Early Season Statements

<p><strong>Bruce Thornton &amp; Milton</strong></p> <p>Milton is one of the youngest teams in 7A, but they don't play like it. When you have talented underclassmen who express lots of confidence and intensity, it helps to negate some of the lack of age/experience. At the Jared Cook Classic, the Eagles went toe-to-toe with Grayson and narrowly lost after some controversial officiating. Just days later, they defeated Kell by double-digits in a highly anticipated matchup between Thornton and fellow 2022 PG Scoot Henderson. That being said, I may need to place Thornton back at #1 in the next rankings update in February. He scored an absurd 42 points against Grayson and then played a nice overall game to lead Milton to the victory over Kell. Thornton and Henderson were swapped at the #1 and #2 spots after Henderson's showing at the USA Minicamp in October, but Thornton's play to start the season warrants him regaining the top spot. With him, Kanaan Carlyle, Evan Hurst, new transfer LT Overton, and others, Milton should make a deep run in 7A.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Ross Shepherd &amp; Pope</strong></p> <p>Pope is currently 7-0, with their best win coming against one of their region's other top teams in Chattahoochee. Senior F Ross Shepherd broke out last season, but it's now his team and he is taking full advantage. Shepherd is a nightly threat for 20 points and 10 rebounds, hurting opponents with his aggression, energy, and versatility. He's an overlooked prospect in the 2020 class that deserves more attention. To go along with him, the Greyhounds also have guys like Will Kolker, Caden Jessop, and Gannon Brown who provide consistent production at their respective positions. Kolker can give you a double-double with assists on any given night and recently had a 31-point game in Pope's victory against Cambridge. Coach Pat Abney with his teams pretty much every year and it looks like 2019-20 will be no different.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Chance Thacker, Elijah Williams, &amp; Providence Christian</strong></p> <p>The turnaround at Providence Christian has been a quick one, as the Storm are undefeated at 9-0. For context, Providence only won 7 games combined over the previous 3 seasons. New head coach Joey Thacker is holding the Storm players to a high standard and its apparent that they are committed and have embraced the new way things are being done. A few personnel changes have helped as well; Coach Thacker's son, Chance, and Elijah Williams are now at Providence and are making a huge impact. Both Williams and Thacker are 6'4"+ perimeter players, something you don't see often in A-Private. They have consistently combined for over 40 points in the Storm's games while also giving value in other areas. Providence also has numerous supporting pieces around those 2 that are coming into their own and accepting their roles. The secret is out now and PCA is approaching the meat of their schedule, so we'll really get to see what these guys are made of shortly.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Etowah</strong></p> <p>Some may have questioned what type of success Etowah would have this year after the graduation of Jaxon Etter and other important seniors. The Eagles have proven early on that they are going to be just fine, boasting a 6-1 record that includes a convincing win over Sequoyah last week. Coach Jason Dasinger always gets the most out of his guys; they accept their roles, buy in, and display lots of heart. Senior Will Garvey leads the charge with his all-around game and energy, but they also get significant contributions from others. Cole Ellis is a lights-out shooter, Colby Flaig is a great glue guy, the Rechsteiner brothers are important pieces, and Mason Etter has shown that he has a promising future. With the way things are looking right now, they may find themselves taking the 1 seed out of their region into the state playoffs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>