Class 3A state finals: Questions that soon will have answers

Is Jan Azar building another girls basketball dynasty at Hebron?

Those questions will be answered this week during the Class 3A state championship games.

Wesleyan’s girls will play Hebron at 1 p.m. Friday, and the Sandy Creek-Johnson-Savannah boys game follows at 3 p.m. The games will be streamed on the NFHS network with subscription.

Since winning the program’s first-ever state championship with a 66-38 victory over Region 5 rival Cedar Grove last season, the Patriots have only lost three games but none to 3A competitors. After beating Carver-Columbus 66-32 in the semifinals, the Patriots are poised to defend the championship against a hard-charging and upset-minded Johnson-Savannah team.

Sandy Creek’s boys enter the championship game on a six-game winning streak that began when it defeated Carver-Atlanta to secure the Region 5 championship. In the playoffs, the Patriots defeated Stephens County 97-42 in the opening round and were not challenged in a 92-22 victory against Lumpkin County in the second round. In the quarterfinals, the Patriots upended Monroe 74-44 to secure the semifinals berth.

Against Carver-Columbus in the semis, the usual suspects lifted Sandy Creek into the state championship game. James Madison-signee Micah Smith, a 6-foot-7, 185-pound power forward, finished with a game-high 20 points. Smith is listed as a three-star recruit and rated as the No. 15 player overall in the state and No. 38 power forward in the nation. He had interest from Auburn, Cincinnati, Georgetown and Georgia State, to name a few.

Other key contributors in the semifinals were Jacobi Robinson, a 6-1 junior, who added 13 points and 6-3 senior Amari Brown with nine points. Sandy Creek made its first state championship appearance in 2021 before losing to Cross Creek 57-49.

Johnson entered the playoffs somewhat overlooked and underappreciated, but after a victory against Dougherty in the semifinals, the Atomsmashers are in the hunt for the program’s first state title since 2013, when it defeated Savannah 61-51. The team’s magical playoff run began with a 76-50 victory against Jackson in the first round and continued with a 61-56 defeat of Cross Creek in the second round. In the quarterfinals, the Atomsmashers beat Hebron Christian, then narrowly defeated Dougherty 55-51.

Senior Joshua Quarterman is averaging 18 points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead Johnson’s offensive production. He is 176-of-390 (45 percent) from the field for a team-leading 457 points this season. Junior Favion Kirkwood is scoring 14 points with five rebounds, senior Cormari Jones adds 10 points per game with three rebounds and three assists. Senior Jahdon Polite leads Johnson with 5.2 rebounds per game.

Kirkwood was key in the first half of Johnson’s semifinals victory against Dougherty, scoring nine of the Atomsmashers 22 points in the first half.

Johnson has three state championships – 1968 under head coach John Myles, 1992 under head coach James Green and 2013 under head coach Marty Holder. The team has advanced to at least the quarterfinals in each season since 2018 and lost in the semifinals in 2020 under coach Utaff Gordon.

The story on the girls side can be described as a storied and newly minted rivalry with an old-fashioned feel, when defending-champion Hebron takes on Wesleyan, as it tries to regain the glory it had under former head coach Azar, who now coaches at Hebron.

On one side is Wesleyan, the storied program which has 13 titles – all won by Azar. The Wolves won the first championship in 2002 and missed out in 2003. Then the program won three consecutive championships in Class 2A from 2004-2006 and missed out in 2007. From 2008 to 2013, Wesleyan won six straight, won again in 2015 and then captured back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, the program’s last state championship victory.

Since losing to Hebron in the semifinals at Fort Valley State last season, the Wolves have dropped just three games --- and none to 3A competition -- while winning 28. Wesleyan lost to 7A No. 1 Grayson 69-49, Florida’s Montverde Academy 56-41 and 7A No. 3 Buford 70-65 on Jan. 27. Once in the tournament, Wesleyan defeated Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 72-45 in the first round and Oconee County 46-26 in the second round. In the quarterfinals, the Wolves upended Cross Creek 66-44 and then outlasted Carver-Columbus 71-57 in the semifinals.

Against Carver, junior Johanna Potter led Wesleyan with 18 points, Bryanna Preston scored 16 points and Chazadi ‘Chit Chat’ Wright scored 13 points. Wesleyan head coach Ellen Paroli is in her second season leading the Wolves.

On the other side, the state championship berth has been a goal for the top-ranked Lions all season. After winning the title last season, Hebron’s second, the Lions have lost just two games, in back-to-back contests against New York’s Long Island Lutheran and Florida’s Montverde Academy in December.

Since that loss, the Lions have won 20 straight, including a 97-42 victory over Monroe in the semifinals to earn the program’s fourth-consecutive championship berth. In 2020, Azar coached the Lions to the semifinals and then defeated St. Francis 51-46 in the 2021 title game. In 2022, Mount Paran defeated the Lions 54-49 in the title game and last season, Hebron upended Lumpkin County 68-36 in the championship.

In the playoffs this season, the Lions beat Cedar Grove 82-12 in the first round and Pickens 82-63 in the second round. Against Morgan County in the quarterfinals, Hebron was not challenged in the 75-28 victory. In the semifinal victory against Monroe, five players scored in double-figures, led by junior Mia James (24 points), Danielle Osho (17 points), Camryn Register (12 points), Ja’Kerra Butler (12 points) and Aubrey Beckham (12 points). Nickyia Daniel added eight points.

Azar is a 15-time state champion coach and has lost in the finals six times. She was inducted into the Gwinnett County Hall of Fame in 2023.