How The “Week” Was Won: Short Week Takeaways After New Year's Day

After a short New Year's break from what is normally a jam-packed basketball slate, GHSA action re-took the floors en masse this past Friday and kicked it back into gear. Prep Hoops Georgia unfortunately had a scheduling snafu keeping me from seeing North Atlanta get a nice road win at Pope Saturday, but we did see three games between last week's edition and this, here are some takeaways from the week that was. Are South Cobb and Tri-Cities headed for an epic showdown? Getting my second look at South Cobb this past week, I came away even more impressed than I was at the Tournament of Champions, where they took home two high quality wins, including a second day 'W' over a host Wheeler squad brimming with plenty of talent of their own. Not taking away anything from the rest of the teams in 6A (Tucker in particular has impressive qualities), but a potential South Cobb vs. defending champs Tri-Cities matchup in the 6A playoffs is about as much fun as my imagination can muster in terms of high school basketball in Georgia right now. Sure, 7A has a lot of star power and big-name programs and draws the full gyms consistently, but as good as Grayson, Shiloh, McEachern and Norcross are, and after seeing more than 60 programs since Thanksgiving, the two best teams I've seen this season are South Cobb and Tri-Cities. South Cobb and Tri-Cities share team identities that make them elite - a multitude of scoring options, sublime guard play from as many as 4 or even more players, frontline size that can do it at both ends, and suffocating and disciplined defense that wears opponents down. It could be rising sophomores Zocko Littleton Jr or Robert Dix doing you in on a given night from the arc or the paint, or like it was in the Eagles handling of Allatoona on Saturday the terrific all-around play of senior leader Emon Washington, whose end to end brilliance and scoring talent from any spot was on display, or teams will leave too many open looks for underrated point man Travis Burrus or shooting guards Jameel Rideout and Shedrick Williams. Any of those choices combined with their suffocating pressure defense can surely lead to a loss. Virtually the same assessment can be made of Tri-Cities, who do it with a very similar formula and lineup card. Be it the certifiable brilliance of point guard Peyton Daniels, the inside anchor play of Julius Lymon, the wing versatility of Demetrius Rives and Mario McIntosh, or the shooting and defensive prowess of guards Davion Cottle, Simeon Cottle and Jackson Watson, the Bulldogs will be putting up a large barrier to anyone who wishes to wrestle that 6A crown away from them. Lots of love for Denmark Since we're talking playoff contenders just as Region play really starts to heat up, I have to confess how impressed I am with Denmark's growth over the past 5 weeks since I saw them at Westlake's Thanksgiving tournament. They handled an overmatched Starr's Mill squad that day, but what I saw last night at Marist was a team that has found an identity and has the star power to make a run. First off, they're extremely well-coached by head man Tyler Whitlock, they run a system that fits their personnel beautifully and he utilizes an excellent bench with precision. They are among the best, if not the best, pressing teams I've seen this year, and I've seen a ton. From a former coaches perspective, what's exciting about Denmark is they check all of the boxes for a team that can beat you in many ways - a polished and dynamic point guard in Sutton Smith (pictured above), a developing, uber-exciting wing talent in star sophomore Robert Cowherd, an athletic rim-protector and inside scoring threat in Adonnis Tolbert, and a feast of choices for nightly star role players who can get the job done in a variety of ways in forwards Joseph Scott, Ze'Vian Capers, Michael Dougherty and Maksim Vinogradov and backup point guard Bryce Parker. Certainly last year's finalist Americus-Sumter, top 3 team in the state Woodward Academy, Sandy Creek and Eastside out of Covington will have a lot to say in 4A, but the steadiness of Smith, the exciting ability of Cowherd and the inside growth of Tolbert means the Danes will be in the mix. Walnut Grove and Allatoona I was pleased I got out to see both Walnut Grove and Allatoona this past week, as both are solid squads who get contributions from multiple players. The Grove is on a historic run for their program and occupies a sort of "Little Engine That Could" role in the area, and that's not taking a shot at them. They have ability, and put together a nice second half to pull away from Buford behind their veteran leadership of Ryan Landers, Carter Selman, Quante Rogers, Darius Jones and Camren Lee, and did it with both discipline and flair when needed. It'll be fascinating to see when the playoff bracket is unveiled how the Warriors will use their Swiss-Army knife lineup should they tangle with bigger teams in 5A like Lithonia, Dutchtown, Eagle's Landing and Kell. Allatoona has a little better size than Walnut Grove overall, but appears to be a perimeter-oriented bunch too, looking to attack from outside the arc in with the likes of Kevin Taylor, Isaiah Logan, Cameron Baldwin, Marshall Willingham and Revay Shaw. The depth of 6A has them outside the top 10 state rankings in that classification at the moment, but they will be a postseason factor.