The McEachern-Wheeler boys basketball game featuring two five-star recruits is the best quarterfinal in not just Class 7A but the state Wednesday.
Wheeler’s Isaiah Collier, a 6-foot-3 point guard, is the consensus No. 1 player in the country among seniors and committed to Southern Cal. He’s one of five boys finalists for the Naismith National Player of the Year award.
“His combination of positional size, strength, instincts and overall feel for the game is unmatched,’' said 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein.
McEachern’s Ace Bailey, a 6-9 forward, is the consensus No. 1 GHSA player in Georgia among juniors committed to Rutgers. He’s the consensus No. 6 junior nationally.
Their teams are among the best, too. Both are 23-6.
Wheeler is No. 1 in Class 7A and unbeaten against Georgia teams. McEachern, with only two in-state losses, is 15-0 since New Year’s Day.
Both also have winning pedigree. McEachern won a state title in 2019 with Isaac Okoro, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Sharife Cooper, a G League guard. The Indians have made four other semifinals in the past six seasons.
Wheeler, whose alumni include Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, has won eight state titles, including ones in 2020 and 2021.
McEachern is the home team for the 7:30 p.m. Wednesday game because of a coin flip that decides home-court advantage when region champions meet in the quarterfinals. The game is part of a double-header as McEachern’s girls team, ranked No. 5, plays Central Gwinnett at 6 p.m.
Also staging a Wednesday doubleheader will be Norcross, home to the defending boys and girls champions. The girls team, ranked No. 2, plays No. 6 Archer, and the boys team, ranked No. 4, plays No. 5 Newton.
Otherwise, girls quarterfinals are Tuesday and boys are Wednesday.
Below are the matchups with the teams’ rankings in parentheses.
The top five teams in the rankings are alive in both the boys and girls draw.
Brookwood’s girls, ranked No. 1 and chasing their first state title, are playing at home against No. 4 South Forsyth.
Only Walton’s boys and Central Gwinnett’s girls are unranked, and they’re relatively unfamiliar with this stage of the playoffs. Walton is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1999. South Gwinnett is in for the first time since winning a title in 2001.
Cherokee’s boys, ranked No. 9, are breaking the longest quarters drought. They are in for the first time since 1982, when they were state runners-up.
BOYS
R4 #2 Newton (No. 5) at R7 #1 Norcross (No. 4)
R5 #2 Cherokee (No. 9) at R2 #1 Carrollton (No. 7)
R5 #1 Wheeler (No. 1) at R3 #1 McEachern (No. 3)
R5 #4 Walton at R4 #1 Grayson (No. 2)
GIRLS
R4 #2 Archer (No. 6) at R7 #1 Norcross (No. 2)
R3 #2 North Paulding (No. 7) at R8 #1 Buford (No. 3)
R8 #2 Central Gwinnett at R3 #1 McEachern (No. 5)
R6 #1 South Forsyth (No. 4) at R4 #1 Brookwood (No. 1)
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