With Georgia basketball moving into the home stretch of region play, here’s a look at the 10 most intriguing basketball stories in the state. They range from a scoring machine putting up 35 points per game to a 4-foot-11 girl who’s in charge of the state’s longest winning streak.
Coach Eddie Martin, Greater Atlanta Christian: Martin, one of the state's most prominent boys coaches, won Class AAAAA championships in 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Norcross, the first school since World War II to win three straight in the highest class. Then, Martin caught many by surprise when he left for a smaller, private school, Greater Atlanta Christian. Now, Martin is No. 1 again – in Class AA. Top players are junior Malcolm Brogdon, who leads Gwinnett County in scoring at 22.2 points per game, and senior Trent Wiedeman, who has signed with the College of Charleston.
Diamond DeShields & Kaela Davis, Norcross: These freshman girls led their AAU team, the Georgia Ice, to the 13-and-under national title last summer. They decided to play high school ball together and enrolled at Norcross primarily to be coached by Angie Hembree, who was the first high school coach of UConn great Maya Moore at Collins Hill a few years ago. DeShields is the daughter of former major-leaguer Delino DeShields. Davis is the daughter of former NBA power forward Antonio Davis. The team also has Tennessee Tech signee Briana Jordan, the daughter of former MLB and NFL player Brian Jordan. She’s the point guard.
Ryan Harrow the Scorer, Walton: If not the best player in Georgia, this guard who has signed with N.C. State is the best scorer. Video highlights of Harrow scoring in every conceivable way fill the Internet. He’s averaging nearly 35 points per game for a Top 10 team that competes in Georgia’s region of death, 6-AAAAA, with Milton, Wheeler and Centennial.
Jelan Kendrick, Wheeler: Kendrick, a 6-foot-6 swingman who has signed with Memphis, comes to Wheeler with the baggage of having left his former team, Westlake, in midseason a year ago. Wheeler is the state power that has won state titles in 1994, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009 under coach Doug Lipscomb, a magnet for top prospects looking for a better place. After a slow start, Wheeler scored big wins over No. 1-ranked Milton and Walton last week. Kendrick is surrounded by a wealth of talent that includes four-year starter Phil Taylor, who has signed with Florida International.
Khaalidah Miller, Douglass: Miller is the state’s top prospect on the girls side. The 5-9 guard has started for Douglass, an Atlanta city school, since ninth grade and is averaging close to 22 points per game. She has signed with Georgia.
The diminuitive Alisha Andrews, Redan: The defending champion in Class AAAAA, Redan, has the state’s longest winning streak and perhaps the shortest point guard. The leader of the 45-game winning streak is the 4-11 Andrews, who averages nearly 25 points per game, the most in talent-rich DeKalb County. Despite her size, Andrews has a scholarship offer from Fairfield University of Connecticut. Also interested are Central Florida, Jacksonville, Florida A&M and Pepperdine.
The girls’ dynasty, Wesleyan: Wesleyan, a private school in Norcross that opened its high school in the mid-1990s, is having the most dominant decade of any basketball program since the 1930s. The program was built by coach Jan Azar, who has won six state championships since 2002. Wesleyan is No. 1 again in Class A and bearing down on a seventh title, which for Azar would be the most for any girls coach in state history. The team’s top player is Erin Hall, who has signed with Wake Forest.
The home grown talent at Westlake: Behind Wheeler and Milton, the third power in Class AAAAA, albeit off the radar at times, is Westlake, a South Fulton County team that made the semifinals last season. Its top player is Marcus Thornton, who has signed with Clemson. What’s different about this team is that it’s mostly home grown, whereas the top players off most contenders are transfers. Thornton and fellow starters Jeff Newberry and Tony Jacobs (Central Florida signee) played on the same 6-and-under rec team. They come from the southern part of Fulton County that also produced Dwight Howard, Derrick Favors, Javaris Crittenton, Gani Lawal and Jermareo Davidson.
Dai-Jon Parker, Milton
File photo by Jim Redman
The juniors, Milton: Milton was the preseason No. 1 team in Class AAAAA after losing to Wheeler in the 2009 final. Milton has the best trio of juniors in the country – Shannon Scott (committed to Ohio State), Dai-Jon Parker and Julian Royal.
All three are ranked among the top 50 juniors nationally. Coach David Boyd, seeking to become the first coach to win state championships at four Georgia schools, thinks a national title is not out of the picture in 2011.
‘’I don’t know if that’s realistic or not; it’s just something you hope to be able to do,’’ Boyd said. "A lot of that’s going to depend on what kind of season we have this year. That’s sort of a dream-type thing.’’
The traveling show, Columbia: Columbia often is overlooked in Georgia because it plays in Class AAA, but the country has taken notice as the DeKalb County school has made a few national rankings. Columbia last week defeated nationally known Arlington Country Day 80-76, then lost closely to Oak Hill Academy, 63-56.
Columbia is 16-5 against a schedule that includes trips to Hawaii, South Carolina, Illinois and West Virginia. Columbia’s top players are Northwestern signee Jershon Cobb and 6-7 forward Jarmal Reid, one of the nation’s elite sophomores.
