Class AA blog: State title game previews

Boys

Swainsboro Tigers (29-2) vs. Therrell Panthers (25-7)

Rankings, seeds: Swainsboro is No. 1 and is the No. 1 seed from Region 2; Therrell is No. 3 and the No. 1 seed from Region 6.

Krohn's pick: Swainsboro

Swainsboro: ‘Seen it all’

Tigers coach Brice Hobbs doesn’t normally listen to rap. However, driving out of Savannah one evening, he heard Young Jeezy’s “Seen it All” and it struck a chord with him.

"I was telling my wife about it," said Hobbs, now in his fourth season leading the Tigers after long-time coach Bobby Andrews died shortly before the 2016-17 season began. "Seen it all — that sounds familiar. I can relate that to my team. Three years ago we played for the state title and got beat good (South Atlanta won 68-33). Two years ago, we were the No. 4 seed and lost to No. 1 Thomasville. Last year we didn't even make the playoffs.

“We’ve seen it all — the highs and lows. We run out (on the court) to that song, because we’ve seen it all.”

After their 79-62 win over Glenn Hills in the semifinals, perhaps now they really have seen it all. The Spartans started playing dirty and testing the the Tigers’ resolve, earning five technical fouls, a flagrant foul and two ejections in just the fourth quarter.

Hobbs did everything he could to warn his players not stoop to that level, and fortunately for the program they listened.

“I saw it coming before halftime,” Hobbs said. “I knew what my speech was going to be. At the time, we were up two points (29-27). “I said, ‘Look at me. I love you from the bottom of my heart, but understand — they’re beating, kicking, throwing elbows and knees — we’re going to win. There’s no question. But, once you get out there and try to fight them, I don’t have your back. It’s GHSA rules that you’re suspended.

“If you want to win on Thursday (the day of the championship), you have to go back out there and play basketball.”

The Tigers stuck to the game plan and are back in the title game for the second time in four seasons. They have two holdovers from the 2016 runner-up team in seniors AJ Kingsbury and Deondre Miles. Kingsbury, now a team captain, led the Tigers with 21 points in the win over Glenn Hills.

“He’s one of the fastest kids in the state,” Hobbs said of Kingsbury. “They’ve got guards too, so those who want it the most are who’s going to win the game.”

Like Therrell, Swainsboro plays championship-level defense. As a result, they’ve yet to be challenged in the playoffs, beating Jefferson County, South Atlanta, Rockmart and Glenn Hills by an average of 23.5 points. Further, the team hasn’t lost since Jan. 4 at Statesboro (62-58) — a team they beat the first time the two played.

Asked if not having been challenged in the state tournament serves as a detriment when it comes to preparing for the title game, Hobbs said all the team can do is play its best on the defensive end.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” he said. “It’s not my fault those teams aren’t on our level. I’m not trying to be cocky. From Day 1 we preach defense. Defense wins championships. I told them that at the beginning of the year. Now they come up to me and say, ‘I hope you saw I got six blocks.’ Or, ‘Did you see the five steals I had?’ They’ve got that defensive mindset and it puts a smile on my face. I know I got them now, and they got me.”

It’s been a long road back to the state championship game for the Tigers, who are seeking their first title since 1996. The last time they were there in 2017, Hobbs now admits he was drained, both emotionally and physically. Not only was the team devastated by the sudden death of Andrews, but Hobbs’ mother died midseason too.

“I’m ready mentally and physically,” Hobbs said. “I watch my kids after every game. This week (in the semifinals) was only the first time this season I saw them celebrate after a win. They are locked in and ready.”

Can Therrell repeat?

The Panthers’ motto, according to coach Eddie Johnson, is “Next man up.” Perhaps no program in the state has had that motto tested more than Therrell. Three years in a row, the Panthers have been forced to forge ahead without their best player on the court.

In 2017, they had the country’s top prospect, five-star Anthony Edwards, who is now at Georgia and considered by some draft experts as the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. In the middle of the season, he bolted for Holy Spirit — a private school that competes in the GISA. The following season, Deandre Brown, who averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals for the Panthers, also transferred to Holy Spirit.

