Sometimes a team gets lucky and wins the state championship. That wasn’t the case this year. The Kell boys and Maynard Jackson girls were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 for most of the season and roared through the postseason and lived up to expectations.
Kell was ranked No. 1 from the first day and finished the season by beating No. 2 Eagle’s Landing 62-51 in the championship game. The Longhorns finished the season 28-3 and won their final 27 games.
Coach Jermaine Sellers began the season by beating Greenforest Christian (the ultimate Class A Division II champion) before losing to McEachern (the eventual Class 7A runner-up), Newton (which lost to McEachern in the second round) and Grayson (the Class 7A champion).
From that point the Longhorns went on to beat Class 7A semifinalist Wheeler, win two tournaments – including the prestigious Arby’s Classic – and smoked the opposition in an inferior region. Once the state tournament started, Kell won its games by an average of 23.6 points.
Kell joined Class 2A Westside-Augusta and Class 3A Sandy Creek as the only boys team to successfully defend their state championship this year.
The Longhorns lose Region 6 Player of the Year C.J. Brown and all-region picks Cannon Richards and Jaylen Colon, but return important pieces in Chris McLavish, King Jones and Connor Staphylaris, the 3-point dagger king. Given the emphasis on defense, the Longhorns should not see a big dropoff.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Jackson began the season ranked No. 1 but dropped to No. 2 after losing to North Paulding (which played for the Class 7A title). The Jaguars finished the season on a 22-game winning streak and completed their 29-1 season by beating Region 5 rival Midtown 58-44 in the championship game.
Coach Maurice Miles led his team to wins over notable opponents like Parkview, Sparkman (reached third round in Alabama playoffs) and Cartersville (5A semifinalist). The Jaguars beat No. 3-ranked Midtown four times – twice during the regular season, in the region tournament finals and in the state championship game. Jackson won its five state playoff games by an average of 27.8 points.
The Jaguars lose all-region players Shaira Gresham and Taliah Cornish, but will likely remain highly competitive and relevant with the return of players like Cayden Cornish, Kennedie Cooper, and Aaliyah Weaver.
Most underrated team: The Harris County girls were an uncertain factor since it played in a small, unheralded region. But coach Steffanie Ramsey’s teams overcame its youth and reached the third round of the playoffs before losing to Cartersville in overtime.
Getting the most out of the roster: Jefferson’s girls had no dominant player, but meshed together to put together a great run thanks to teamwork, coachability and the willingness to play hard for 32 minutes.
Watch out for next season: Midtown returns four starters from a team that went 27-6, with four of those losses to state-champion Jackson, including sophomores Devin Bockman (the leading scorer) and Hailey Wortman (second-leading scorer and leading rebounder). It could be Good Knights to the competition in 2024-25.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
About the Author
