January 24 offered a rare treat for me. With the men’s basketball team bringing in its most prized recruiting class in several years, led by the nation’s top player in Derrick Favors, I wanted to see a couple of those guys play in big games.
First up was a trip to the southside to watch top-ranked South Atlanta take on Class 3A No. 8 Spalding. South Atlanta came into this game 17-3 and 11-0 in its region. Right behind them was Spalding with a 15-1 record and a 9-1 region mark. As I arrived on the campus of South Atlanta High School, I noticed only a few cars in the parking lot. Too early? I reluctantly walked into the gym to find that the game was starting as scheduled, but only a small crowd had gathered to see the tip-off. But like L.A. Lakers crowds, it would build dramatically over the course of the first half.
The breaking news story of this game was that Favors was suffering from the stomach flu, and it showed. He was listless, he didn’t run the court very well, he didn’t really block out, and he left the floor several times throughout the game. He also scored 32 points and blocked five shots in an 88-59 rout of Spalding. I guess that is the sign of a superstar. He played strong on the defensive end early with three quick blocks but it wasn’t until late in the first quarter that Favors started to shine. Out of a timeout, South Atlanta head coach Michael Reddick called for a play that dumped the ball on the inside to Favors, who shot over his smaller defender. Favors never looked back. They went to the play a couple more times, both ending in easy baskets.
Favors and South Atlanta did most of their damage in the second quarter. Even with Favors out for part of the quarter, South Atlanta amassed a 42-23 halftime lead. When he was in, he dominated. Favors continued to work his way inside, getting shots over guys that looked to be half his size and picked up a loose ball for a thunderous dunk that led to a boisterous response from the South Atlanta faithful. Favors had nine points in the quarter.
After the dance team finished spirited renditions of songs that were popular before they were born, like “Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe and “The Electric Slide,” the Hornets used a daunting press to finish Spalding off. Favors, visibly winded, only had two points in the third quarter but finished strong in the first half of the fourth quarter getting another seven points and showing fans, scouts, media, and whoever else was watching his potential by taking a rebound and going coast-to-coast for an easy layup.
The interesting part about Favors’s game was that fans seemed unsatisfied. What the crowd lacked in size, it more than made up in passion and opinion. Favors’s condition may have prevented him from throwing down the electrifying dunks that fans are accustomed to, but I don’t think they knew of his condition. After Favors put an NBA-esque turnaround move to the basket on a Spalding defender, the guy next to me turned to his friend and said, “he should have tomahawked it.” That’s a tough crowd.
I was met with the polar opposite of the South Atlanta/Spalding game when attending the Wheeler/Walton game. Where the crowd was late-arriving at South Atlanta, a nearly 600-person line met me at Wheeler. I waited 30 minutes to get into the game and wasn’t certain that I made the cut until the 29th minute. About 300 people behind me weren’t as lucky. Once I got in, I was met with a huge array of students, soccer moms and dads, local media, college scouts, and famous folks like Glen Rice Sr. They were all witness to Wheeler’s 106-95 victory. Even Tech head coach Paul Hewitt checked in to view the future.
As the ball tipped off at this highly anticipated matchup of East Cobb powerhouses, an interesting thing happened. You ever go somewhere looking for one thing and find something else? My subject during this game was Glen Rice Jr., part of Tech’s highly ranked recruiting class. However, there is a lesser known guard playing for Walton that nearly stole the show. Junior point guard Ryan Harrow (an N.C. State commit) electrified the crowd early with four quick points (he led Walton with 28 points) including a tremendous dunk. The smallish guard is actually Walton’s primary scoring option and was the main person keeping them in the game early against a physically imposing Wheeler team, led by 6-foot-8 forward Richard Howell. Rice tends to work his way into the game and while he was active early with a couple of assists and a couple blocked shots, didn’t do much offensively. As a matter of fact he had just two points in the first quarter and later had his pocket picked by Howell.
Despite his slow start and easygoing game, it is clear that Rice was the key to Walton’s overall success. After Wheeler went on a 16-0 run in the second quarter, Rice led Walton on a 13-0 run to close the gap to 48-40 at the half. Rice had a dunk and a drive to basket during the sequence. The scoring at the end of the second quarter ignited him offensively as Rice went on to score 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including three shots from beyond the arc. Yes, there’s a little bit of his dad’s game in him.
The issue for Walton was that Wheeler was too big and finished fast breaks with lightning precision. Howell (28 points and 20 rebounds) and Ari Stewart took turns sending the crowd into a frenzy with huge dunks. Rice made one last-ditch effort, scoring seven straight points and closing Wheeler’s gap to 84-82. However, he also got his fourth foul during the sequence, leading Wheeler to take the ball inside exclusively down the stretch. In the end, Rice showed talent and heart but was overmatched.
While things are shaky right now for men’s basketball team, the future is bright. Favors and Rice are both highly talented, hard-working, and eager to take on the college game. Along with Miller Grove’s Mfon Udofia, they will provide depth to what is already a talented team. The key for Hewitt is to maximize the time that he has them, especially in the case of Favors, who draws comparisons to Dwight Howard. Yes, the future is bright, Tech fans; just hope that it lives up to today’s hype.
Crosskey can be reached at jcrosskey@scoreatl.com.
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