You’ve heard the old refrain. “Our region is so tough,” they say. “If you can get out of Region (fill in the blank) you can play with anybody.”
That sounds good, but it isn’t necessarily so.
So just which region is the best?
This is the first year of the two-year reclassification system, so the leagues are still feeling their way around. Some teams went up in classification, some moved down. Some of the regions look much different.
Now that the season has reached the halfway point for most teams, it’s a good chance to look at each region and determine which ones are good and which ones are found wanting.
Most regions have at least one good team. Some have one great team. But the metric that best determines a good region is the depth found there. So just because your region has a championship team doesn't make it a good region. And just because you have a great region doesn't make you a championship team. This is just a fun little exercise to get us thinking.
Here’s a look at the regions in Class AAA, in terms of strength.
Region 1: A tale of two subregion. Division A includes some quality South Georgia teams like Dodge County, Appling County, Cook Pierce County and Tattnall County that are capable of competing with anyone. Division B is made up primarily of Savannah schools that can't wait for basketball to start. Overall grade: C. (Div. A alone: A minus.)
Region 2: Two very good teams in Westside Macon and Peach County feast in a league of bad teams from Macon and Columbus. Overall grade: C-minus.
Region 3: One great team in Washington County. They score lots and lots of points. On defense they keep you off the board. A definite state championship contender. The rest? Ehh. Overall grade: C-minus
Region 4: Similar to Region 1, with one strong subregion and one weak subregion. Div. A has Cedar Grove and some inconsistent Atlanta teams, while Div. B has Blessed Trinity and Westminster, two state-ranked teams, mixed with some inconsistent DeKalb and Atlanta teams. Overall grade: B-minus
Region 5: Central Carroll is the class of this league, the smallest region in AAA. The enigma is Callaway, which has not yet lived up to expectations. The others are not very good. Overall grade: C-minus.
Region 6: Calhoun and Adairsville are both ranked in the top 10 and Ringgold is a very good team that is going to end up playing on the road for the first week of the state playoffs. Not a great league, but better than most. Overall grade: B.
Region 7: This league is lacking a ranked team. It's still very much in flux, with West Hall and Franklin County appearing to be the picks of the litter. (Jefferson still can't figure out how it didn't get realigned into this region.) Overall grade: C-minus.
Region 8: Welcome to Stoutsville. This is a very difficult region through-and-through. Jefferson and Hart County are both ranked in the top 10, Oconee is undefeated and Elbert County is outstanding. This is the rock-em sock-em robot conference in Class AAA. Overall grade: A-minus.
How do you feel about it? Vote here.
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