Nine former Georgia high school players, including six of the 40 starters, are listed on the rosters of the eight teams in the men’s and women’s college basketball Final Fours that begin Friday.
Raven Johnson of Westlake and Sania Feagin of Forest Park start for South Carolina’s women’s team, which will play Texas in Friday’s 7 p.m. Final Four opener in Tampa, Florida.
Johnson, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, played on Westlake’s four state-championship teams from 2018-21 and was the AJC’s all-class player of the year in 2020 and 2021.
Westlake, a south Fulton County school, was 110-4 during Johnson’s time, never losing to a Georgia opponent. A two-year starter at South Carolina who is noted for her on-ball defense, Johnson is second on the team in assists and steals.
Feagin, a 6-3 senior forward from Forest Park in Clayton County, was a first-team AJC all-state pick in 2020 and 2021 and was the 2021 Gatorade state player of the year. Feagin led Forest Park to the Class 6A title in 2020 and a runner-up finish in 2021.
In the NCAA quarterfinals Sunday, Feagin scored 12 points and had a team-leading eight rebounds and three assists in South Carolina’s 54-50 victory over Duke.
Johnson and Feagin, who are after their third national title in four seasons, are the only Georgia women in this year’s Final Four, although UCLA’s Janiah Barker was born in Marietta but grew up in Florida. UCLA plays UConn in the 9 p.m. game Friday.
In the men’s Final Four opener between Florida and Auburn on Saturday in San Antonio, three of the 10 starters will be from Georgia.
Auburn has Miles Kelly of Parkview and Dylan Cardwell of Evans and McEachern while Florida has Will Richard of Woodward Academy.
Kelly, a 6-6 shooting guard, played three seasons at Parkview in Gwinnett County, averaging 19.1 points and 5.9 rebounds as a junior, and finished up at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia in 2021. Kelly leads Auburn this season in 3-pointers made with 86.
Cardwell, a 6-11 center, played his freshman season at Evans, then two seasons at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. He finished at McEachern in Cobb County but was declared ineligible for failing to meet the GHSA’s bona-fide-move requirements. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl blasted that decision last weekend, and the GHSA responded to Pearl’s criticism Monday.
Cardwell is second for Auburn in rebounds and blocked shots and is lauded as key piece of the Tigers’ defense as a rim protector.
Richard, a 6-4 guard, played for Woodward Academy’s Class 4A championship team in 2020 and made the AJC’s first-team all-state team in 2021 after averaging 24.0 points per game.
Richard is Florida’s third-leading scorer. He scored 30 against Georgia in an 88-83 loss Feb. 25 in Athens.
In the second men’s semifinal Saturday, Duke’s Sion James of Lanier in Gwinnett County will start against Houston in the 8:49 p.m. game
James, a 6-6 guard, led Lanier to the 2020 Class 5A championship game and was a two-time region player of the year. He played four seasons at Tulane, starting 107 games, and transferred to Duke this season.
Non-starting Georgia players in the men’s Final Four are Auburn’s Drake Cardwell of Evans and McEachern, Auburn’s Ja’Heim Hudson from Wheeler and Florida’s Cameron Sheffield of Chattahoochee.
Sheffield led Chattahoochee to the 2020 Class 6A championship, and Hudson played on two championship teams at Wheeler. Those two, plus Richard, Feagin and Johnson, make for five of the nine who won GHSA titles in their high school careers.
Georgia Final Four players:
WOMEN
UConn
None
South Carolina
*Raven Johnson, Westlake
*Sania Feagin, Forest Park
Texas
None
UCLA
None
MEN
Auburn
Drake Cardwell, Evans/McEachern
*Dylan Cardwell, Evans/McEachern
Ja’Heim Hudson, Wheeler
*Miles Kelly, Parkview
Duke
*Sion James, Lanier
Cameron Sheffield, Chattahoochee
Florida
*Will Richard, Woodward Academy
Houston
None
*Starter
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