Class AAAA boys: Eagle’s Landing 61, Columbia 47
Eagle's Landing boys celebrate their Class AAAA finals win in Macon. (Kent D. Johnson, AJC)
Macon – No more heartbreak for Eagle’s Landing.
After losing to Columbia in the state semifinals each of the last two years, Eagle’s Landing claimed its first state championship with a 61-47 victory over Columbia in the Class AAAA boys final at the Macon Centreplex.
Isaiah Dennis scored 17 points for Eagle’s Landing (28-5), including nine in the final five minutes of the game as the Golden Eagles pulled away down the stretch with a 17-7 run.
Eagle’s Landing seniors Desmond Ringer and Eric Wortham closed their stellar careers in fine fashion. Ringer finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Wortham had 12 points and Chris Davenport nine.
“We finally got over that hill, and it feels great,” said Ringer, who made 8 of 9 shots from the floor.
The Golden Eagles closed their season with 18 straight wins, taking the first boys state title by a Henry County school.
The win for Eagle’s Landing denied Columbia (27-6) its fourth straight state title. The DeKalb school had won state championships in five of the previous seven years.
“It’s not like there was a Columbia hex,” said Eagle’s Landing coach Clay Crump. “They were knocking everybody out. [But] it’s obviously sweet to get it against them.”
Columbia scored the game’s first six points, but Eagle’s Landing took the lead with an 11-0 run, and they held the advantage for the last 27 minutes.
Meanwhile, Eagle’s Landing made Columbia work especially hard on the offensive end, keeping someone in the face of Columbia guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen.
Shamsid-Deen got his points – he finished with 21 and three assists – but Eagle’s Landing kept the rest of the Columbia team under wraps.
Eagle’s Landing opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run and led by as many as 11 three different times in the quarter.
The school from Henry County led by 14, 33-19, after a Desmond Ringer lay-in early in the third period.
Columbia, keyed by 10 points from Shamsid-Deen, outscored Eagle’s Landing 18-11 over the remainder of the period to pull within seven entering the fourth quarter, and Kyle Wallace’s 3-pointer too open the fourth trimmed the Eagle’s Landing lead to 44-40.
“We just took a deep breath,” said Ringer. “We got a couple of baskets we knew we could get and finished in transition.”
Back-to-back buckets by Isaiah Dennis and a pair of free throws by Chris Davenport pushed the Eagle’s Landing lead back to 10 with 3:47 left. Their biggest lead, 57-42, came with 1:34 left after a pair of free throws by Dennis.
Wallace added 10 points for Columbia.
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82 comments Add your comment
IDK
March 9th, 2013
10:31 am
To all the haters on Tahj. No senior in ga.has a resume that can compare to Tahj. 4 year starter; 4 times Region Player of the year; 3 times all State; 4 times All Metro Team; 3 State Champions; 1 State runnerup; holds the assist record in ga.; Tahj Great Job now lets just hope they get it RIGHT and name you MR GA. BASKETBALL
bball fan
March 9th, 2013
11:11 am
I agree that talent is the majority of getting to the state championship level. Coaches are familiar with the phrase, it’s not the X’s and O’s but the Jimmy’s and Joe’s. However, the coaches at EL are a class act. Coach Crump is gifted and he did a great job merging the talent of two move in seniors with his core group from the last 4 years. Managing the egos of players and even more so parents and guardians is a tough and thankless job, but comes with the territory of winning state at a high level. I think EL could have made the same run without the transfers, but the size of #3 Davenport certainly helped on the boards. Hopefully, this AAU, Kentucky, me first, reality that we live in will cycle back to more community based teams one day. Until then, your “city schools” “magnet schools” top private schools, and AAU linked programs will dominate. That doesn’t mean that good, home grown programs and coaches can’t still enjoy the sport. Character is still worth it.
To the haters
March 9th, 2013
4:30 pm
@byrd, he’s actually UNDER RATED! he’s one of the best pg in the state, and u obviously don’t know what the h@l u are talking about, google him and find out! stop being a hater and just be happy for the kids. Tahj and all the other seniors will be able to go to college for FREE and play the game they love, so stop being a effin hater!!! He played a good game but he can’t win it alone and EL was the better TEAM that night..
