“March Madness” arrives in February for high school basketball … predictions?
AJC's Michael Carvell
“March Madness” is one of the most exciting times of the year in sports.
The basketball wackiness tipped off the at high school level this week with the region tournaments. Here is one shocker out of Henry County:
Ola High, which is only in its fourth year of varsity basketball, upset Jonesboro 53-49 to earn its first trip to the state tournament. Playoffs, baby! This is a school that won only six games in its first two seasons. They don’t have a player taller than 6-foot-2 on this year’s roster.
How did Ola do it? They hit some clutch buckets early, including a pair of deeeeeeeep 3-pointers in the first quarter by Thomas Werner during a 13-0 run (”He was at least 10 feet behind the 3-point line … seriously,” said coach Curt Miller). That got Jonesboro out of the zone defense. Meanwhile, Ola switched up its own defensive schemes, playing primarily man-to-man with strong backside help. It forced Jonesboro into making mistakes.
When the final buzzer sounded, “We were like little kids at Christmas time,” Miller said. “After you always hear you will never make it, our guys were tired of hearing that … There were so many people that texted or called me to congratulate us. It was really awesome.”
Which upsets are you predicting this week? Which high school team will shock the world? Please post below.
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77 comments Add your comment
WheelerFan #2
February 20th, 2010
11:18 pm
so is wheeler or centennial vs norcross a 1st rd game now?
Debora Mack
February 20th, 2010
11:59 pm
Mays High School Boys AND Girls win the Region Championship tonight! Go Raiders!!
Milton fan
February 21st, 2010
12:48 am
WOW!!! what a game tonight. If the state championship game is half this good it will be a gem. Both teams played an incredibly high level. team defense on both sides was swarming. Shannon Scott, imo, was the difference for Milton. Apparently, Lipscomb instructed Wheeler #11 to climb inside his shorts after halftime. He did. Scott still managed to run the show and control the halfcourt offense for Milton. He was brilliant in the face of unbelievable defense. Refereeing was atrocious for both sided. oh yeah, and Wheeler coach and fans were raising heck about the last second shot being ruled a 2 pointer that would have sent the game into double OT. I saw the game video. wasn’t even close. half his foot was over the line. Kudos to both teams. it was a treat to watch.
It will be interesting to see if either Wheeler or Centenniel will be able to get up for Monday night’s consolation (3rd seed game). Didn’t see the Centenniel loss tonight but heard White was brilliant in the loss. He is special. As good as Harrow, I believe.
On to State (after the championship Monday). Good luck to all region 6 teams (esp. Milton)….
Eagle 1
February 21st, 2010
4:15 am
Good job Milton fan…that was cool to read about whats going on in 6 AAAAA!!! It s really good over there in that region!!
Dr. Hoop
February 21st, 2010
7:33 am
As expected, Miller Grove won region 6-4A with a dominating performance over an undersized (compared to MG) Chamblee team.
However, all 4 Region 6-4A teams should find the first few rounds of state easier then their own region tourney.
Region 7-4A will be decided on Monday night, and that will provide the match-ups for the first round against region 6 next Friday
3 Straight
February 21st, 2010
7:42 am
NORCROSS 68-57 OVER PEACHTREE RIDGE
JJC
February 21st, 2010
7:46 am
Region 5-AAA boys tournament at Riverwood last night. Riverwood does work and beats Dunwoody in 5 OVERTIMES to clinch a berth in the state playoffs!!!!….YES 5 OVERTIMES!! Congrats to Coach Mezzio and the Riverwood Raiders! One of the best played high school games I’ve seen in a long time. Shame that no media caught this one.
Devil Lover
February 21st, 2010
4:14 pm
The Norcross boys 25-2, ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAA by the Ga Sportswriters, are heading to the state tournament on a 22-game winning streak and as Region 7-AAAAA CHAMPIONS!
pembrook burrows III
February 21st, 2010
7:49 pm
Hiram will beat Marist from region 6 easily.
Mia Colemon
February 21st, 2010
8:40 pm
Congratulations to the Dutchtown High School Lady Bulldogs Region 4-A Champions.
