Nine teams aim for 1st basketball titles

But several familiar names also playing in finals in Macon.

The Georgia high school basketball season is down to its final days, with 32 teams chasing 16 championships at the Macon Coliseum.

Nine finalists have never won state titles. Six are looking to repeat from 2020. The four-day event, which begins today, also includes five boys players who are five-star recruits and two girls who are Mcdonald’s All Americans.

Here is a primer on the conclusion to the 100th GHSA state basketball tournament.

■ Defending titles: The surviving 2020 champions are Wheeler, Pace Academy and Hancock Central among boys and Westlake, Forest Park and Greater Atlanta Christian among girls. Wheeler and Westlake, now in Class 6A, were 7A winners last season.

■ Best girls game: Westlake, ranked 10th nationally by Maxpreps and going for its fourth consecutive state title, is 19-0 with an average score of 74-35, no game closer than nine points. Westlake’s Raven Johnson is a South Carolina signee and reigning all-classification state player of the year. The Lions’ Friday afternoon opponent, Carrollton, is 30-1 with an average score of 68-34. Carrollton’s De’mauri Flournoy, a 5-foot-6 guard, scored 32 in the semifinals. She signed with Vanderbilt.

■ Best boys game: Wheeler, a six-time former champion, is ranked No. 1 in 6A despite losing its region final to second-ranked Kell. The two meet again Friday night. Each has a five-star point guard — Isaiah Collier

of Wheeler and Scoot Henderson of Kell. Wheeler beat Kell twice in the regular season.

■ Top boys players: Five Georgia boys are five-star recruits, according to the 247Sports Composite, and all five are in the finals. They are Collier, Henderson, Jabari Smith of Sandy Creek, Matthew Cleveland of Pace Academy and Kanaan Carlyle of Milton. Smith (Auburn) and

Cleveland (Florida State) have signed. Henderson, a junior, committed to Auburn. Collier and Carlyle, both sophomores, are undecided.

■ Top girls players: Johnson, a 5-8 point guard from Westlake, and Sania Feagin, a 6-3 forward from Forest Park, are Mcdonald’s All-americans. Both signed with South Carolina. Their teams won in 2020.

■ Girls who’ve never

won: Calhoun County, Cross Creek and Hebron Christian are after their first championships. Marietta last won in 1951. Cairo’s last title was in 1982, when future Olympian Teresa Edwards was the team’s star. Woodward Academy, Fannin County, Josey and Clinch County haven’t won since the 1990s.

■ Boys who’ve never won: The boys list includes Cross Creek, Fayette County, Holy Innocents’, Kell, Mount Pisgah Christian and Towns County. Baldwin last won in 1981.

■ Double dippers: Cross Creek of Class 3A can become the 20th school to win girls and boys titles in the same season. Buford in 2019 was the last to do it. Cross Creek has never won a state title in any GHSA sport. The Augusta school opened in 1999.

■ Interesting: This is the 100th state championships recognized by the GHSA. The first took place in 1922. Girls championships were added in 1945 . ... Milton’s boys last won in 2012, and Berkmar last won in 2001 — when each was coached by the retired David Boyd. They’ll play in the 7A final Saturday night. Boyd also was the high school coach of Kell boys coach Jermaine Sellers while at Campbell. … Fannin County’s girls and Towns County’s boys from the Georgia mountains can become the first teams north of Gainesville to win a basketball title this century, or since Fannin County’s girls in 1999. … Jan Azar, in her second season at Hebron, can win her 14th state title. The first 13 came with Wesleyan. No other Georgia boys or girls coach has more than

11. … Phil Mccrary of Columbia can become the 11th boys coach to win six state titles. His and Columbia’s most recent was 2012. … Josey’s girls are the only unranked team to reach the finals.

■ To watch: Tickets are $15 per day and can be bought on site or through Ticketmaster. The Macon Coliseum is requiring that everyone wear a mask for COVID-19 protection. Anyone who enters the venue is subject to a temperature check. Gpb.org is streaming the 7A, 6A, 5A and 4A finals. Nfhsnetwork.com/ GHSA is live-streaming all games for $10.95.

DANIEL VARNADO FOR THE AJC Marietta’s Makayah Harris makes a basket during Friday’s Class 7A state semifinal victory, while Jillian Hollingshead (left) and Denim Deshields defend for visiting Mceachern. Marietta is trying for its first girls championship since 1951, while three other girls finalists are seeking their first titles.