Derrick Favors has led anyone who's seen him play to believe that he is a future NBA star. This weekend in the McDonald's All-American game he backed that notion up with 19 points and eight rebounds to earn the game MVP honors after leading the East past the West 113-110.
File photo by Henny Ray Abrams/McDonalds.
Favors finishes off West with one of two late dunks.
Lance Stephenson set up an alley-oop for Favors, who finished third in the McDonald's All-American slam dunk contest, with less than a minute to go that gave the East a one-point lead that they would not relinquish.
The 2009 recruiting class for Georgia Tech includes three players ranked among the top 100 seniors in the country. That includes Miller Grove's Mfon Udofia of Lithonina and Hancock Central's Kammeon Holsey of Sparta, Ga.
Georgia has proven to be a hotbed for NBA talent in recent years with natives like Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic (Atlanta) and Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks (Powder Springs).
Hebron Christian Hands the Reigns to Brian Smith
Hebron Christian Academy named Brian Smith their new football coach this week. Smith, a former head coach at North Greenville University, will replace Rick Burlingame who has stepped away from coaching duties to focus on his role as athletics director at the Gwinnett County school.
Smith brings along with him a deep resume which includes a playing career at Clemson University and he has coached at several high schools in the state of South Carolina in head coaching as well as assistant roles.
Gainesville Quarterback Blake Sims Reportedly Picks Bama
Blake Sims has been a much sought after quarterback by several major colleges including Alabama and Georgia. The Gainesville product has decided he will sign with Alabama according to a report by the AJC.
He made the decision to pick the Crimson Tide when he learned that they would let him compete for the quarterback position, something he would not have the chance to do at Georgia.
“It was everything he was looking for," Gainesville offensive coordinator Todd Wofford told the AJC. "Coach Saban and his staff were really straight forward with Blake. They said he has a legitimate chance to fight for the QB spot. If his heart is at QB, then he would stay at QB.”
Sims totaled over 3,400 yards for Gainesville along with 42 touchdowns. He had offers to play quarterback from several other schools. His top three initially were Michigan, West Virginia and UGA, but his mind was swayed when Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban told him he had a legitimate shot to compete at quarterback.
Collins Hill tops North Gwinnett 7-6
In a 7-AAAAA matchup between two of Gwinnett's heavyweights it was Collins Hill that prevailed over North Gwinnett 7-6 thanks to a four-pitcher effort to seal the win.
Reed Buck started the game, going two innings and allowing one hit and no runs. R.C. Jones, Trey Marksberry and Morgan Ownbey followed and helped Collins Hill pull out the win. At the plate Garrit Church helped going 2-for-3 with an RBI. They improved to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in the region.
Parkview Plows Shiloh 14-3
Austin Wheeler went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI and a home run to lead Parkview (7-7, 3-0 in Region 8-AAAAA) past Shiloh 14-3. Zack Olson earned the win on the mound pitching four scoreless frames and allowing five hits making him 4-2.
Eric Jordan also had a three-run home run and Brandon Jacobs, an Auburn football recruit, was 2-for-3 with an RBI.