To the haters
March 9th, 2013
4:46 pm
@athensbball, tahj does not have to have the ELITE title as you put it, lol, he enjoys the game and is passionate about it, that is all, titles are not important to him like it is for some players and parents and obviously you fall in that category smh, and u are obviously ignorant if you can down play a kids choice for a free college education, he chose auburn because that’s where he wanted to effin go!!! what a fool
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
6:15 pm
Just google Will Jackson. 50 things will come up. Oh and @ eagles fan… Try a little sports website called ESPN. He’s number one sophmores in ga and top 5 guard in the country. Tahj ain’t even ranked in the top 200
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
6:22 pm
Enter your comments here
Eagles Fans
March 9th, 2013
6:25 pm
dude ok good for him I’m a grown man I’m not about to hate on a kid, before you said something about him I havent heard of him but good for him I wish him nothing but the best, but you the one who was hating on tahj for no reason I’m done with it think and say what you want I’ll let other people tell you how crazy you sound
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
6:26 pm
Nobody was knocking tahj. He’s a great player. But to say he’s the best in the state is ignorant. Oh and the word “hater” expired among intelligent people in about 1995. Will Jackson is a 6′4 point guard. What is tahj 5′8? Kids go to the best program that offers. Auburn was the best. Carolina, Kansas, Florida, and Kentucky are recruiting Jackson
DST
March 9th, 2013
6:42 pm
qq
haters
March 9th, 2013
7:01 pm
@athensbball, he had several offers, and auburn was his choice for many reasons, the bottom line small minded person is that he is going to get a free education and play ball, if you are stuck on what the scouting reports say abt a player and base his success off that, then that’s sad, don’t teach turtle to base his success off that, good luck to turtle whoever he is
DST
March 9th, 2013
7:02 pm
a
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
7:04 pm
Only one I was knocking was ELMOM#3 saying that she was glad she transferred her kid to eagles landing his senior to add a state champ to his “resume”. That’s the problem with parents and kids today their mommies and daddies and AAU coach have convinced them that basketball is their career instead of just using their talents to get an education. They all think they will pay in the NBA when percentages show that they probably have a better shot at winning the lottery. High school basketball has changed and it’s all for the worse. There is no team game or learning discipline and other skills that transfer to real life. It’s all about the fantasy that one day they will have big rims and big jewelry. Parents are using their kids to make up for their own life mistakes in hopes their kid will beat the one percent odds of making it to the nba and living the good life
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
7:09 pm
Again I never knocked tahj. And Jackson is a very humble kid and it’s not just scouting reports. Trust me. He averaged 26 a game as a sophmore. Scored 36 in Athens Christian win over north Cobb Christian. He played on team USA and is known nationally by any basketball coach or fan that has a clue
Eagles Fans
March 9th, 2013
7:49 pm
well me and alot of people in the city don’t have a clue then because we not checking for a single A team in athens who got put out by a team from the city of decatur LOL
Eagles Fans
March 9th, 2013
7:54 pm
dude you got it I dont even feel like its fair to go back and forth with a fan from a single A team who didnt even win nothing and I’ll say it again since you wanna look up something check my boy stats and its not against no single A teams LMAO
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
8:26 pm
U mean the Greenforest team that we lost to by 5 points? When Greenforest has 4 kids that came from Africa on scholarship and their lineup was 6′9, 6′7, 6′7, 6′5 6′2…. Our talllest kid is 6′4 and he’s our pg. We got two guys under 6 feet starting and we started 5 sophmores. We beat 2 6A schools in Grayson and South Gwinnett and beat North Cobb Christian which beat a 6A final four team North Cobb public by 20. There were 5 class A schools that could beat anyone this year. Greenforest lost to Norcross and south Atlanta by 4 points this year
DST
March 9th, 2013
8:40 pm
@athensball u may know this kid turtle but u dont know tahj. so if u are going to state facts ,then get them right .first off ive never heard of this kid either,but number one as a sophomore is not saying much considering there are not a lot of great sophomores..now for the facts. tahj has three state champ rings,three time player of the year.alltime assist leader in georgia high school history.member of 1000 point club since his junior year.had offers from uconn.. harvard, northwestern,butler,richmond,as well as afew others .and actually was ranked 46th by espn.at guard.
