Multiple teams are looking to capitalize and secure a spot in the region tournament when region play picks up in January
As we approach the new year, I wanted to take a minute to go over the county-area basketball teams and where they sit as the bulk region play slowly approaches.
Alcovy Tigers (Boys Team: 9-4, Girls Team: 6-7)
Similar to last year, a key injury in the starting lineup has set the Lady Tigers back early in the year.
Senior Kendall Banks, who is a starting guard for Alcovy that is known for her perimeter shooting, will miss the entirety of her final season.
Nevertheless, senior Janae Hutcherson has continued to do her thing as the key player in the Lady Tigers lineup.
The Lady Tigers sit at 6-7 on the year but have begun region play perfect at 3-0. Additionally, Alcovy has won five of its past seven games -- with both losses by six or less points.
Hutcherson's 13.2 points per game lead the Lady Tigers by a wide margin, but senior Shamariah Gibbs has played just as big of a role in the team, too.
Gibbs provides physicality on the inside for the Lady Tigers and it shows with 10.4 rebounds per game to go with 8.9 points per game.
The Lady Tigers are one of three teams in Region 8-AAAAA that have yet to lose a region game -- along with Jackson County and Loganville.
For the boys team, it has been another strong start to the year despite a recent two-game skid.
Taylor Jackson's Tigers hold a 9-4 record and have faced multiple ranked or formerly ranked teams so far this season -- teams such as Newton, Jasper County, and Winder Barrow.
Once again, it is Nick Durham that has led the way.
Durham has been almost guaranteed to score nearly 30 points a game this season as he has shown he can do it all against a variety of defenders.
Similar to the Lady Tigers, the boys team wraps up a non-region slate in December before taking on the bulk of region play at the start of the new year.
Despite the 9-4 record, Alcovy is 1-2 in region play which has them sitting in fifth place. Despite this, there are way too many games left on the schedule to count any team out in a region as competitive as this.
Eastside Eagles (Boys Team: 8-5, Girls Team: 7-5)
It is yet another year that the Gladys King-led Lady Eagles are above .500.
The Lady Eagles sit at 7-5 on the season with a 2-2 record in Region 8-AAAA -- good enough for fourth place.
Despite back-to-back losses in region play, this is not the team to take lightly and it shows with a six game win streak prior to the losses.
Senior Jailyn Williams leads the team with 14.5 points per game, but King is still getting strong contributions from others such as Morgan Sandema, Ari Carter and Kylee Lawrence -- who all are averaging above 8 points per game.
The Lady Eagles are not in the easiest region alongside teams such as North Oconee (11-0, 4-0), East Forsyth (5-8, 4-1) and Walnut Grove (7-4, 3-1), but this is nothing new for an Eastside team that has had tough regions in the past.
Eastisde will wrap up 2024 with tough back-to-back tests against Oconee County and Wheeler at Social Circle's Winter Classic Showcase.
After that, the Lady Eagles will battle through the rest of region play in search of another region tournament appearance at the end of the regular season.
It was a sluggish start for the Eastside boys team, but they have really picked it up as of late.
Eastside began the year 3-4 with losses to local rivals such as Alocvy and Social Circle.
However, the month of December seems to be a turning point for head coach Dorrian Randolph and the Eagles.
Eastside has won five of its last six games, including wins over tough opponents such as Jasper County (2-4, 0-0), Greenbrier (7-4, 0-0), East Forsyth (9-3, 2-3) and Archer (9-4, 1-2).
Similar to years past, the Eastside boys team will wrap up 2024 with a trip to Florida -- something that has become an annual occurrence with Randolph at the helm.
Randolplh has spoken about how these trips have led to his team's becoming closer and I think they are doing this at the perfect time with the recent success on the court.
In Florida, Eastside will take on some tough competition against Mountain Bank (11-3), Somerset Academy (7-2) and Indian Hill (2-3).
The 2-2 record has Eastside at fourth place in Region 8-AAAA.
North Oconee is the powerhouse in the region, and beat the Eagles in their last game out 70-42.
Behind the Titans are Cedar Shoals (8-5, 3-1) and Madison County (9-1, 3-1).
Newton Rams (Boys Team: 7-4, Girls Team: 9-0)
The resurgence of the Lady Rams basketball program has been a site to see the past two seasons.
After only winning three games in 2022, head coach Jawan Bailey led Newton to a 19-12 season last year and a trip to the Sweet 16.
This year, the Lady Rams have been perfect with a 9-0 start.
