Six Georgia high schools have the rest of the state seeing double entering the semifinals of the state basketball playoffs, which begin Wednesday at Gwinnett Arena and in Macon.
A half-dozen programs still are in contention for basketball's ultimate prize -- their boys and girls teams winning state titles in the same season. They are Buford, Columbia, Fayette County, Greater Atlanta Christian, Laney and Norcross.
Last year, Columbia and Wesleyan achieved the rare feat of dual state championships. They made the accomplishment look easier than it actually is. A sweep has occurred only 11 times since 1945, although four have done it in the past five years. Wesleyan has done it twice.
"You don't see it happen very often because the basketball is so good in this state," Columbia boys coach Phil McCrary said.
"It was special for Columbia High School. It said a lot about our overall basketball program -- the quality of student-athletes and the coaching that they are getting. It brought about a great sense of pride to our school and around the community."
Class AAA Columbia has the opportunity to repeat the feat. The DeKalb County school plays in back-to-back semifinal games Friday evening at the Macon Centreplex.
"I don't know if we can both do it again," Columbia girls coach Chantay Frost said. "I don't really look that far ahead. I'm taking it one game at a time and not really getting excited about that possibility. We've got a tough opponent [Washington County] in the semifinals."
The Norcross girls are the defending champions in the state's largest classification (AAAAA) and favored to win it all again. Meanwhile, the Norcross boys have returned to the semifinals after suffering heartbreaking losses in the quarterfinals the previous two seasons.
"It is really great to have both teams in the final four," Norcross boys coach Jesse McMillan said. "Both team's coaching staffs and players are very close and we feed off one another's support. The atmosphere around school has been fantastic.
"Players from both teams know the history of our program, and they want to represent the legacies of past teams and players."
Fayette County is the only Class AAAA school with the chance to sweep. Fayette was in the same position entering the 2008 semifinals, although neither the boys or girls went on to win state titles.
Class AA has three different schools targeting dual championships: Buford, Greater Atlanta Christian and Laney, with Buford the most surprising. The Buford boys had last weekend's most stunning victory, knocking off South Atlanta in the quarterfinals after losing to them twice earlier this season.
It was a signature win for Buford coach Allen Whitehart, who is in his first season after taking over a team that went 9-16 last season.
"Our girls have one of the top programs in the state ... so yes, the boys team is honored to be in the final four with them," Whitehart said. "I hope we are both the last teams standing in the end."
The Buford girls are on the brink of a dynasty as the two-time defending state champions. "We had high expectations coming in for this time this year, but each team and each year is different, so we're thrilled to be back playing in the final four," coach Gene Durden said. "We just hope we are peaking at the right time and can keep everyone healthy."
For GAC, this is the second consecutive year that both teams qualified for the semifinals. The boys won last year's state championship and are top contenders again. The girls are somewhat of a surprise to make it this far in the playoffs with four freshman starters.
"We put together a very difficult schedule early in the season, so we would be prepared for difficult games [in the playoffs]," GAC girls coach Cal Boyd said.
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Double the fun
Only 10 GHSA programs have swept state championships in boys and girls basketball:
2010: Columbia, Wesleyan
2008: Wesleyan
2006: Southwest Atlanta Christian
1987: Clinch County
1972: Greater Atlanta Christian
1963: Hart County
1959: Roopville
1958: Jeff Davis, Murphy
1952: Stilson
