Archive for the ‘Take 10: Bests, Worsts & Top 10s’ Category

There are Web sites devoted to ranking college teams’ recruiting classes. Which high schools have the best recruiting classes? That’s easy. With about 15 seniors expected to sign with FBS (formerly Division I-A) schools in February, Stephenson leads Georgia, if not the country.

Here are 10 Georgia high schools that are getting a lot of attention from college coaches this year:

*Brunswick – This Class AAAA school has three mid-major Division I pledges in DB Willie Bolden (UAB), OL Dominique Stallworth (East Carolina) and WR Demetrius Frazier (Louisville). The Pirates have two or three others with a shot to go FBS.

*Buford – Does this school have a shot at five consecutive Class AA titles? With as many as eight Division I signees? Yes. Committed are LB Dillon Lee (Alabama), DB Paris Head (Vanderbilt), DB C.J. Moore (Virginia) and OL/LS Reid Ferguson (LSU). OL Vadal Alexander and TE Kurt Frietag have several SEC and ACC offers. DT Dequan Clark and DB Ryan Dillard also have D-I …

Continue reading High schools with most D-I recruits: Stephenson, Buford, Sandy Creek lead way »

The AJC will be selecting its all-state boys and girls basketball teams this week for publication on Sunday.

We’ll pick a first and second team of five players each, plus 10 honorable mentions, for a total of 20 players per classification. We’ll also pick all-classification boys and girls players of the year?

Pick any class and tell us your all-state team.

Who are the no-brainers? Who are the ones that might get overlooked?

Continue reading All-State basketball: Give us your picks »

The semifinals of the state basketball tournament begin Wednesday at the Gwinnett Place Arena and Macon Coliseum.

Here are some random thoughts on the teams that are left. Tell me where I’m wrong.

BOYS

AAAAA – Milton is one of the best teams in Georgia history and should beat Norcross in the final. Norcross is good enough to beat Milton, but probably won’t. Third-best team in the state is Wheeler. Region 4 (Harrison, McEachern, Campbell, etc.) was a flop. (I picked Harrison & McEachern to make the semis. Wrong!) Region 8 also didn’t do so well. Otherwise, it went as expected. Tift County is pretty good, and the freshman Tadrik Jackson is special. Saw the Devils in Fort Valley. Having said that, I’m not sure there aren’t four or five in teams in Gwinnett County that are as good or better than any team in regions 1-4. Milton and Norcross win by 20+ this week in the semis.

AAAA – These are four legit state championship contenders in the Final Four. Miller Grove …

Continue reading On to the final fours: Who’ve you got? »

Region tournaments are a great thing, but they tend to make some of these late regular-season games less meaningful.

Take Region 7-AAAAA. Some huge games are being played, both boys and girls games, in this region this week. Norcross’ boys are surging and could wind up winning the region’s No. 1 seed despite a terrible start. North Gwinnett’s girls play No. 1 Norcross in a rematch of a game that North Gwinnett won last month on Friday.

But the problem is that those seeds are just for the region tournament. It’s the tourney that decides the region champ.

Here’s a list of games matching Top 10 teams in metro ATL this week. When I get a chance, I’ll add the rest of the state, but this was compiled for the print edition of the AJC, so metro was the focus.

These games are big, but are they that big?

Below all this is the rankings. We’ve got W-L records this week, although this ain’t football, where every score is documented in a timely and accurate way. So if there are errors, …

Continue reading Down to the wire: Final week to sort out seeds for region playoffs »

Lots to talk about this week …

Miller Grove’s chances for a national title probably slipped away Saturday at Norcross, where Wolverines lost 70-63 to Dr. Krop of Miami.

Miller Grove (16-1) was ranked between No. 2 and No. 4 in four national polls entering the game. Dr. Krop’s star player, Kansas State-bound Angel Rodriguez, scored 16 points and had seven steals, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post’s game story. Miller Grove was only 2-for-9 at the foul line.

MG still could finish in the top 10 or top 5 of the national rankings. It’s been a great season. Dr. Krop is a nationally known program as well, and was ranked No. 24 by ESPN.

Georgia teams did have some nice wins over the weekend otherwise.

In Morgantown, W.Va., Columbia’s boys went 2-0, beating Jamesville-Dweitt 55-40 and Thomas Jefferson 71-57. Both opponents were from new York.

