The Milton Eagles have been one of the best basketball programs in the state for the past 15 years. They won their first-ever basketball championship since 2010 and have won two since with the latest coming in 2021. Currently, the Eagles are 12-3 on the season and are on a three-game winning streak led by their prolific scorer Josh Dixon, who is considered one of the best scorers in the state. Dixon is a 3-star prospect committed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“I would argue with anybody that he’s the best scorer in the state of Georgia,” said Milton head basketball coach Allen Whitehart. “He can really score at a high clip and you know the big thing for us is him pulling his teammates to play with him and he’s learning how to do that as we go along. He makes such an impact in the open floor with how quick and how well he could just put it in the hole.”
Another key player has been Daniel Ogunyemi who is a force on the glass, constantly posting double-doubles and making his impact on both ends of the floor. He has gotten better each year since he’s been a starter in the Milton program.
“You know, he’s constant. He just wears a hard hat every day. He comes in and just does whatever is needed inside or outside. Whatever we need him to do, he’s just willing to do it,” said Whitehart.
The Eagles picked up big victory Monday night, defeating Seckinger and are currently 7-0 in Region 7-5A. The Eagles will now hit the road to play in the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Missouri. Coach Whitehart plays some of the best competition in the country to get a gauge of how good his team is and the areas they need to work on.
“We’ve got Christ King out of New York. We understand who they are and what they are by scouting. If we were to be successful in the first round we could potentially see Oak Ridge out of Florida. They were in our live period this summer, so they’re extremely good. I mean, you’ve got teams like Bullis School out of Maryland. You’ve got Link Academy out of Missouri, who I think opened the season ranked number one in America. They’ll be there,” said Whitehart.
“Then you’ve got Millennium out of Arizona, which we know pretty well. We played them twice a couple of years ago. We played them out of Hoop Hall West and then we played them again at Eilani. So they’ve got a really good team with the Cameron Holmes kid. I mean, we take it day by day. We don’t try to look too far ahead, but as a coach, you’ve got to kind of scout forward to make sure you’re analyzing what’s ahead of you.”
Milton went through a similar stretch right after Christmas, playing four out-of-state teams in Greeneville (TN), Lake Norman (NC), Central-Phenix (AL), and St. Joseph (NY). The Eagles went 2-2, blowing out Greeneville and Lake Norman, and suffered close losses to Central-Phenix and St. Joseph.
“The good thing for us is when we play in some of those tournaments that don’t have a shot clock it makes us be more patient defensively and makes us have to defend,” said Whitehart. “You know, here in Georgia, it’s a 35-second shot clock. So we know the clocks are on our side, but when you play without a shot clock the team delays a little bit, it forces you to defend more. That’s the reason we did it. We did it last year in two tournaments. We did it this year. Fortunately for us, we won’t see another game this year without a shot clock, but it was just to help us learn to be patient on defense and be able to stay locked in and defend until we secure a rebound.”
“That was the big part of that and both of those teams are really good. They’ve got really good players. I mean, for example, the young man and probably the best player at Central-Phenix Jacoby Hill is going to Jacksonville State. He is phenomenal at 6-5. St. Joseph has Tounde Yessoufou. A 3,000-point scorer who scored 1,000 points in his junior season alone. He’s going to Baylor. So when you’re able to go out and see those kinds of players and compete against those kinds of coaches, it just gives you a better understanding of what you need to do to be able to hopefully play in the last game.”
So what makes Milton tick?
“You know, I’ve been asked that a couple of times this year. You know, every team is unique. Every team has its advantages and disadvantages. This team is a good one. They’re really good. You kind of never know how good until the end,” said Whitehart. “Our big thing is, will this team maximize their potential? Will we maximize our potential? I asked that question a whole lot in practice and in pregame.”
“I’ve had other teams fall short of that. It comes down to how you can maximize the gifts that you have individually, but more importantly collectively. I think that’s really what we’re trying to figure out right now. Are we going to have enough? Are we going to maximize our potential enough to play in the final game to give ourselves a chance to have the ultimate goal of hoisting that final trophy?”
More than anything this is a team that plays together.
They have a camaraderie. And they respect their opponents.
“I’ll be honest with you, something that really impressed me after we played St. Joseph’s in Bristol. What stands out to me is what kind of kids and character this group has. We battled St. Joe’s down to the wire. We were in the same hall as them in the hotel. My wife went and got all kinds of New Year’s things because we played them on New Year’s Eve. My wife went and got a bunch of New Year’s sparkling grape soda, and she got them all, you know, the glasses and the headgear and all of that. The kids came and got it and went and shared it with St. Joseph’s kids to bring in the New Year. Things like that get overlooked because everybody gets caught up in wins and losses. And we lost that night, but I felt like we won in the fact that that’s the kind of kids we have.”
You could call it the Milton way. A standard of excellence to always do things the right way and display immense character at all times. Nothing is given in the program. There are no handouts. Everything is earned and you must constantly work every day in practice no matter if you are a star player or not. You see underrated guys like Braxton Giesler and Grant McDuffie being an integral part of the winning formula.
“Well, one of the things we talk about, the standards, the standard, the deal’s no deal. You’re going to be given an opportunity. Everything you get is going to be earned. And I think all the young men that play in our program understand that. We don’t play politics. We’re going to play the best players or the people who give us the best opportunity to win. Sometimes the people who give us the best opportunity to win are not the best players, but the players who fit the best. And I think that’s where we’re able to have sustainability and continue to grow. If you look down through our feeder program, and up into our freshman and JV programs, all those levels are successful. That’s because of the way we do it the way we run things and the standard that we set.
