GHSA Season Preview: Class 5A
Georgia High School Championship Contender Preview – Class 5A
Schools:
- Buford – Coming off a state title, its easy to predict that the Wolves from Buford will receive everyone’s best shot coming into the 2017-18 season. They are coming off a season in which they went unblemished in the state of Georgia, only losing two contests over Ch
Marcus Watson
ristmas break at the Arby’s Classic in Bristol, Tennessee. The Wolves have a ton of offensive contributors returning and look to repeat as champions coming out of region 8. Key returnees for Buford include senior point guard and Lipscomb commit Alex Jones, junior forward Marcus Watson and senior Georgia Southern commit David Viti Jr. Both Watson and Viti Jr. are coming off productive summers which saw their lists of offers increase and they will look to carry that momentum into the winter campaign beginning next month. The Wolves will compete at the Craig Sager Memorial tournament in Atlanta in November as well as the Kingdom of the Sun tournament in Ocala, Florida over Christmas break.
- Cedar Shoals – The Jaguars out of Athens, Georgia will attempt to reload after losing one of the most successful classes in school history a year ago. Cedar Shoals has inched closer and closer to being state champions, having final four runs in 2015 and 2016 and losing in the state final in 2017. Winning their region could be the recipe to winning state as four of their five losses on the season last year were to region foe Buford, including that 75-61 loss in the final game. Cedar Shoals will lose the likes off all-state guard Phlandrous Fleming, a Charleston Southern signee, as well as guard Quinjarvis “Snipe” Hall but the Jags will bring in two talented 2020 prospects in the form of guard Tyler Johnson and forward Quincy Canty. Head coach L’Dreco Thomas has a championship mindset built within this program and the 2017-18 season will be another test to see if the Jaguars can finish the mission that was started 3 seasons ago.
- Miller Grove – By now, many people know about the history behind the “Purple Storm” that is Miller Grove. The Wolverines were a national powerhouse under former head coach Sharman White, winning 7 state championships in 8 seasons from 2009-2016. Since White’s departure the Wolverines have handed the program to current head coach Rasul Chester, leading the team to a region championship and final four run in his first season. The Grove is back again for the 2017-18 year and will look to begin a new championship streak behind 2019 guard and Georgia State commit Maurice Harvey. Harvey, along with the talented front court of Kevin Paige and Jermon Clark will keep the Wolverines in the thick of the state championship hunt. They will appear in a number of tournaments this season including the Georgia Elite Tip-Off Classic as well as the Naismith Tip-Off Showcase in Phillips Arena.
- Warner Robins – If you were wondering the team that knocked Miller Grove off during their stretch of state championship runs, look no further than the Warner Robins Demons. The Demons knocked off the Wolverines in the 2015 quarterfinal round, a 63-57 overtime victory which is
Nelson Phillips
arguably the program’s biggest upset in school history. Since then the Demons are coming off back to back final four appearances and look to further that journey heading into the 2017-18 season. They return all three captains which include guard Jaylen Dawson and forwards Jaydon Norman and Jam’l Grimes from last year’s region 1 championship team. Those captains don’t include the two hottest prospects on their roster; those spots belong to Georgia State commit Nelson Phillips and Jacolbey Owens, who is receiving interest from Morehouse and Georgia Southwestern in his own right. The Demons will be deep, experienced, and talented as they look to get to the top of the mountain in class 5A.
- Columbia – The Eagles from Decatur have always been an after thought behind region rival Miller Grove but they will look to make a jump in the region and state totem pole after this year’s campaign. The Eagles saw their season end in the sweet 16 to Fayette County but a region runner-up finish leaves reason for optimism heading into this year. The Eagles lose versatile 6’6” guard TJ Boykin to Maynard Jackson via transfer but will look to get it done by a committee of talented guards. Senior Lorenzo McGhee will lead the way while underclassmen such as sophomores Devin Longstreet as well as incoming freshman RJ Noord following suit. McGee and Longstreet were just recently offered by Georgia State while Noord has already received offers from Auburn and Wofford in his own right. Columbia will be gifted and it will be interesting to see if that young talent can turn into regular season and playoff victories on the varsity level.