Top high school basketball transfers
Like it or not, the trend of transfers -- high-profile players going from one school to another in the off-season -- is not slowing in Georgia high school basketball.
There never has been a boys champion in Class AAAAA, which started in 2001, that didn’t have at least one transfer student-athlete in its starting lineup. Now, more girls players are on the move. Defending Class AAAAA champion Norcross has four move-in players who already are making a big difference.
Here are several high-profile transfers -- boys and girls -- around metro Atlanta who are changing the fortunes of their schools this season:
-- Lexie Brown, North Gwinnett girls: Brown averaged 14 points for Dr. Phillips of Orlando, the Class AAAAAA semifinal team last year in Florida. A 5-foot-9 sophomore, she is the daughter of former NBA player Dee Brown.
-- Shannon Cranshaw, Greater Atlanta Christian girls: Cranshaw, a sophomore, already has committed to Georgia. She came to GAC from Father Lopez High in Ormond Beach, Fla., where she was the county player of the year as a freshman, scoring 20 points per game.
-- Kaela Davis, Buford girls: The most prominent girls transfer, Davis averaged 14 points as a freshman on Norcross' state championship team last season. She left for Buford to be with AAU teammate Andraya Carter. Both are committed to Tennessee.
-- Qiydar Davis, South Gwinnett boys: The Comets are 10-3 and ranked No. 4 in AAAAA. One big reason is this 6-5 junior wing, a high scorer who came from Blessed Trinity.
-- Karl Cochran, Walton boys: Wheeler High in Marietta is a magnet for basketball transfers, but Cochran went the other way -- from Wheeler to neighboring Walton. He's a playmaker who has committed to Wofford.
-- Dearica Hamby, Norcross girls: A Wake Forest signee, Hamby is among four key transfers to Norcross. The others are 6-1 Jasmine Kemp and 6-2 Patrice Butler from Stephenson and 5-8 Tori Carter from Southwest Atlanta Christian. Also joining the team was Butler's freshman sister, 6-3 Sierra Butler.
-- Brittany Hawkins, Redan girls: The 5-6 point guard averaged 15 per game last season for Towers. Now she's at Redan, the 2009 AAAAA champion and 2010 runner-up.
-- Cole Hobbs, Greater Atlanta Christian boys: Hobbs and Milton's Evan Nolte probably were the best sophomores in north Fulton last season when Hobbs was at Johns Creek. The 6-5 Hobbs has joined AA champion GAC.
-- Shaquille Johnson, Milton boys: The defending AAAAA champs returned all five starters, so Johnson -- a 6-5 junior known for his leaping and dunking skills -- is a luxurious sixth man. He has several mid-major offers, plus one from Auburn. He came from Salem in Rockdale County.
-- Al Key, Columbia boys: Key, a 6-4 wing player, had been a three-year starter at Lakeside. He leads Class AAA's No. 1 team with averages of 11.4 points, 6.0 assists and 8.6 rebounds.
-- Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, Norcross boys: Nelson-Ododa, who has signed with Richmond, is perhaps the best of three key move-ins for Norcross, which won Class AAAAA in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Nelson-Ododa came from Winder-Barrow. Norcross also picked up 6-7 forward Ron Booker from Hoover in Alabama and a 6-2 guard, Derrick Herbert, the leading scorer last season from Arlington Christian of the Georgia Independent School Association.
-- Jordan Price, Southwest DeKalb boys: Price played his freshman season at Columbia, then went to McCallie of Chattanooga for a year, where he was Tennessee's Mr. Basketball in Division II-AA. He's back in DeKalb County at Southwest DeKalb, where he is averaging 21 points and six rebounds.
-- Nigel Snipes, Wheeler boys: Snipes is a 6-5 small forward and outstanding perimeter shooter who has committed to Western Kentucky. He's one of three new players for No. 2 Wheeler of Class AAAAA that include his former Paideia teammate Kharon Butcher and former McIntosh star Chris Longoria.