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
8:50 pm
Again for the third time. Never knocked tahj. Jackson scored his 1000 point in our 5th game this year…as a sophmore. And he’s not ranked 46th. He’s ranked #1 in ga and #3 guard in the country by ESPN. Not #3 sophmore in ga. #3 in the nation. And tahj didn’t win those titles alone. He had a great coach and great players around him. U saw what happened this year when his coach was gone and he had no help. Turtle starts for the GA stars AAU team one of the best in the nation.
haters
March 9th, 2013
10:17 pm
again athensbball. good luck to turtle whoever he is, GA Stars are not one of the best in the nation, that’s a joke, but good luck to turtle on his aau team,
DST
March 9th, 2013
10:19 pm
XX
Eagles Fans
March 9th, 2013
11:01 pm
SMH
Athensbball
March 9th, 2013
11:24 pm
Haha “turtle whoever he is” that just shows that u don’t know basketball unless it’s in Atlanta. This kid is a one and a generation talent. Ask around. Im not kidding. I mean he may be a one and done college kid straight to the nba. He’s already had offers to quit high school and go oversees to play pro ball in europe. Many college scouts including north Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky say hes the best guard from ga since Louis Williams from south Gwinnett who has had a decent pro career while skipping college
Eagles Fans
March 10th, 2013
12:03 am
da** he need to be the # 1 high school kid in the world not the #14 in 2015 (espn 2015 list) if the nba wants him now forget 2 more years of high school this kid needs to go now, dude basketball season is over now its been over for this team seeing they didnt play this weekend nomore for me to say, besides somebody call david stern we got a kid in athens, ga who is ready for the nba now he will be a top 5 pg in the nba now LOL SMH fans these days
Athensbball
March 10th, 2013
12:36 am
I hope he stays in school. Ur writing is an example of what happens when people drop out. Just watch. In 2 years he will be a house hold name in two years tahj’s biggest impact will be a carpet he’s on his knees bowing too
Eagles Fans
March 10th, 2013
4:10 am
whatever you say dude its easy to talk sh** behind a computer screen, my writing shows when you go back and forth with a fool you make yourself look like a fool, for your info I have college education, something my boy is about to get at auburn, no need for me to say nothing else to you
theplayers son
March 10th, 2013
7:58 am
Eagles Landing was simply the best team in the state reguardless of classification this year, they did not just win they dominated.
theplayersdad
March 10th, 2013
8:01 am
I agree congrats to the coaches at eagles landing, I know them personally and when you look at Crump’s ability to desect the oposing team you will be amazed at what you see, it is a college level.
Snakedaddy
March 10th, 2013
9:50 am
I agree with ShilohsFinest. Eagles Landing is outstanding and they were the superior team. Columbia need not hang their heads down. Tahj Shamsid-Deen was still the best player in the State this year. Eagles Landing is a team of destiny. They had all the ingredients and they put them together for a winning recipe. Congrats to both teams.
theplayersdad
March 10th, 2013
12:45 pm
Athensbball, just chill man I know the kid and he does not need you to be his cheerleader, he is good all by himself. Please don’t put all your knowledge in those ranking things man I personally know they are a joke. I would be here all day naming the kids that are in the NBA playing at a high level that did not make those list.
DST
March 10th, 2013
5:52 pm
@athensbball. so u sayin your kid scored a 1000 points in his 5th game this season? that would be 200 points agame. 0hhkay. im done.
haters
March 10th, 2013
7:06 pm
ok athensbball, after this statement, I’m done…if you base a kids success and/or failure on scouting reports then prepare to kill yourself and diminish this kid or any kid you influence self esteem, rankings go up and down EVERYDAY and year after year because there’s so much talent from year to year, tahj will never bow down to anyone, he is confident and will be successful in his own right in whatever he does and he actually respects talented players that are better or just as good no big deal, has friends that are better or just as good, you should b ashamed of yourself saying the things you are saying about a kid, once again don’t base talent or success on what the scouting reports say, if the report gives tutle a lower grade or ranking for whatever reason, would he be less talented to you? smh….that is all…..
DST
March 10th, 2013
7:06 pm
aa