pointed to the offseason improvement by 6-7 senior forward Jakob Spitzer on the inside and the shooting of senior guard Christian Merrill as keys to St. Pius’ offensive balance this season.
“Last season, we were very perimeter-oriented,” Parr said. “If we didn’t shoot well, like in the state tournament when we went 4 of 20 from three against Jonesboro, we didn’t win.”
Grady (12-1, 8-0 6-AAAA) has been the biggest surprise in the region. The Knights are led by senior big-man Avi Toomer, a Bucknell commit, who is averaging 25.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 steals. Coach Brian Weeden’s team already owns win over Lithonia and St. Pius.
Grady hosts Chamblee tonight.
"Region 6 is strong because good coaches have developed great programs," Lithonia coach Wallace Corker said. "Players have to mentally and physically prepared to play each night."
Other 6-AAAA boys action tonight:
Stone Mountain at Lithonia
Cross Keys at Redan
Columbia at Arabia Mountain
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