For Wesleyan, the high school basketball finals this week are a chance to win a 12th state championship in girls basketball since 2002.
For Americus-Sumter and Liberty County, they are a chance to win a first state championship in any sport.
The story lines are as plentiful as the 28 teams still standing. Here are some of the better ones as the three-day culmination of the basketball season begins Thursday at the Macon Coliseum.
Defending champions: Six 2015 winners are still standing. They are Joneboro's boys (Class AAAA), Jenkins' boys (AAA), St. Francis' boys (A private), McEachern's girls (AAAAAA), Wesleyan's girls (AA) and St. Francis' girls (A private). McEachern, Jonesboro and St. Francis (boys) are chasing their third straight championships.
You look familiar: Three finals are rematches of 2015 championship games. They are Morgan County vs. Jenkins (AAA boys), Holy Innocents' vs. Wesleyan (AA girls) and St. Francis vs. Greenforest Christian boys (A private boys). Jenkins, Wesleyan and St. Francis won last year, but each is the lower-ranked team this season.
You look very familiar: Three finals are between teams from the same region. Westlake is 3-0 against Pebblebrook (Region 3-AAAAAA boys). Holy Innocents' is 2-1 against Wesleyan (6-AA girls). Wilkinson County and Hancock Central split their two meetings (7-A boys).
Where they're from: Of the 28 finalists, 16 are from metro Atlanta. Among the other 12, only Winder-Barrow's girls are north of I-20. There is only one Gwinnett County team (Wesleyan's girls), the fewest since 1999. That's the last year that no Gwinnett team won a state title. Gwinnett teams won five of the 10 state titles as recently as 2011.
Cinderella: Winder-Barrow is the only fourth-place finisher from a region to survive. The Bulldogs had not won a state-playoff game since 1993. They also are the only unranked team still playing outside of Class A.
First-time in the finals: Seven teams are in finals for the first time. They are girls teams from Winder-Barrow, Americus-Sumter, Veterans, Jackson-Atlanta and Greenforest Christian and boys teams from Liberty County and Pace Academy.
Never won: Three other teams -- Turner County's girls, Pebblebrook's boys and Allatoona's boys - have made finals, but never won.
Never won in any sport: Liberty County (opened in 1993) and Americus-Sumter (2004) are seeking their first state championships in any sport. Pebblebrook has never won a state title in a boys sport.
Gender equality: Three schools have advanced their boys and girls teams in the finals. They are Morgan County (AAA), Greenforest Christian (A private) and St. Francis (A private). From 1945, the year of the first girls state tournament, through 2005, only seven schools had won both. Nine have done it since, including St. Francis last season.
1952 - Stilson (C)
1958 - Murphy (AAA)
1958 - Jeff Davis (AA)
1959 - Roopville (C)
1963 - Hart County (AA)
1972 – Greater Atlanta Christian (C)
1987 - Clinch County (A)
2006 – Southwest Atlanta Christian (A)
2008 - Wesleyan (AA)
2010 – Wesleyan (A)
2010 – Columbia (AAA)
2011 – Norcross (AAAAA)
2012 – Miller Grove (AAAA)
2012 – Columbia (AAA)
2013 – Norcross (AAAAAA)
2015 – St. Francis (A)
Football-basketball double: Allatoona and Pace Academy can win their first state titles in boys basketball just months after winning their first state titles in football. Only six schools have won both in the same academic year, most recently Norcross in 2012-13.
1947-48 Lanier
1970-71 Roswell
1973-74 Southwest Atlanta
1988-89 Clinch County
1989-90 Mitchell-Baker
2012-13 Norcross
Undefeated: Allatoona (31-0) can become the third boys team of the past 10 seasons to finish unbeaten after Greater Atlanta Christian (2014) and Wilkinson County (2011). Undefeated girls teams are more common (eight since 2006). Turner County (30-0) and Greenforest Christian (30-0) can join that list.
Historic coaches: Aaron Geter of Wilkinson County can become the first boys coach in 52 years to win an eighth state title. Only Selby Buck of Lanier (13 titles) and Eric "Fesser" Staples of Perry (won his eighth in 1964) have done it. Wesleyan's Jan Azar can extend her record of 11 girls state titles. Sharman White of Miller Grove can become the 10th boys coach to win six titles. Kathy Richey-Walton of Southwest DeKalb can become eighth girls coach to win five. Phyllis Arthur of McEachern can become the 15th to win four.
What's next: The state tournament will be bigger than ever in 2017. The GHSA has added a seventh classification starting this fall. There will be 16 state champions, twice the number of the 1999-2000 season. There will be 216 boys and 216 girls state-playoff teams, meaning nearly half of the GHSA's membership (currently 455 schools) will still be dancing in the state playoffs.
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