AHSAA 4A Final Four Preview

<p>With tournament play coming to a close, only four teams remain in the hunt for the Class 4A State Championship title. Those teams are West Limestone, Booker T. Washington, Talladega, and Hillcrest. These four teams will face off in two games that will be played in Birmingham on February 26th starting at 4:30 pm. The winners will move on and face each other in the State Finals game on March 1st at 5:45 pm. </p> <hr /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Class 4A</span></p> <hr /> <p><strong>West Limestone (20-13) vs. Booker T. Washington (20-9)</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How They Got There:</span></p> <p>West Limestone: Deshler (62-60), Curry (51-26), Brooks (58-54)</p> <p>Booker T. Washington: Montevallo (65-31), Dale County (67-56), Handley (68-59)</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to Watch:</span></p> <p>West Limestone: <strong>Christian Clemens</strong> and <strong>River Helms</strong> are too essential players for West Limestone. Clemens put up 16 points in the Regional Semi-Final win over Curry, 14 of which came in the second half. Helms had an impressive double-double in the win over Brooks, with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  </p> <p>Booker T. Washington: Two outstanding players for BTW are <strong>Joseph Graham</strong> and <strong>Dakari Parker</strong>. Graham had a very impressive stat line in the Regional Finals game, with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Parker put up a 20 point game in the 67-56 Regional Semi-Final win over Dale County.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Prediction:</span></p> <p>This is a tough one that could really go either way. However, I am going to say that Booker T. Washington will take the win in a close one, probably only by a few points. I think Joseph Graham will be key in this one and will have a big game to give the Golden Eagles the win.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Talladega (24-8) vs. Hillcrest (26-2)</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How They Got There:</span></p> <p>Talladega: Jacksonville (63-60), DAR (85-59), Anniston (55-53)</p> <p>Hillcrest: Williamson (62-58), Greensboro (55-32), Sumter Central (73-53)</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to Watch:</span></p> <p>Talladega: Two studs for Talladega are <strong>Kobe Simmons</strong> and <strong>D’Corian Wilson</strong>. Simmons put up 21 points and 8 rebounds in the Regional Finals win over Anniston and had 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals in the Regional Semi-Finals game against DAR. In the same game against DAR, Wilson an impressive 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.</p> <p>Hillcrest: <strong>Jarrett Taylor</strong> and <strong>Adarius Oliver</strong> are two players that have really been performing well during tournament play for Hillcrest. Taylor, put up 23 points and 5 rebounds in the Regional Finals win over Sumter and shot 5-10 from behind the three-point line. He also had 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals in the Regional Semi-Finals win over Greensboro. Oliver had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in the win over Sumter.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Prediction:</span></p> <p>These are two really good teams and it’s hard to pick just one to ad! However, I think Hillcrest is going to get the win over Talladega Tuesday night. I think Jarrett Taylor is going to have a good performance and come up big for Hillcrest. I think it’ll be a close one, but that Hillcrest will pull away in the final quarter.</p>