1A semifinal preview

From Score Atlanta reporter Jason Boral:

It seems everywhere you look in the semis for the 1A tournament there are contrasting styles that will make the chase for the championship very interesting.
After almost allowing a historic comeback in the quarters, Hancock Central must respond and take on one of the best players at any classification in Portal’s David Buchannon. Buchannon is excellent at controlling the tempo of the game which puts his team in the right position to be victorious. On the other side, Hancock has the talented big man Kammeon Holsey. It’s always great to see two contrasting styles try and force their style of play on the other; the one who can do it first usually wins.

The other boys matchup, Wilkinson vs. Turner County, is probably the most exciting the semifinal round has seen since … well, last year when these two teams last met. Both teams have deep benches and rely on them heavily to win. Just thinking about all the subs and fast-paced play gets me pumped up, like if I was sucking down a Red Bull or something. I think if Wilkinson’s Justin Stubbs can make his 3-pointers, Turner will have a tough time keeping up.

Two of the best teams in the last few years meet in the semis of the girls bracket. Both SW Atlanta Christian and Terrell County have a state title in the last three state tournaments. The game also touts one of the most talented players in the state in Terrell’s Monshay Thomas. I could probably devote an entire blog to what she’s done in her career and she is definitely worth the price of admission, but I’ll just leave at she’s good – real good. SW Atlanta is no slouch however, they just rely more on collective scoring. Five players scored in double figures in their quarterfinal win, expect much of the same against Terrell.

To close out the bracket, you have a youthful team in Towns County who loves to score. But it will be an interesting matchup with Calvary Day as they have talented post players and can slow any offense down.

Boral can be reached at jboral@scoreatl.com.