This season, Robbie Armbrester — a class of ‘21 four-star wing with eight offers including Georgia Tech, Houston, Texas A&M and Xavier — has missed all but seven games with a wrist injury. He hasn’t played since Dec. 28.

Despite the loss of Armbrester, the team has put itself in position to repeat as state champs thanks to its defense.

Johnson, in his sixth season at Therrell, learned from playing under coaching legend Eric Mance at Lithonia and later Arthur McAfee and Grady Brewer at Morehouse. In addition to last year with the Panthers, Johnson has a state title to his name from 2009, when he guided Miller Grove as an interim coach filling in for Sharman White, who was suspended for the 2008-09 season.

“We train our players to be a team to the point where if we lose one player we shouldn’t lose that much as far as our game plan,” Johnson said. “Our claim to fame is defense so if your team can minimize the other team’s scoring, then you’re in a position to win. As long as I have one or two players to fill the cup (score), we can compete.”

What’s remarkable is that Therrell hasn’t just competed while losing considerable talent — they’ve been playing championship-level basketball. They advanced to the quarterfinals in 2018 and won their first title in program history last season.

On Saturday, they used their trademark defense to hold a Chattooga team averaging 67 points in the playoffs to just 37.

Though the Panthers — led by Resean Frederick’s game-high 20 points — looked dominant against the Indians, Johnson doesn’t believe what they did in that game will be enough to topple Swainsboro.

“There are some things that we need to tweak on the defensive end,” Johnson said.

In the days leading up to the title game, Johnson has been installing a defensive plan for what he sees as the biggest challenge Swainsboro presents: the two-headed monster of twin posts Fred and Cedric Seabrough. Fred stands at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and led the Tigers with 23 points in their semifinal win over Glenn Hills. Cedric is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds.

“We have a good idea of what we want to do,” Johnson said.

How they handle Swainsboro’s post players could determine the game’s outcome. Both Johnson and Tigers coach Brice Hobbs see the guard position as evenly matched. Therrell is led by senior captain Roman Son, while Swainsboro has AJ Kingsbury.

Immediately following the semifinal win, Johnson said Armbrester would not play in the championship. However, on Monday he wouldn’t completely shut the door on his availability. While his wrist is considered healed, he’s not scheduled to have the cast removed until March 7, two days after the title game.

For Johnson, it’s a matter of determining how effective Armbrester would be following more than two months of not playing and the risk of affecting the team’s current chemistry. In the place of Armbrester, whom Johnson described as a “walking double-double”, Calvin Miller, Caleb Smith and Khamar Carlisle have stepped up their production.

“There’s a 50/50 possibility he could play,” Johnson said.

Girls

Southwest Lady Patriots (25-3) vs. Douglass Lady Astros (24-5)

Rankings, seeds: Southwest is No. 5 and the No. 2 seed from Region 3; Douglass is No. 3 and the No. 1 seed from Region 6

Krohn's pick: Douglass

Southwest had tough title game road

To get to their first title game in a quarter-century, the Lady Patriots accomplished two tasks most playoff teams don’t. First, they beat top-ranked Laney at Laney in the quarterfinals. Then, in the semifinals, they overcame a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to win on a last-second shot.

Despite all of that, if they don’t win on Thursday against Douglass, the program will still be without a championship in its history, which began in 1970. There’s hope yet as they prepare to face the defending state champions. Not only are the Lady Patriots really good, but with the game being played in Macon, Southwest should have the crowd advantage.

“From what I’ve heard a lot of people plan on being there to support us,” said Lady Patriots coach Willie Goolsby, in his eighth season at Southwest. “Ex-players, fans from other schools in Macon getting behind us — it’s always a comfortable feeling playing at home with the fan base there. I’d rather play at home and not travel.”

Goolsby was quick to note the Lady Pats can’t afford to fall in the same hole against Douglass that they did against Rockmart. He considers his team fortunate to come out with the win after going just 5-for-13 from the free throw line and missing a number of layups in the fourth quarter.

The semifinal game reminded him of the Lady Pats’ last loss, which came to Washington County in the region championship, 49-45.

