Down 9 suspended players, Cairo gets last-minute tournament berth after reseed
Thinking his team’s final game was two weeks ago, Cairo boys basketball coach JJ Cooper got the surprise call at 10 p.m. Monday.
The Georgia High School Association had reconfigured the Class 3A playoff bracket, and Cairo was suddenly in it — starting Wednesday night at Cedar Grove.
Two other teams had failed to report games they had lost this regular season, and it was not discovered until Monday. One of those teams, Upson-Lee, was ejected from the 32-team bracket, making room for the Syrupmakers.
“I’m still like wow,” Cooper said Tuesday morning. “Our players are very excited. They just wanted another opportunity. The season didn’t end the way we wanted.”
It still might not.
Cairo faces tremendous odds of winning against third-ranked Cedar Grove, the 2025 runner-up, featuring the classification’s best player, Manny Green, a Tennessee signee. Cairo is 10-13.
Worse yet, Cairo has nine players suspended from its Feb. 7 game against Bainbridge. An altercation broke out on the court, and the GHSA suspended 12 players overall, including two Cairo players on the court and seven who came off the bench.
Cooper said his school has inquired about an appeal to have them reinstated by Wednesday, but chances of success are not good.
“We’re basically playing with freshmen and the lower-level guys on our JV team (to fill out the roster) because all the upper-level JV guys were on the bench and took two steps on the court,” Cooper said. “We’ll prepare as best we can. We’ll practice today and try to get one in tomorrow morning before we leave.”
Cooper said he will have three starters and one other player from his typical eight- or nine-man rotation.
Cooper said his team practiced through last Friday, hoping to get a playoff berth. For classes 3A, 2A, A Division I and 3A-A Private, the GHSA uses a points-rating system called the Post Season Ranking Formula to help choose and seed playoff teams. Cairo was on the bubble but left out Saturday, when the GHSA released the original bracket.
Monday afternoon, the GHSA discovered from other schools that three boys scores had not been submitted. Those scores, involving Upson-Lee and Westside-Augusta, changed the rankings, taking Upson-Lee out, replaced by Cairo, now the No. 28 seed.
Cairo’s PSR was already top-32, but teams finishing in the top four of their regions are guaranteed berths, so fifth-place Cairo needed a wild-card bid. It came in the nick of time.
Despite the missing persons, Cooper still believes his team has a chance. Cooper noted that Cairo has beaten No. 4 seed Monroe and is the only team with a victory over No. 1 Chattahoochee County of Class A Division II
“Our record doesn’t show how good we really are,” Cooper said. “We’ve played some tough competition and given them good games. We’ve had kids out with the flu and others taking football visits. We’re excited to have another opportunity.”
About the Author
Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
