Four of the 14 defending high school basketball champions are ranked No. 1 in the first Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of the season.
Wheeler, the Class AAAAAA boys champion, is only 8-5 but stands atop the highest classification. The Wildcats’ losses are to out-of-state teams, three to opponents ranked in the top 25 nationally. Wheeler lost 59-57 on Saturday to La Lumierie of Indiana, the No. 11 team in MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 national rankings.
Wheeler graduated all-class player of the year Jalen Brown to Cal-Berkeley but remains formidible with Georgia Tech signee Romello White and Darius Perry, one of the top-10 juniors in Georgia.
Another No. 1, Jonesboro, is going for its third straight AAAA boys title. Led by five-star guard recruit M.J. Walker, the Cardinals have lost to two out-of-state teams, plus No. 3 Norcross of AAAAAA. On Jonesboro’s trail in AAAA is Grady, which started the season 12-0 and suffered its first loss last week to Jefferson Davis of Montgomery, Ala.
Defending champs Wesleyan (AA girls) and St. Francis (A private school) are ranked ahead of three undefeated teams apiece based largely on pedigree. Wesleyan has won 11 state titles in 14 years. St. Francis (A private-school) has won two titles in the past three years. Neither has lost to a Georgia opponent, and St. Francis is ranked No. 5 nationally by MaxPreps.
Four defending champions are unranked.
McEachern’s girls, who have won three of the past four state titles in the highest classification, have opened the season 5-5 against a schedule that included five games against out-of-state teams. The Indians are 4-1 against Georgia teams. Stephenson (AAAAA girls), Brunswick (AAAAA boys) and Calhoun County (A public boys) also are unranked.
Five No. 1 teams have never won state championships. Those are boys squads Allatoona (AAAAA) and Thomasville (AA) and girls teams Flowery Branch (AAAAA), Americus-Sumter (AAAA) and Dawson County (AAA).
Allatoona, the 2015 runner-up to Brunswick, had never won a football state title until last month. The only school in the past 25 years to win football and boys basketball state titles in the same academic year was Norcross in 2012-13.
The most prominent boys team nationally is Class A’s Greenforest Christian. The Decatur private school is No. 17 nationally per MaxPreps, its only loss to No. 16 Hammond of Columbia, S.C. Led by 7-foot five-star post Ikey Igiabu, Greenforest has blowouts wins over AAAAAA No. 3 Norcross (77-48), AAAAAA No. 7 Pebblebrook (87-59) and A No. 9 Our Lady of Mercy (72-43).
BOYS
Class AAAAAA
1. Wheeler (8-5)
2. Shiloh (9-2)
3. Norcross (12-2)
4. Westlake (7-2)
5. Tift County (13-1)
6. McEachern (10-2)
7. Pebblebrook (9-6)
8. Dacula (9-2)
9. Douglas County (9-4)
10. Newton (10-2)
Class AAAAA
1. Allatoona (12-0)
2. Miller Grove (12-2)
3. Gainesville (6-1)
4. Heritage-Conyers (13-1)
5. Cedar Shoals (14-2)
6. McIntosh (11-2)
7. South Paulding (11-2)
8. Riverwood (14-1)
9. Shaw (9-2)
10. Southwest DeKalb (12-3)
Class AAAA
1. Jonesboro (10-3)
2. Grady (12-1)
3. Lithonia (10-4)
4. St. Pius (11-2)
5. Eagle’s Landing (12-1)
6. Sandy Creek (9-4)
7. Liberty County (9-1)
8. Walnut Grove
9. Redan (9-4)
10. Monroe (8-4)
Class AAA
1. Laney (12-0)
2. Calhoun (10-0)
3. South Atlanta (10-3)
4. Jenkins (10-2)
5. Morgan County (10-3)
6. Westminster (11-2)
7. Johnson-Savannah (9-3)
8. Central-Macon (10-2)
9. Westside-Augusta (5-2)
10. Banks County
Class AA
1. Thomasville (14-0)
2. Greater Atlanta Christian (8-6)
3. Holy Innocents’ (10-3)
4. Crawford County (10-1)
5. Chattooga (14-1)
6. Lovett (8-3)
7. Manchester (6-5)
8. Vidalia (11-2)
9. Seminole County (9-3)
10. Macon County (9-3)
Class A
1. Greenforest Christian (13-1)
2. St. Francis (8-5)
3. North Cobb Christian (10-3)
4. Southwest Atlanta Christian (7-7)
5. Wilkinson County (8-3)
6. Whitefield Academy (7-7)
7. Treutlen (9-1)
8. Taylor County (8-4)
9. Our Lady of Mercy (7-3)
10. Lakeview Academy (8-3)
GIRLS
Class AAAAAA
1. Collins Hill (11-0)
2. Archer (11-2)
3. Harrison (12-2)
4. Tucker (12-4)
5. South Forsyth (10-4)
6. Douglas County (13-1)
7. Norcross (9-4)
8. West Forsyth (9-3)
9. Parkview (8-5)
10. Westlake (10-2)
Class AAAAA
1. Flowery Branch (15-0)
2. Glynn Academy (13-1)
3. Columbus (11-0)
4. Brunswick (12-1)
5. Warner Robins (9-1)
6. Grovetown (16-0)
7. Southwest DeKalb (10-5)
8. South Effingham (14-0)
9. Sequoyah (12-2)
10. Cross Creek (10-3)
Class AAAA
1. Americus-Sumter (12-1)
2. Buford (10-3)
3. Marist (12-2)
4. Veterans (9-3)
5. Griffin (12-2)
6. Bainbridge (10-3)
7. Carrollton (9-4)
8. Jonesboro (7-2)
9. West Laurens (10-3)
10. Northwest Whitfield (11-3)
Class AAA
1. Dawson County (14-0)
2. Morgan County (12-3)
3. Laney (11-2)
4. Hart County (13-2)
5. Johnson-Savannah (10-3)
6. Dodge County (7-1)
7. Jackson-Atlanta (12-1)
8. Ringgold (12-0)
9. East Hall (11-3)
10. Beach (10-3)
Class AA
1. Wesleyan (11-2)
2. Holy Innocents' (11-2)
3. Pelham (11-0)
4. Model (15-0)
5. Rabun County (11-3)
6. Lovett (11-4)
7. Fitzgerald (7-2)
8. Bleckley County (6-2)
9. Putnam County (12-3)
10. Jeff Davis (13-0)
Class A
1. St. Francis (13-1)
2. Turner County (11-0)
3. Calvary Day (12-1)
4. Tattnall Square (12-0)
5. Greenforest Christian (13-0)
6. Stratford Academy (12-1)
7. Taylor County (11-2)
8. Wheeler County (9-2)
9. Calhoun County (9-1)
10. Our Lady of Mercy (8-2)
Note: Won-lost records may not reflect unreported scores.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
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