Jamesville-Dewitt’s top player was DuJuan Coleman is rated the No. 2 center among juniors by one recruiting service, but …

Continue reading New rankings: Hillgrove, South Atlanta move to No. 1 … Miller Grove’s national title hopes fade … How can you rank Norcross? »

Milton’s David Boyd talked about national titles before this basketball season began. It might be too late for that, given Milton’s two losses, but Boyd’s Eagles made a statement Saturday, beating No. 1-ranked Oak Hill Academy 75-69.

Despite not getting to practice for a week due to the Georgia snowstorm, Milton (14-2) jumped to a 20-point lead in the first half and held on.

Oak Hill fought back and led 51-50 after a 3-point shot by Jordan Adams, the transfer from Central Gwinnett, but Milton went on an 8-0 run to seal it. Guard Shannon Scott, who has signed with Ohio State, scored 22 points.

Milton’s victory also was good news for Miller Grove (13-0). MG is ranked #3 in one national poll and #4 in two others. With Oak Hill out of the way, and with a victory over Milton in December, Miller Grove is now a serious national title contender. MG is playing in Ohio on Monday.

Back to Milton for a minute – Boyd said after the Oak Hill win that he thoguht his backcourt of DaiJon …

Continue reading Talking points: Milton beats Oak Hill, state’s best backcourts, new rankings »

For a couple of years in the 1970s, the GHSA put on a four-team tournament of champions after the traditional state basketball tournament.

For some reason, it was a boys only event. In 1973, Southwest Macon with Norm Nixon beat Southwest Atlanta with Tony Flanagan. Southwest Atlanta won the next year by beating College Park in the final.

What would happen if we had a tournament of champions in 2011? Most of the top teams aren’t afraid to play each other in the regular season. Miller Grove’s boys, the No. 1 team in AAAA, has played and beaten No. 1 Milton of AAAAA and No. 1 Columbia of AAA.

Norcross’ girls beat No. 1 Wesleyan of Class A, and Wesleyan is playing No. 2 Buford of AA later this season.

Is that enough, or would it be a huge event if the state champions played a tournament the weekend after? Who would win?

BOYS

Class AAAAA
1. Milton
2. Wheeler
3. Campbell
4. South Gwinnett
5. Collins Hill
6. North Gwinnett
7. Peachtree Ridge
8. Walton
9. Norcross
10. Newton

Class …

Continue reading All-class tournament: Who would you pick? »

There are four senior high school football all-star games being played Saturday around metro Atlanta, one each in Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb and Forsyth counties.

Here’s a little information on each. We don’t have rosters on the Forsyth-Fulton game, so if anyone knows top players involved, let us know.

DeKalb Senior All-Star Game

When: Saturday, 2 p.m.

Where: Hallford Stadium, Clarkston

Coaches: Jim Showfety (Dunwoody); Kip Hall (Druid Hills)

Top players: LB Patrick Callaway, M.L. King; DB Chris Sanders, Tucker (Georgia); DB Kadetrix Marcus, Stephenson (South Carolina); DB Jared Boyd, Stephenson (Duke); RB Bashr Coles, Tucker

Cobb All-Star Senior Bowl

When: Saturday, 2 p.m.

Where: Cantrell Stadium, Powder Springs (McEachern)

Top players: LB Jabari Hunt-Days, Hillgrove (Georgia Tech); DB Brian Randolph, Kell (Tennessee); QB Gage Henry, Hillgrove; DB Darren Waller, North Cobb (Georgia Tech); Rory Anderson, McEachern

Rivalries of Gwinnett All-Star Game

When: Saturday, …

Continue reading Four football all-star games to be play Saturday in metro ATL »

Here are the passing, rushing and receiving leaders in Georgia for 2010. These were compiled using nominations for all-state and other sources.

Please report any omissions that meet the criteria so we can update this and make it a more official list.

The top five passers all had seasons that put them in the top 10 of all-time in passing yards for the season.

