Locals picked to play in All-Star Game
Seniors get one last chance to wear prep uniform
Over the last month, several local seniors took off their high school jersey for what they thought was the final time once their teams’ season came to an end. But a few of them will get one more chance to wear it after all.
Last week, the Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club announced the rosters for their third annual NWGA Tip-Off Club All-Star Games which will be held on Thursday at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, and multiple local players made the cut. Two local coaches will lead teams as well.
In the girls game, which will tip off at 6 p.m., Calhoun’s Jana Johns, Ashlyn Barnes and Cassie Henderson, Sonoraville’s Cortney Williams and Gordon Central’s Cailey Martin will be a part of the visiting team’s roster, and they along with others will be coached by Jerry Pruett, who announced recently following the season that he was stepping down as Calhoun head girls coach after 15 seasons with the program.
The boys game will follow at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, and it will include several local players as well. Calhoun’s Chapin Rierson and Malik Lawrence and Sonoraville’s Brad Wilson and Bryce Waters will all play for the visiting team, and they will be coached by Calhoun boys head coach Vince Layson.
Admission for the game is $5, and along with the girls and boys games there will be three-point contest between with a trophies being awarded to both the girls and boys winner. The games will be played with college rules, including a shot clock, and an MVP will be awarded following each game.
In other recent prep basketball news:
Locals recognized at NWGA Tip-Off Club banquet
It was a night to honor the best in area prep basketball last Thursday as the Northwest Geor- gia Tip-Off Club held its annual Team of the Year Banquet at Berry College’s Krannert Center.
Several local players and coaches earned honors led by Calhoun’s Chapin Rierson who was named the Co-MVP for boys along with Chattooga’s Jay Shropshire. Rierson was also named the Player of the Year for Calhoun, and his teammates Malik Lawrence and Porter Law were the Players of the Month for December and January, respectively.
The Calhoun girls Player of the Year was Jana Johns, and Players of the Month were Cassie Henderson (December) and Ashlyn Barnes (January). For the Sonoraville girls, Maliyah Parks earned Player of the Year, and Harleigh Chastain (December) and Cortney Williams (January) were Players of the Month. Rounding out the girls honors locally was Gordon Central’s Cailey Martin who earned Player of the Year for her team while Cara Crump (December) and Chloe Ferguson (January) were Players of the Month.
For the Sonoraville boys, Wil Walraven earned Player of the Year and teammates Brad Wilson (December) and Bryce Waters (January) were Players of the Month. Gordon Central’s Gabe Ross was the Player of the Month for his team, and Dawson Lackey (December) and DaQuan Curtis (January) were Players of the Month.
The award winners from each NWGA Tip-Off Club school were treated to dinner and a special ceremony with guest speaker Tony Ingle, the Dalton State men’s head basketball coach. Calhoun girls head coach Jerry Pruett was also honored for joining the 400win club.