The high school basketball region tournaments have wrapped up and the playoff seedings are decided in all 10 brackets (five classifications for each gender). But before the state tournaments kick off this week, let’s take a look at the top subplots of the postseason.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Boys: I’m giving this one to Centennial’s Lorenzo Brown in Class 5A. Only a select few players can start on a varsity team in all four years of high school – for a contender, no less – and Brown and the Knights have reached the postseason all four times (even finishing as state runners-up in 2007). With the majority of Class 5A’s other powerhouses on the opposite side of the bracket, can Brown lead the Knights (ranked No. 5 overall in our last Power 15 Poll) to the elusive state championship before embarking on his collegiate career at N.C. State?
Girls: No question about it, this one’s got to go to Anne Marie Armstrong of Class 1A’s Wesleyan. Like Brown, Armstrong has been a mainstay for the Lady Wolves throughout her high school career, and she has helped lead the team to three consecutive state championship game appearances, winning two of them. (In all, Wesleyan has won five state titles in the past seven seasons.) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Todd Holcomb even named her his “favorite [girls] high school player of all time.” Add her successful volleyball and track careers to her basketball career, and Armstrong has almost as many state titles as she does fingers. The Georgia commit and her Wesleyan teammates, ranked No. 12 in the state, are hoping to add to that total in less than three weeks.
BEST QUARTER BRACKET
Boys: Whoa, check out the bottom right quarter bracket in Class 5A … how did this happen? With Norcross’ shocking loss to Collins Hill in the Region 7-AAAAA Tournament, the three-time defending state champions ended up with a No. 2 seed. Our last regular-season Power 15 Poll had Norcross ranked No. 2 overall in the state, McEachern at No. 3 and Wheeler at No. 6. All three teams ended up in the same quarter bracket, meaning that barring upsets (which of course can happen), someone will likely have to knock out two of the state’s top six teams to simply reach the semifinals! McEachern will be hungry after bitter memories of missing the tournament last year, while Wheeler certainly hasn’t forgotten that Norcross defeated the Wildcats in the past two state tournaments, including last year’s state championship game. All this without even mentioning that McEachern faces Walton (No. 9) and Norcross battles Meadowcreek (No. 15) in the first round. Sheesh.
Girls: We had Fayette County (No. 1 overall) and Marist (No. 4) as the highest-ranked teams coming out of Class 4A. No matter what happens, however, one of these teams will be out before the semifinal round. Both teams ended up in the bottom right bracket after winning their respective region tournaments, so even if they avoid being upset before the quarterfinal round, one of them will be unable to make the trip to Gwinnett Arena for the Final Four. Want more drama? Neither team has lost to an in-state opponent, as Fayette County is currently undefeated and Marist only lost twice this season to out-of-state opponents.
SOME DREAM MATCHUPS
Boys:
Class 3A – Columbia and South Atlanta (semifinals). The Eagles won the Class 4A state title last year before moving down to Class 3A. On the other side you’ve got the state’s top prospect (Georgia Tech-bound Derrick Favors) playing on the state’s top-ranked team.
Class 4A – Miller Grove vs. Hillgrove (finals). Mfon Udofia, another Tech-bound star, and Miller Grove seem to have the firepower this year to reach the state championship and if the Wolverines can pull it off, a matchup with Hillgrove would be perfect. The Hawks have only lost two games this year (by a combined three points) and every victory of 2009 has come by double digits.
Class 5A – Valdosta vs. Northside-Warner Robins (quarterfinals). Just like on the gridiron, this would be an intriguing matchup in the quarterfinals of Class 5A. Valdosta will likely be the top team from the South. … Norcross vs. Wheeler (quarterfinals). For the record, a Wheeler/McEachern game could be just as good, but the added storylines make Norcross and Wheeler a fun one for a spot in the Final Four.
Girls:
Class A – Wesleyan vs. SW Atlanta Christian (finals). How great would it be to see this matchup? I’ve said enough already about Armstrong and Wesleyan’s past success. But what about the Lady Warriors from SW Atlanta Christian? The team reached the Final Four last year – and that was without Baylor-signee Mariah Chandler, who has been nothing short of phenomenal this season.
Class 2A – Buford vs. Model (finals). Buford has only lost one game this season: a double-overtime loss to Marist (a state title contender in Class 4A) on Dec. 6. Since then, the Lady Wolves have won 26 straight and have dominated the majority of those opponents. But Model’s record is even better, as the Lady Blue Devils are undefeated and have an outstanding 1-2 punch in Maci Siniard and Janaye Jasper.
Class 5A – Parkview vs. Mill Creek (quarterfinals). This one would feature two high-powered offenses from Gwinnett County, and while the Lady Panthers have just one loss, the Lady Hawks have Moneshia Simmons, arguably the top junior in the state. An added bonus would be for the winner of this matchup to face Westlake in the finals.
Download the playoff brackets! Boys Class 5A; Boys Class 4A; Boys Class 3A; Boys Class 2A; Boys Class A; Girls Class 5A; Girls Class 4A; Girls Class 3A; Girls Class 2A; Girls Class A. You can also find these brackets, which will be updated throughout the tournament, at Gasports.com. Arapoglou can be reached at tarapoglou@scoreatl.com.
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