“We were missing free throws and layups in that game too,” he said. “We had 22 offensive rebounds and still lost the game. We almost did it again (against Rockmart).”

The strength of the Lady Patriots is chemistry. Seniors Avrie Grayer (15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 1.9 steals), Ja’Kyla Johnson (13.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, four assists, 4.5 steals), Shygeria Williams (9.9 points, 2.3 assists, 3.2 steals) and junior Stangious Alford (11.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.2 steals) form the team’s core, which has been together since at least ninth grade.

They play year-round in AAU and in a church league. The upperclassmen leadership is what has guided them past the difficult situations encountered in the quarters and semis.

“It’s been a process,” Goolsby said. “Most kids began here as freshman were brought up through the program. My success has come from nurturing them from that point on. We have a good group.”

In the Rockmart game, Lady Yellow Jackets coach Andre Clark admitted the moment became too big for his young team that returns most everyone for next year. That won’t be the case for Douglass because the Lady Astros have championship game experience. Both the Lady Pats and Lady Astros have proven they won’t be discouraged despite how grim the outlook may seem at any point in the game.

“The team that executes the best and makes good adjustments is the team that will win the game,” Goolsby said. “Our kids are playing well, they’re hungry and they want to win just like Douglass does. I think we’ll be up to the task. We’ll have to play hard, but smart and make adjustments. They know what’s on the line so we have to make things happen for us.”

Douglass had an even tougher title game road

There’s no question the team that had the hardest path to the title game is the Lady Astros. They’re the only surviving team that played a ranked opponent in each round, starting in the first round with a No. 10 Rabun County team masquerading as a No. 4 seed.

The Lady Wildcats won their first 16 games of the season and were ranked No. 3 heading into the week of the region tournament, where they went 0-2 to plunge in the polls and settle for the 4-seed despite being favored to win 8-AA. They were leading Douglass by 17 points heading into the fourth quarter before the Lady Astros went on a run to escape with a 44-42 win.

Up next was No. 7 Josey, which the Lady Astros beat 53-43. Then in the quarterfinals, they advanced by the skin of their teeth to eke out a 54-53 overtime win over No. 6 Washington County. They were trailing by five with a minute left in overtime.

In the semifinals was No. 2 Early County and one of the country’s top prospects, Makayla Timpson. They withstood a late rally from the Lady Bobcats to hold on for a 53-49 win.

And the exclamation point for this Lady Astros team is playing in the championship against a No. 5 Southwest-Macon team with that game being played at a neutral site...in Macon.

“If we repeat it will be earned, not given,” Lady Astros sixth-year coach Alana Allen said. “For real.”

That might be an understatement.

Also, if the Lady Astros repeat for their second title in program history, it will be a testament to how far the team has come after starting 8-5. They started 0-2 with double-digit losses to McEachern and Columbia and later suffered double-digit losses to Southwest DeKalb and Colquitt County.

It wasn’t until the She Got Game Classic against Woodbridge (Va.) on Jan. 4 that Allen saw a true turn in the right direction for her team. Woodbridge won Virginia’s AAAAAA state title the previous season and came into this season the No. 3 overall team in the state regardless of classification, according to the MaxPreps computer rankings.

The Lady Astros would beat Woodbridge 40-36 — the second victory of their current win streak that’s now at 17 games.

“It was back-and-forth the entire game,” Allen said. “They showed me that, ‘Uh oh, we might be able to do this (repeat as state champs) again.’ We knew something big was about to happen. We’ve won ever since.”

Even better for the Lady Astros is they’re not doing it with just one or even two players. Each night, a different Lady Astro is capable of stepping up. Ikenya King posted 31 points and 17 rebounds in the Josey quarterfinals win. Kayla Sesberry led the team in scoring with 16 in the semis. Ashley McKee and Ashuntee Weems have also carried Douglass at times.

“If one doesn’t have a good game another will,” Allen said.

As for the title game and Southwest’s virtual home-court advantage, Allen said the team has no choice but to continue ahead, full-throttle.

“We have to continue to weather this storm and God has been good,” she said. “We’ve been blessed despite all odds. We have to keep our foot on the gas and want to win it as bad as they do. Our advantage is we’ve been there before.”

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