Despite losing their top scorer from a year ago in Sanaa Tripp, the young core that began to make noise last year has taken another step up this year.
Sophomore London Smith, who missed the majority of last season with an injury, is in the midst of a breakout season for the Lady Rams.
Along with Smith are players such as Mya Perry and Alissa Sandifer, who are two of the team's top scorers as well.
Through nine games, dominance has been on display.
Only two of the nine games were within 10 points, and Newton has done this against five teams with a winning record.
Newton will have a few more tough tests ahead of the new year with matchups against Luella (6-2, 3-0), Greenwood (5-3, 0-1) and Galloway (5-3, 4-1).
This sets up Bailey and the Rams to continue the rest of region play in January.
As of now, Region 4-AAAAAA looks to be a three-team race between Newton, Grayson and Archer.
Newton and Grayson have been battling for region crowns for years, and it would not surprise me in the least if these two teams find themselves on the court together (once again) in the region title game.
Do not let that 7-4 record fool you, this Newton boys team is still one of the best teams in the state.
The Rams are winners of three of their last four -- with all three wins against Region 4-AAAAAA opponents.
The four losses for Newton have come against tough competition in the form of Woodward Academy (7-2, 3-0), Cedar Grove (8-3, 4-0), Holy Innocents Episcopal (8-2, 4-0) and North Mecklenburg (7-1, 1-0).
Senior Ted Neal has really taken off in his final season, and the work he has done to stay healthy has shown.
However, possibly the biggest gamechanger for the Rams this year has been guard Marcus Smith, who joined the team over the summer.
Smith has taken the lead on the court and has been a big facilitator for head coach Barry Browner.
Newton has started region play 3-0 with wins over South Gwinnett (8-3, 1-2), Rockdale County (7-5, 1-2) and Heritage (5-6, 0-4).
However, similar to the Lady Eagles, this region will come down to Newton and Grayson (again).
The two teams are on a collision course as Newton will look to conquer the Rams of Grayson, who are looking to defend their state title.
When it comes time for the battle of the Rams, the matchup between Neal and Jacob Wilkins will be a sight to see.
Social Circle Redskins (Boys Team: 4-4, Girls Team: 6-3)
Mixed results at the start of the season for the Lady Redskins have turned around as Social Circle has won its last four games.
The Lady Redskins, led by head coach Norman Jones, have yet to begin region play but have faced their fair share of comparable competition so far.
Senior Jada Hyman is perhaps playing her best season yet, and that is saying something.
Through nine games, Hyman is averaging 19 points every outing as well as 8.6 rebounds and 3.8 assist per game, respectively.
Outside of Hyman, Jones is getting good contributions from underclassmen once again.
Sophomores Marissa Morrell and Brielle Price are second and third on the team in scoring and seemed to have taken a step up from their impressive freshman campaigns.
Region play will be tricky from both Redskins' teams since their region expanded beyond four teams -- which guaranteed a playoff spot.
Social Circle now has to battle against nine other region foes.
When it comes to the team in their region, it begins with the 10-0 Southwest Atlanta Christian (SAC), who appear to be the favorites.
Behind SAC is Lamar County and Putnam County with records of 7-2 and 8-3 respectively.
Social Circle still has a handful of non-region games through the rest of 2024 and into the first two weeks of 2025. Out of those, back-to-back matchups against Class AAAAAA schools such as Brookwood (7-6, 4-1) and Parkview (7-3, 3-2) will be good tests ahead of region play.
It has been a mixed bag for the Social Circle boys team so far. In fact, the team has alternated wins and losses throughout the year.
Despite falling on the road to a scrappy Stockbridge team to begin the year, the Redskins responded instantly with a 52-50 win over Eastside.
Similar to the Lady Redskins, the Social Circle boys team still has multiple non-region games left on the slate before beginning Region 4A-Division I play against McNair on Jan. 7.
Senior Derrick White is back as the main man for the Jones and Social Circle. White is averaging 10 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
However, it is actually sophomore Le'Son Nelson that is having the breakout season.
Nelson leads the team with 12.8 points per game and is shooting almost 50 percent from the field. This has led to Nelson being labeled as a captain despite only being a sophomore.
The Redskins still have Ean Mulkey, who provides size for the Social Circle in the paint.
Social Circle's boys team has yet to begin region play as well, and will face a fair share of quality competition in Region 4A-Division I.
Putnam County currently sits at 12-0 ahead of region play. Behind the War Eagles are Greenforest and Towers, who are 5-1 and 8-4, respectively.