TOC Classic Blue Bracket Preview

The 2018 TOC Classic starts tomorrow with showcase games before getting into bracket play on Thursday. Here is a look at the Blue bracket, which will be played in Lipscomb Gymnasium along with the Red bracket.

On the top half of the Blue bracket, we have Cedar Shoals, Greenforest, Heritage (Conyers), and Wilkinson County. Cedar Shoals (5-4), who will play Holy Innocents in a showcase game tomorrow, has rattled off 3 straight wins after taking some early losses against tough competition. The Jaguars are led by 2020s Quincy Canty and Tyler Johnson, while also getting solid contributions from Demetrius Glenn lately. Facing off against Cedar Shoals in the first round is Greenforest (6-3), another team with impressive young players. Lamar Oden and RJ Noord highlight this squad, which has gained experienced through close battles with Langston Hughes, Pebblebrook, and ELCA this year. The Eagles also have Christian Fussell and Nathaniel Brown, forming a solid core of productive pieces. The matchup between Greenforest and Cedar Shoals should be an entertaining one.

Heritage (4-3) also has a showcase game tomorrow against Berkmar. Their most recent game was a 58-54 loss to a talented Shiloh team that is in the TOC Red Bracket. The Patrios have 8 seniors and are led by senior guards Trelan Scott and Josh Guilford, who are both averaging over 15 PPG this season. A good performance this week could be big for them as they head into region play. Their first-round counterpart is Wilkinson County. The Warriors have won 3 straight A-Public state championships but are only 1-6 so far this year, with a loss to Upson Lee most recently. They are led by Jalen Lamar, an unsigned senior wo is capable of going for 25-30 every night. 2020 Christian Lamar is another player for Wilkinson County who could help them get back on track.

Chapel Hill, Chattahoochee, Sprayberry, and Aquinas make up the bottom of the Blue bracket. Chapel Hill will be looking to bounce back this week at Wheeler; they started the season 5-0 before dropping their last two games against Riverdale (57-56) and Lithia Springs (82-72). They should still be a problem in 4A with guys like Javontae Jackson, Mike Bell, KJ Doucet, Micah Bell, and Jermaine Smoak helping to lead them. They take on Chattahoochee in the first round. The Cougars feature one of the hottest sophomore in the state, AJ White. He is an extremely skilled all-around scorer and never allows his opponents to dictate the pace. Seeing White and Jackson go at it should be fun. Chattahoochee also features a rising 2020 prospect in Cam Sheffield, tough 2019 F Grant Van Beveren, and 2020 shooter Franklin Bailey.

Sprayberry brings a 10-0 record into the TOC and have surprised a lot of people so far. However, once you look at the pieces they have, it shouldn’t be too surprising. They have a great collection of guards with DJ Patrick, Justin Day, Matt Jenkins, and Saigon Kitt, as well as Jaylin Galloway and other role players. Their depth will cause problems in 6A all season. The Jackets play Miller Grove in a showcase game tomorrow before taking on Aquinas on Thursday. This Aquinas team has went through some struggles early with the departure of so many seniors, but they have started to pick things up lately. Their 2020 trio of Zy Wright, Johnathan Taylor, and Chris Williams is a good one. Wright recently had a 38-point performance at the BCB