By Kyle Sandy
Holiday Hoopsgiving has shed a little bit of light on the state picture, but still a clear state championship favorite in Class AAAAAAA has yet to emerge. The reason why? The parity of competition across the GHSA might be at an all-time high. National rankings don’t mean much when you lace them up and play in the Peach State. Wheeler, MaxPreps’ No. 2 ranked team in the nation, was stunned by Vashon, MO 69-67 at Hoopsgiving after holding an 11-point fourth quarter lead. Any loss is considered a bad loss for the Wildcats with as much talent as they have. They did knock off Class 6A No. 2 Jonesboro 66-58 on Friday, but Saturday’s loss drops them to No. 3. Without question the state’s two hottest teams are No. 1 Norcross and No. 2 Newton. Both teams are 4-0 with all eight combined wins against ranked opponents. Newton slammed Class 3A No. 3 Liberty County 104-71 at Hoopsgiving while Norcross countered with a 57-46 win over Class A-Private No. 1 Greenforest. On Saturday, the Rams went to the On the Radar Hoops Showcase and raced past No. 9 Berkmarin the fourth quarter 84-68. Norcross added to their resume an 82-74 win over Class 3A No. 1 Westside-Macon. No. 6 McEachern is quietly looming, picking up wins over Class 6A No. 8 Allatoona and Class 6A No. 5 Langston Hughes.
With Class AAAAAA Preseason No. 1 Jonesboro losing to Wheeler, No. 1 Gainesville has just enough to sneak past the Cardinals to earn the top spot. Much like Class 7A, expect Class 6A to be in flux all year long. Gainesville’s new ranking will be put to the test right away as they see St. Pius, Milton, Lee (Huntsville), Brookwood and St .Pius again in a challenging stretch. Jonesboro has six region games in a row before heading to the City of Palms Classic. No. 4 Heritage-Conyers climbs two spots to No. 4. The Patriots blew out Peachtree Ridge at the On the Radar Showcase 77-59 behind Jordan Thomas’ 26 points and Isaiah Banks’ 19.
Even with a loss to Collins Hill, Columbia holds on as No. 1 in Class AAAAA. Cedar Shoals and Buford are close behind at No. 2 and No. 3. Buford beat Class 3A No. 6 GAC 66-57. Not too much changes in the poll except for Southwest DeKalb’s jump to No. 7. The Panthers’ balanced offense and aggressive defense has given teams fits. They won the Cleveland Stroud Classic by beating Collins Hill in overtime.
No. 2 Upson-Leehas cruised, but hasn't seen much competition yet. The Knights beat Class A-Public No. 6 Taylor County 46-34 in their toughest game. That will change however as A-Public No. 2 Crawford County hosts Upson-Lee this Tuesday in a rivalry game that hasn't been played in years. Back up to No. 3 is Henry County. Javon Greene went berserk at Holiday Hoopsgiving, pouring in an event record 57 points to stun Langston Hughes.
Class AAA has a few developing stories including Westside-Maconrising to No. 1 in the state after losing to Norcross. Pace Academyopens up slow just like last year, losing to Jemison, AL 67-50 at the Lighthouse Classic.
No. 3 Monticello went to the Impact Sports Invitational in South Carolina and lost to Dorman (86-57) and Spartanburg Christian (60-59) before beating Laurens (79-45). Ashton Bonner and CJ Adams have excelled in Coach BJ Thomas’ backcourt.
Greenforest remains No. 1 in Class A-Private and continues to wait on the return of Justin Forrest. Their win over Westlake was a nice early season gut-check.
Quitman County jumps to No. 5 in Class A-Public after a 3-1 start. Their lone loss came against Eufala, AL by one. No. 2 Crawford County crunched Mary Persons 85-71, setting up a huge game with Upson-Lee.
Class AAAAAAA
1 Norcross (4-0)
2 Newton (4-0)
3 Wheeler (1-1)
4 Pebblebrook (1-2)
5 Westlake (1-1)
6 McEachern (3-0)
7 Collins Hill (3-1)
8 Shiloh (3-2)
9 Berkmar (1-1)
10 Tift County (3-1)
Class AAAAAA
1 Gainesville (2-0)
2 Jonesboro (0-1)
3 South Paulding (2-0)
4 Heritage-Conyers (4-0)
5 Langston Hughes (1-3)
6 Dacula (3-0)
7 Alpharetta (5-0)
8 Allatoona (0-2)
9 Brunswick (2-0)
10 Tri-Cities (6-1)
Class AAAAA
1 Columbia (2-1)
2 Cedar Shoals (3-0)
3 Buford (3-0)
4 Miller Grove (1-1)
5 Warner Robins (1-0)
6 Eagle’s Landing (0-1)
7 Southwest DeKalb (4-1)
8 Fayette County (1-0)
9 New Hampstead (2-1)
10 Riverwood (4-1)
Class AAAA
1 Sandy Creek (3-1)
2 Upson-Lee (5-0)
3 Henry County (3-2)
4 Thomson (0-0)
5 North Clayton (0-1)
6 LaGrange (2-0)
7 St. Pius X (2-1)
8 Richmond Academy (4-0)
9 Westover (0-1)
10 Stephens County (0-0)
Class AAA
1 Westside-Macon (0-1)
2 Pace Academy (0-1)
3 Liberty County (3-1)
4 Morgan County (0-0)
5 Cedar Grove (0-0)
6 Greater Atlanta Christian (2-1)
7 Jenkins (0-3)
8 Lovett (4-1)
9 Redan (3-0)
10 Islands (0-1)
Class AA
1 South Atlanta (1-0)
2 Dublin (0-0)
3 Monticello (3-2)
4 Callaway (0-0)
5 Thomasville (0-3)
6 Butler (3-1)
7 Vidalia (1-1)
8 Chattooga (0-0)
9 Glenn Hills (3-0)
10 Toombs County (3-0)
Class A-Private
1 Greenforest (3-1)
2 North Cobb Christian (3-1)
3 St. Francis (4-0)
4 Southwest Atlanta Christian (0-1)
5 Holy Innocents’ (1-2)
6 Lakeview Academy (3-0)
7 Tattnall Square (0-0)
8 Aquinas (0-0)
9 Christian Heritage (0-0)
10 Whitefield Academy (0-1)
Class A-Public
1 Wilkinson County (0-0)
2 Crawford County (1-0)
3 Turner County (0-0)
4 Calhoun County (1-0)
5 Quitman County (3-1)
6 Taylor County (0-1)
7 Hawkinsville (2-0)
8 Manchester (0-1)
9 Lincoln County (0-0)
10 Hancock Central (0-1)
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