Passing (minimum 2,200 yards)

4,218 – Taylor Heinicke, Collins Hill

3,612 – Jonquel Dawson, M.L. King

3,358 – Tyler Brown, Colquitt County

3,343 – Johnathon McCrary, Cedar Grove

3,331 – Justin Walker, Lee County

3,019 – Ryan Whilden, Valdosta

2,749 – Landon Curtis, Calhoun

2,764 – Cain Campbell, North Paulding

2,737 – Emmanuel Westmoreland, Central Gwinnett

2,728 – Nick Marshall, Wilcox County

2,664 – Tim Byerly, Chattahoochee

2,588 – Austin Brown, Flowery Branch

2,539 – Brett Montgomery, Peach County

2,519 – R.J. Dennard, Treutlen

2,443 – Carson Barnett, Landmark Christian

2,429 – Zach Folsom, Cook

2,425 – Ronnie Bell, …

Continue reading Season leaders: Heinicke, Robinson, Waller lead state in passing, receiving, rushing »

On to the Dome …

It’s been a fun playoff season, especially in Class AAAAA, where there are probably 10 teams that could’ve won the title.

Three questions today:

 1. What does it take to win Class AAAAA this year? I’m convinced it’s not raw talent. Several teams have that. I’d like to say coaching, but I think just about all the major players are well-coached. How does Grayson shut out Valdosta but can’t stop Colquitt when it counts? . Let’s take Rance Gillespie. Could be the coach of the year, but his team gets shut out in the QF.

2. Who will win? I’ll take Brookwood, Chattahoochee, Sandy Creek, Buford, Clinch County. I can’t recall a year where there’s not an overwhelming favorite in any of the five classes. The ones that I’m tempted to be confident about are Buford and Clinch, but Calhoun beat Carver (which beat Buford), and Savannah Christian beat Wesleyan (which when healthy might be better than ELCA, which nearly beat Clinch.)

3. Which finalists …

Continue reading Biggest surprise? Starr’s Mill is the undefeated Cinderella »

Blessed Trinity’s Ricky Turner, the only football coach in school history, has resigned and will serve as athletics director only.

Turner started the Blessed Trinity program in 2001 and had a 50-46 record. His teams made the playoffs four times. Blessed Trinity was 6-4 this season and scored a victory over Class AAA quarterfinalist Grady.

“Putting in 80-something hours a week for 11 years, it’s like I’ve been doing two full-time jobs,” Turner said. “I’ve got a son who was a senior this year and got three little kids, and I’m missing out on a lot of what they’re doing. It’s going to be good for my family.”

Turner said the school will be taking applications through mid-January with hopes of naming a head coach before spring practice.

Continue reading Blessed Trinity football coach resigns, to stay on as AD »

Kell running back and safety Brian Randolph has been named  as the Gatorade football player of the year in Georgia.

Randolph rushed for 1,068 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns. On defense, he had 162 tackles – 98 solo – and four interceptions. He led his team to a region title and 12-1 finish.

Randolph, who has committed to Tennessee, has a 4.1 GPA, another factor in his getting the award.

That’s the first of at least three major statewide player-of-the-year awards that Georgia players will receive this year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Associated Press also have their awards.

Aside from Randolph, here are five other top candidates for those awards. Are there others?

lTim Byerly, Chattahoochee: Byerly has been the Cameron Newton of Class AAAA football. He is 140-of-205 passing for 2,332 yards and 29 touchdowns and has thrown only two interceptions. He has rushed for 1,263 yards and 19 touchdowns. …

Continue reading Kell’s Randolph named Gatorade player of year »

This is the second time in history and the first since 1997 that at least two No. 4 seeds have made the semifinals. Lovett and Savannah Christian are trying to join Peachtree Ridge as the only No. 4 seeds to win a state title.

Also, there are two No. 3 seeds in the Class AAAAA semifinals for the first time since AAAAA was formed as the fifth classification in 2000.

Colquitt County and Grayson – which play each other Friday – are trying to join 1997 Parkview and 1999 Lowndes as the only No. 3 seeds to win (or reach the final) in the highest classification. Parkview and Lowndes won AAAA.

Here is a look at all 35 teams that have made the semifinals as No. 3 or No. 4 seeds since 1996, when the state playoffs were expanded to 32 teams in each class and gave third- and fourth-place teams a chance. The No. 3 seeds are 5-18 all-time in the semifinals. The No. 4 seeds are 2-6.

The seeds for each team are noted at the left, and the result of their semifinal game is on the …

Continue reading History lesson: No. 3-4 seeds are 5-18 in football semifinals »

Continue reading Semifinal caps: Previews of all 10 games »

Continue reading Quarterfinal capsules: A look at all 40 playoff games »