“Giesler is a glue guy. He just does what’s needed. He has no ego. He comes in every day. It’s always about the team. And I think his ability to be able to handle that and just do whatever’s needed, plug holes everywhere, I think that encourages his teammates to also be selfless,” said Whitehart.
“I would say Grant McDuffie is one of those underrated guys. He’s a junior for us. He’s really starting to figure it out. I think he was in double digits the other night against John’s Creek. And then Josh’s brother Noah has been really good for us in practice all year. He’s a senior as well and has done a really good job leading our second team in what we do and how we do it. Those two young men specifically have done a great job of helping us get better on a daily basis.”
It’s the reason why former alum Bruce Thornton is having so much success on the collegiate level for Ohio State. However, Thornton is just the tip of the iceberg. The Eagles have a plethora of players who have gone on to have successful collegiate careers.
The biggest question remains. Will this talented Milton team maximize their potential and be in the final game for a chance to bring home a trophy in 2025? We will find out soon enough.
Around the class boys - Milton is set to play in the Bass Pro Tournament in Missouri this weekend and will face off with Christ King in their first matchup. No. 4 Habersham Central is set to face No. 5 Winder-Barrow on Friday night in a top five matchup. No. 2 Kell will face top-ranked Kell on Saturday in a top matchup over the weekend.
Around the class girls - A top 10 showdown will take place Saturday as Milton takes on Woodward Academy in a can’t miss matchup between two 5A powers. No. 1 Hughes is on a current six game-winning streak. River Ridge has five scorers averaging double-figures in Finley Parker (14.7 PPG),, Kayla Cleveland (12.8 PPG), Makayla Roberson (12.2 PPG), Sophia Pearl (12.1 PPG), and Kyla Cantey (11.7 PPG).
Other News: Former Langston Hughes football coach Daniel “Boone” Williams is set to take the job at Northside-Warner Robins and says goodbye to the Panthers in a heartfelt post on X.
My Goal was to leave it better than I found It!!!!! #PantherPride Never Dies pic.twitter.com/lNygba6Gj3
— COACH BOONE (@williamsdo) January 14, 2025
Boys Basketball Top 10 Schedule
1. Milton – Thursday vs. Christ the King, 7:30 p.m. (Bass Pro Tournament of Champions); Friday vs. TBA, TBA (Bass Pro Tournament of Champions); Saturday vs. TBA, TBA (Bass Pro Tournament of Champions)
2. Woodward Academy – Thursday vs. Lakeside-DeKalb, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday vs. Kell, 4 p.m.; Tuesday at Arabia Mountain, 7:30 p.m.
3. Tri-Cities – Friday vs. Decatur, 7:30 p.m.; Monday vs. Newton, TBA; Tuesday at Shiloh, 7:30 p.m.
4. Habersham Central – Friday at Winder-Barrow, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday vs. Alcovy, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 24 vs. Jackson County, 7:30 p.m.
5. Winder-Barrow – Friday vs. Habersham Central, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 24 at Alcovy, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 28 vs. Jackson County, 7:30 p.m.
6. Dutchtown – Friday vs. Banneker, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 22 vs. Lovejoy, 7 p.m.; Jan. 24 at McIntosh, 7:30 p.m.
7. Gainesville – Friday at Seckinger, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday at Chattahoochee, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 24 vs. Lanier, 7:30 p.m.
8. Lee County – Saturday at Thomas County Central, 4:30 p.m.; Monday at Valdosta, 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday at Veterans, 7:30 p.m.
9. New Manchester – Friday vs. Kennesaw Mountain, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday at Alexander, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 22 vs. Douglas County, 7:30 p.m.
10. Alexander – Friday at South Paulding, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday vs. New Manchester, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 24 at Rome, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball Top 10 Schedule
1. Hughes – Friday vs. Newnan, 6 p.m.; Monday vs. St. Francis, 8 p.m.; Jan. 24 at Northgate, 6 p.m.
2. River Ridge – Friday vs. Sprayberry, 6 p.m.; Saturday vs. Southridge, 8 p.m.; Monday at Holy Innocents’, 4:50 p.m.
3. Woodward Academy – Thursday vs. Lakeside-DeKalb, 6 p.m.; Saturday vs. Milton, 12:30 p.m.; Tuesday at Arabia Mountain, 6 p.m.
4. Milton – Friday vs. Roswell, 6 p.m.; Saturday vs. Woodward Academy, 12:30 p.m.; Jan. 24 vs. Chattahoochee, 6 p.m.
5. Morrow – Friday vs. Northgate, 6 p.m.; Saturday at Olympic (NC), 2 p.m.; Monday vs. Sandy Creek, 6:30 p.m.
6. Tri-Cities – Friday vs. Decatur, 6 p.m.; Tuesday at Shiloh, 6 p.m.; Jan. 23 at Woodward Academy, 6 p.m.
7. Bradwell Institute – Friday at South Effingham, 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday vs. Glynn Academy, 6 p.m.; Jan. 24 vs. South Effingham, 6:30 p.m.
8. Creekview – Friday vs. Woodstock, 6 p.m.; Saturday at Etowah, 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday vs. Lassiter, 6 p.m.
9. Arabia Mountain – Friday vs. Shiloh, 6 p.m.; Tuesday vs. Woodward Academy, 6 p.m.; Jan. 24 at Dunwoody, 6 p.m.
10. Pope – Friday vs. Lassiter, 6 p.m.; Tuesday at Sprayberry, 6 p.m.; Jan. 24 vs. Sequoyah, 6 p.m.
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