Grayson became the 23rd school in GHSA history to sweep boys and girls basketball state championships last week in Macon, but the Rams’ teams are likely the best pair the state has ever seen.
Both Grayson teams are firmly ranked in MaxPreps’ top-10 national polls. The girls are No. 4. The boys are No. 6. No other school in the country has two top-10 teams.
As for state history, another Gwinnett County school, Norcross, is the master of sweeps, with boys and girls titles in 2022, 2013 and 2011, but none of those Blue Devils pairs came close to having two top-10 national teams in the same season.
Both Grayson teams were deep with talent, each fielding starting fives with future college players.
The girls’ starters were Danielle Carnegie (Georgia Tech), Eric Rodgers (Florida Atlantic), Tatum Brown (a junior with more than 1,000 career points), Taj Hunter (Western Carolina) and Malaya Jones (Nicholls State). Carnegie is a leading candidate for girls player of the year statewide.
The boys’ starters are Gicarri Harris (Purdue), Amir Taylor (10 major Division I offers), Jacob Wilkins (Georgia), C.J. Hyland (Western Carolina) and Anthony Alston (Appalachian State).
Grayson’s girls, at 32-0, are the first unbeaten girls team in Georgia’s highest class since Westlake in 2019. They will be playing in the Chipotle High School Basketball Nationals (formerly called GEICO Nationals), scheduled for April 4-6 outside of Indianapolis.
Only one Georgia team came within 15 points of beating Grayson, and that was Mount Paran Christian in a Nov. 18 overtime game. Grayson led the 7A championship game against North Paulding 17-2 and went on to win 65-44.
Carnegie led the way with 21 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Rodgers had 18 points and six rebounds. Brown scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“It actually hasn’t sunk in yet for us to be 32-0 and be perfect,” girls coach Tim Slater said immediately afterward. He came to Grayson in 2022, three seasons after leading Lanier to a state championship.
“We still have the national tournament that we’ve been invited to looming,” Slater went on to say, “so we’re not satisfied yet, but I’m sure it will hit me on the bus ride home.”
Grayson’s boys were 30-2, both losses to nationally ranked out-of-state teams. Grayson beat another top-25 national team, McEachern, 55-45 for the 7A championship.
Wilkins had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Grayson held held McEachern’s best players, Ace Bailey and Jaye Nash, to a combined 22 points.
“It’s incredible for both the boys and the girls to win it together, and to do that in the highest classification is an incredible honor,” Grayson boys coach Geoffrey Pierce said. “It’s something these kids will take with them forever.”
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