GHSA State Playoffs: Groups of Death
In this article:
Bottom Right Quadrant – Class 5A R8 #3 Eastside (12-14) at R5 #2 Chapel Hill (20-8)R7 #4 Dalton (13-14) at R6 #1 Kell (23-3)R3 #3 Harris County (5-21) at R2 #2 Dutchtown (17-9)R4 #4 ML King (18-10) at R1 #1…
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Continue ReadingBottom Right Quadrant – Class 5A
R8 #3 Eastside (12-14) at R5 #2 Chapel Hill (20-8)
R7 #4 Dalton (13-14) at R6 #1 Kell (23-3)
R3 #3 Harris County (5-21) at R2 #2 Dutchtown (17-9)
R4 #4 ML King (18-10) at R1 #1 Statesboro (20-4)
No. 1 Kell, No. 4 Dutchtown and No. 5 Chapel Hill headline the field. Dutchtown and Chapel Hill have two of the best rim protectors in the classification between Matthew Hinton Matthew Hinton 6'9" | C Dutchtown | 2024 State GA and Ramon Soyoye Ramon Soyoye 6'10" | C Chapel Hill | 2024 State GA . Both teams have superior size and versatility. Joah Chappelle Joah Chappelle 6'8" | SF Dutchtown | 2024 State GA is the Region 2 Player of the Year, a 6-foot-8 swingman while 6-foot-6 Ky’Den Mays Ky’Den Mays 6'6" | SF Chapel Hill | 2024 State GA holds multiple offers himself and is a mismatch for Chapel Hill. Kell is the defending state champ, an explosive offense led by CJ Brown CJ Brown 6'2" | PG Kell | 2024 State #150 Nation GA and Cannon Richards Cannon Richards 6'6" | PF Kell | 2024 State GA . The Longhorns score exceptionally well from the perimeter with Jaylen Colon Jaylen Colon 6'0" | PG Kell | 2024 State GA , Chris McLavish and Connor Staphylaris Connor Staphylaris 6'0" | SG Kell | 2025 State GA . Statesboro has a tough opening matchup with ML King, guided by Region 4 Coach of the Year Nicholas Harris. The quartet of Kennedy Ruzvidzo Kennedy Ruzvidzo 6'1" | CG ML King | 2024 State GA , Devin Bowers, Shon’Dell Heath and Quamon Ellison can really score the ball.
Bottom Left Quadrant – Class 7A
R1 #3 Lowndes (10-13) at R4 #2 Newton (19-6)
R2 #4 Westlake (12-12) at R3 #1 McEachern (22-5)
R6 #3 West Forsyth (18-9) at R7 #2 Norcross (15-13)
R5 #4 Osborne (9-18) at R8 #1 Buford (24-3)
Blue blood programs are littered across the quad. No. 2 McEachern, No. 4 Newton and No. 5 Buford are all stuck together. Norcross is an extremely scary unranked two-seed that is playing their best basketball. Injuries have derailed Osborne, but for a four-seed they have loads of talent with Omari Chaudhry Omari Chaudhry 6'2" | PG Osborne | 2027 State GA and Hakeem Weems Hakeem Weems 6'8" | PF Osborne | 2025 State GA . Even three-seed West Forsyth has a star in Marshall-signee Will Moore Will Moore 6'6" | SG West Forsyth | 2024 State GA . Westlake has 6-foot-8 Juan Gaston Juan Gaston 6'8" | C Westlake | 2025 State GA in the paint. The question will be, can anyone stop Ace Bailey Ace Bailey 6'9" | SF McEachern | 2024 State #2 Nation GA ? Newton and Buford both have immense depth with loads of athletes. Norcross plays tough defense headed by Toby Ojukwu Toby Ojukwu 6'2" | PG Norcross | 2024 State GA .
Bottom Right Quadrant – Class 3A
R8 #3 Monroe Area (21-7) at R5 #2 Douglass (15-10)
R7 #4 Dawson County (15-13) at R6 #1 Adairsville (18-9)
R3 #3 Long County (21-6) at R2 #2 Upson-Lee (17-10)
R4 #4 Salem (16-12) at R1 #1 Dougherty (20-7)
No. 2 Douglass and No. 4 Dougherty are the only currently ranked teams in the group, but Monroe Area, Adairsville, Long County and Salem have all spent time in the Top 10. Adairsville has played all season without star player Tre Winters Tre Winters 6'5" | SG Adairsville | 2025 State GA , but others have stepped up, namely Tayshaun Jackson, Xavious Nalls and Zach Postell. Monroe Area has the best point guard in the group and one of the best playmakers in all of Georgia in Vonte Newell Vonte Newell 6'0" | PG Monroe Area | 2024 State GA . Tripp Griffith will have to play huge inside against a big, athletic Douglass team. Noah Treadwell Noah Treadwell 6'4" | SG Douglass | 2024 State GA is a D-I prospect in the backcourt. Javonte Floyd Javonte Floyd 6'9" | C Douglass | 2026 State GA and RJ Winegarner RJ Winegarner 6'6" | SF Douglass | 2024 State GA are issues with their size and versatility. Dawson County shoots the ball extremely well with Trey Harvey Trey Harvey 6'3" | SF Dawson County | 2024 State GA leading the way. Speaking of shooting, Long County can sometimes live and die by the three-ball. Roderick Randall Roderick Randall 6'0" | SG Long County | 2024 State GA , Keshawn Smith and Kaleel Anderson are the big three in the backcourt. Upson-Lee comes out of the weakest region in the state, but have crucial home court advantage at the Castle and a great head coach in Darrell Lockhart. Carmelo Williams is the Region 2 Player of the Year. Salem has a pair of wins over Cross Creek and are battle-tested coming out of a competitive Region 4. Karmarlos Jackson has turned the program around with Jakorri Arnold Jakorri Arnold 6'2" | CG Salem | 2024 GA in the forefront. Dougherty is a veteran group that is unsurprisingly peaking at the right time again under Coach Bakari Bryant. Jai’on Burns Jai’on Burns 5'10" | CG Dougherty | 2024 State GA is a dangerous scorer. Jawuan Jinks Jawuan Jinks 6'0" | CG Dougherty | 2025 State GA and Kaleke Singletary-Jinks Kaleke Singletary-Jinks 6'1" | CG Dougherty | 2025 State GA round out the backcourt with Markelle Jones Markelle Jones 6'5" | PF Dougherty | 2024 State GA anchoring the paint.