3A semifinal preview

From Score Atlanta reporter Josh Bagriansky:

It’s been a wild ride in AAA.

The top two ranked teams were eliminated in the first two rounds of the boys tournament, leaving Scott Bracco’s Dunwoody team looking primed for a third state championship in four years. They are not just the favorites in AAA, but also one of the best teams in all classifications. Big time recruits Chris Singleton (FSU) and Delwan Graham (LSU) can both jump out of the gym. And the backcourt of Pierre Jordan (also a future-Seminole) and Issiah Grayson is not too shabby either. To be honest, it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping DHS, especially a young team like Carver-Columbus, who face off with the ‘Cats in the semis.

Seeing Hart County get this far was a shock for a lot of us, but they proved they belong in two surprising victories against Blessed Trinity and East Hall. They’re an athletically-gifted team that features a great post scorer in Quint Clinkscales. They beat two very tough opponents in the first two rounds in Blessed Trinity and East Hall, so I wouldn’t count on them being intimidated.

HC will have their hands full against Glenn Hills. Keep an eye on Jerel Stephenson and Chris Reynolds. They are two great talents that have flown under the radar all season. If anyone can beat Dunwoody, I think it’s these guys.

The girls side also features a clear favorite. Kendrick has simply dominated their competition all year long. They haven’t lost this season, and they haven’t really come close to defeat. Janae McKinney is a great scorer and Mukia Merrick is one of the top distributors in AAA. The only question for the Lady Cherokees is whether they can keep their composure if someone keeps it close.

Monroe Area has the tough task of facing KHS, but they have their own dynamic duo in Maya Brown and Brittany Kirkland.

The Glenn Hills-Carrolton game will be fun. I can’t wait to see Ciara Lyons, who is one of the best scorers in the state, regardless of gender or classification. Carrolton has a real talent of its own in Velicia Bell. Watching those two match up will be a lot of fun.

Bagriansky can be reached at JoshB914@gmail.com.

Class 3A quarterfinals preview

From Score Atlanta reporter Josh Bagriansky:

If there's anything we know about the state tournament, it's that we don't really know anything. I have to admit, I was one of those Region 5-AAA snobs who was sure that at least two of those teams were destined for the Final Four. But after Hart County beat Blessed Trinity, only Dunwoody remains from the region.

The fall of 5-AAA has been the story for me. We always hear about the teams in the metro area, but there is great basketball being played all throughout the state. Big-time props go out to Flowery Branch, East Hall and Hart County; all three defeated 5-AAA teams at some point in the tournament and are headed to the Elite 8 this weekend.

One non-Atlanta team to watch is Glenn Hills, which hasn't lost a game since just before Christmas. The team has a great duo in Chris Reynolds and Jerel Stephenson, who were key in the win over defending champion Jordan last round.

I've still got to say that Dunwoody is my favorite to win it all. They're loaded with talent and impossible for most of these 3A teams to match up with. Delwan Graham and Chris Singleton are a ridiculous combination of size and athleticism, and the backcourt of Pierre Jordan and Issiah Grayson can get them the ball in scoring position all day long. But like I said, none of us know as much as we think, and that's what makes the tournament so great.

As for the girls, it looks like Kendrick just might get it done this year. They've come so close over the past several seasons; and if they don't get it done now, they might not get back for a while with all the talent that will graduate (four of five starters are seniors). The two most talented teams in the state are likely them and Hephzibah, which face off in the next round. Jasmine Judge is a do-it-all talent that will give them a shot against the Lady Cherokees. Look for Carrollton to make some noise as well, as they play Franklin County in the next round.

Bagriansky can be reached at JoshB914@gmail.com.

Boys second round quick hits...

5A boys

Wheeler comes back from 11 down in the fourth quarter to get past McEachern 70-67. Wildcats sophomore point guard Phil Taylor only had 11 in the contest, but hit two big 3-pointers down the stretch to spark the rally. Wheeler meets Berkmar on Saturday.

Norcross downs Centennial 69-54 in a rematch of last year's championship game. Al-Farouq Aminu had 17 points and guard Taariq Muhammad chipped in 15 for the Blue Devils, who move on to play...

...Northview, who just shocked Marietta 71-61. Marietta key players - Deandre Cannon and Chris Tanzy - were injured, the Blue Devils hit just 11-24 free throws, and Northview's Ralph Sampson III blocked seven shots ... that's a recipe for an upset. 

I guess Savannah was a little more comfortable on its second trip to Clayton County this year, as the team took down Mundy's Mill by the score of 82-52. Mundy's Mill won the first meeting by a point. Savannah will host Douglass on Saturday.

4A boys

Lithia Springs beat Dacula 69-63 yesterday to earn the privilege of playing red-hot Miller Grove at Marietta High School on Saturday. Jeremy Flagg had 18 points in the Lions' road victory.

Columbia has recovered nicely from their stumble in the region tournament, and despite earning Region 6's third seed, are now in the Elite 8. The Eagles defeated Pebblebrook 59-57, and Travis Leslie scored his jersey number (23). Phil McCrary's team will face Wake Forest signee Tony Woods and Rome, which just took out Stone Mountain by a point, the team that upset Columbia in the region tournament in the first place.