big pee 300
February 21st, 2010
8:57 pm
Region 7aa boys Temple Tigers upset coosa 48-45 to snap coosa 12 year consective region championship and 1st round stae apperance go tigers there 1st appearance since 2001-02 season 6aa beware
region 2 5A reporter
February 21st, 2010
10:18 pm
Redan grils region 2 5A champions. {53 wins in a row} Newton boys region champions{ 24 wins in a row} Girls 2. Stephenson 3. MLK 4. Luella. Boys 2. Stephenson 3. Redan 4. MLK
Milton fan
February 21st, 2010
11:08 pm
lot of good stuff here. thanks JJC. don’t know if I could take 5 OT’s. One was more than enough for me Fri nite against Wheeler. Sounds like Norcross fans are feeling good going into State. 22 straight wins is very impressive. If I hadn’t seen the 4 teams coming out of region 6, I would say they are the faves to win state. But, I have seen those 4 teams and I can’t imagine a better team than any of them. Norcross – if you can do it my hats off to you. I saw Milton handle them early in the season, but I’ve learned not to make too much of that. A lot of teams are much more developed from Dec. to Feb. All I know is whoever wins AAAAA should be very proud, based on the talent I have seen. It would be nice to see Miller Grove sneak into the AAAAA tournament. I think they could hang. I also saw Milton beat them early in the season (I think it was them, at GSU tourney back in Dec??). but again, that was then, this is February.
BBallerMama
February 22nd, 2010
8:53 am
Region 8-AAAA results: Madison County Lady Raiders defeats Loganville Lady Red Devils to earn 2nd straight Region Championship. Clarke Central Girls defeat Salem Lady Seminoles in consolation game. On the boys side, Rockdale County Bulldawgs defeats Winder Barrow Bulldogs to win championship. Madison County Raiders defeats Clarke Central Gladiators in consolation game.
Girls Side:
1. Madison County
2. Loganville
3. Clarke Central
4. Salem
Boys Side:
1. Rockdale
2. Winder Barrow
3. Madison County
4. Clarke Central
There has been some great basketball action in Region 8-AAAA!!!
Way to go, Madison County!!!
Dr. Hoop
February 22nd, 2010
9:38 am
Does anyone know how the Region 5-4A Tourney concluded?
Dr. Hoop
February 22nd, 2010
12:13 pm
Nevermind……ga.prepcountry.com has the updated brackets (with the exception of Reg 7-4A which will be decided tonight and tmrrw night)
That match-up between Fayette v Rockdale looks to be the most interesting 1st rnd game. We’ll find out if those teams have been worthy of their rankings all year
hooper#1
February 22nd, 2010
12:52 pm
If you want to know about high school basketball in Georgia check out CourtCred.com
wheelerfan
February 22nd, 2010
6:03 pm
does anyone have wheeler/centennial updates
WheelerFan #2
February 22nd, 2010
7:01 pm
ajc scores has it 64-52 wheeler, so no trip to norcross 1st round, which is a tough road game no matter how talented a team is
wheelerfan
February 22nd, 2010
9:35 pm
what about the milton game
WheelerFan #2
February 22nd, 2010
11:14 pm
milton won by 16
BBall Fan
February 23rd, 2010
2:12 pm
How do you call yourself a journalist? You have not even posted the scores for the region playoffs. No wonder the AJC is in the shape it’s in…By the way, Milton boys beat Campbell and the Milton girls upset the #8 ranked Campbell girls. Biggest news is that Walton, a team that was ranked in the top 10 all year with arguably the best player in Georgia, didn’t even make it to the state playoffs. Also, #2 ranked Centenial will have to face a region winner in the first round.
Milton fan
February 23rd, 2010
9:27 pm
Hey bball fan. incase you wanted to read about NEXT season’s HS football season – while amaaazing basketball is right under their noses – AJC has that….unbelievable. I hate to beat a dead horse, but I cannot understand it.
state playoffs will be interesting in AAAAA (I’m sure in other classes too because this is Georgia, just don’t have a way to know).
It is a tough draw for Centenniel, but they should have no trouble with any region winner except Norcross or Westlake. Perfect final 4 imo would be Milton, Wheeler, Norcross and Westlake.
R Clark
February 24th, 2010
6:46 am
Why can’t I find out who won the 5-AAA tournament held at Riverwood last night???
Dr. Hoop
February 24th, 2010
10:13 am
I guess my critical comments about the coverage didn’t make it past the censor. We’re up to 10 stories about hs football on the hs pg. Still no stories about hs bb!
Does anybody know how good the Mays boys are? I’ve looked at their record, but didn’t see much there
nysouth
February 24th, 2010
12:28 pm
In Region 5-AAA For the boys, Columbia destroyed Riverwood 68-38 for the championship. Druid Hills beat North Atlanta (no score available)in the consolation game. For the girls, Columbia beat Carver 31-29 for the championship, Grady beat Cedar Grove 52-46 in the consolation. So the seeedings are:
Boys
1-Columbia
2-Riverwood
3-Druid Hills
4-North Atlanta
Girls
1-Columbia
2-Carver
3-Grady
4-Cedar Grove
Dr. Hoop
February 24th, 2010
12:46 pm
There’s a new blog up by Carvell on the State Tournament