3A boys

There was a lot of talent on the floor in the Glenn Hills-Jordan matchup in Augusta, and Glenn Hills alone has three D-I signees. Reggie Middleton (Winthrop), Jerel Stephenson (UNC-Wilmington), and Chris Reynolds (Campbell) scored 49 of their team's 52 points in the 52-49 win. This is a senior-laden squad with the talent to win it all.

2A boys

Wesleyan rolls into the quarterfinals over Macon County, but regionmate Greater Atlanta Christian is out after being upset by Coosa, 85-82. 

Defending champs Dublin are still in the thick of things after a win over Swainsboro, but must meet Randolph-Clay in the quarters at Savannah State University.

A boys

If you live in the Rome area (or even if you don't) and are a fan of high school basketball, do yourself a favor and check out some of the best teams in the state at Georgia Highlands College on Saturday. The four best teams in Single-A will be in action on the same day: Whitefield Academy takes on Hancock Central at 5:30, and Southwest Atlanta Christian meets defending champ Wilkinson County at 8:30. Each of these teams won their second round games by double digits; these squads are the cream of the crop in this classification. 

BT falls to Hart County

It was a wild ride for the Blessed Trinity boys in the last few weeks, beating nationally ranked South Atlanta in the region tournament, then losing to Hart County in the second round in what I consider a pretty significant upset; I even regarded BT as a darkhorse title contender. The Titans got past Chestatee in the first round, but fell 73-68 to Hart County yesterday. I had a chance to talk to their coach Brian Marks.

On the BT season: "Real proud of the season we had, winning over 5A powerhouse Marietta, beating Dunwoody on their court, beating South Atlanta in the region semifinals, these are just amazing things for our program, finishing 27-4."

On his second-round opponent: "We knew Hart was very athletic, and that they would rebound the ball very well. They're not a great perimeter shooting team, but they came out and hit five threes early in the game ... They're just a real athletic team, they play good, hard defense, they disrupt you ... their main thing is attacking the boards. They got a lot of second-chance points, and we were one-and-done most trips. It's a tough place to play up there, too."

Hard loss to take for the program, indeed. But we'll see if Marks can't use this season to help build his program into a perennial contender.

On the other hand, Hart County, a team I admittedly knew little about before yesterday, must have turned some heads with this performance.

First Weekend reflections...

Welcome hoops fans!

Alex Ewalt here ... as the prep beat writer for Score Atlanta and the editor of our Cherokee and DeKalb prep papers, I've had the chance to see a lot of great basketball this season.

Just one weekend in the books for the 2008 high school basketball tournament, and there's already so much to talk about. I'll start with two first round games that drew a lot of attention:

Call it what you want, but Dacula's win over Tucker in the first round of the Class 4A boys bracket was no upset. We at Score had the Falcons ranked highly for much of the regular season, and in fact, put them above Tucker for many of those weeks. Dacula's Trent Kammerer (6-foot-8) and Brian Cole (6-foot-9) are talented enough to put them in the "sleeper" category, but first, the Falcons will have to beat a fine Lithia Springs team on Tuesday to get to the quarterfinals.

Ok, you can call it an upset, but East Hall's victory over South Atlanta was not the shocker everyone is making it out to be; remember, East Hall is the defending state champion. This year, the Vikings are at it again, beating the Hornets 63-60 at home in the first round and holding the most talented player in the southeastern United States, Derrick Favors, to just 11 points. Anyone who saw South Atlanta's loss to Blessed Trinity in the 5-AAA region tournament can see what everyone's strategy against the highly touted big man will be going forward into next year. I was at that game, and saw that double and triple teams - as well as constantly and aggressively denying him the basketball - can cause him to lose focus, But I can't be too hard on the junior, who will undoubtedly mature between now and next season.

Changing gears ... is it Stephenson's year to win the 5A girls title? Former Collins Hill phenom Maya Moore is now tearing it up in Storrs, Conn., for the Lady Huskies, and Dennis Watkins's team has the senior leadership, in the form of Jylisa Williams and Taylor Turnbow, to win it all. There's a similar situation in Class 4A girls hoops, as Southwest DeKalb finds itself in pole position after playing third fiddle to St. Pius X and Marist the last two years. Current Tenessee Lady Vol Kelley Cain, so instrumental in Pius' consecutive championships, is gone, and SWD has the upperclasman experience (Charenee Stephens and Eboni Mitchell) to take home the title.

In Single-A boys hoops, there are some interesting matchups that could materialize in the next week. Look for powerhouses Whitefield Academy and Hancock Central to meet on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, and for Southwest Atlanta Christian and Wilkinson County to follow at 8:30 p.m. at the same site. That, my friends, is good basketball no matter what classification you follow.

I'm planning on catching the Miller Grove-Cherokee second-round boys matchup on Tuesday in Lithonia, so check back here for a full report. Two top juniors - Cherokee's Shawn Kemp, Jr. and Miller Grove's Mfon Udofia - will battle it out in this one.

Any comments, questions or suggestions? Shoot me an email at aewalt@scoreatl.com.