HILLSMAN HEAVY: Final June Basketball 6/30/2023

June basketball is in the books in Georgia, as summer leagues and play dates all wrapped up this week. All in all, Georgia did another wonderful job with the month of June from the GBCA and On The Radar/Southern Hoops Report Live period events to the summer leagues and college team camps.

The final weekend of the June live period featured the #GBCALive Georgia Only event. The event featured 160 teams in 10 groups of 16 each playing bracket style. Each bracket had a winner and though it was June it gave a sneak peek of what to look for come November. The GBCA again did an excellent job with making the two live periods in the month of June outstanding for high school basketball in Georgia and the surround southeastern states that participated.

Let’s take a look at the winners of each bracket and other things that caught our attention from each bracket.

Cannon Richards of Kell

PURPLE: Kell wins the bracket defeating McEachern in the finals. Kell also defeated Jonesboro, Eagle’s Landing and Newton. Cannon Richards was a highlight all weekend for the Longhorns with a balanced overall effort filling up the stat sheet across the board. Peyton Marshall, CJ Brown, Jaylen Colon as well as Connor Staphylaris all had a notable weekend. McEachern, playing without Ace Bailey, were led throughout the weekend by Jeremiah Wilkerson and John McQueen.

Other notable teams on the right side of the bracket were Newton, Pace Academy, Eagle’s Landing, and Berkmar. Watch Berkmar. Mekhi Ragland, Eddie Cooke, David Culbreath and Corey Gatlin helped Berkmar to a very solid weekend, and Ragland’s name and game were in multiple conversations with college programs and will be as the summer rolls along.

Carrollton won the left side of the bracket, ripping off wins over Jonesboro, Grovetown, and Shiloh after opening with a loss to Eagle’s Landing. OB Watkins is the key to Carrollton. Osborne, playing without Akai Fleming for the second straight weekend, struggled overall, yet signs point to improvement from a season ago. Other teams to take note of that went to the left bracket were Grovetown, Shiloh, Holy Innocents, Langston Hughes, and Jonesboro.

Anthony Alston of Grayson

ORANGE: Grayson wins the bracket, defeating Alexander in the finals. Grayson also defeated Mt. Vernon, Dutchtown, and Chapel Hill. Anthony Alston is valuable for the Grayson Rams and, to some extent, is underrated. Grayson is loaded with the likes of Gicarri Harris, CJ Hyland, Amir Taylor, and Jacob Wilkins, however Anthony Alston may be the most important piece of the Grayson engine. Alston defends, plays with efficiency, and racks up a ton of IWPs (Impact Winning Plays).

Braedan Lue continued to show his skillset and garner plenty of conversation among collegiate coaches. Allen Stoddard and Greg Dunston also had notable weekends for Alexander.

Other notable teams on the right side of the bracket were Sandy Creek, Dutchtown, Mt. Vernon and Milton. Micah Smith (Sandy Creek), Amari Bailey (Sandy Creek) along with Matthew Hinton (Dutchtown) had notable weekends. Mt. Vernon is reloading for another run while getting productive weekends from KJ Garris and Sha’yah Goba-who drew lots of conversation among collegiate coaches. Dutchtown may be a very dangerous team come February.

Aiden Portee of St. Pius X

BLUE: St. Pius X wins the bracket, defeating Campbell in the finals. St. Pius X also defeated Chattahoochee, Parkview, and North Forsyth. Aiden Portee played a vital role for St. Pius X, and it will be interesting to see how the savvy guard continues to embrace his engineering role this season for St. Pius X. Campbell made a surprising run and it will be interesting to see how they carry the summer momentum over into the season with Rhys Cotton at the controls of the offense and Coach Gywn is showing no signs of slowing down.

Lawrence Sanford of Cherokee

Other notable teams on the right side of the bracket were North Oconee, Cherokee, Woodward Academy and Chattahoochee. Lawrence Sanford (Cherokee) is really rising up the ranks in collegiate coaching conversations and will be the leader of Cherokee this season. North Oconee has a pair of guards that will be interesting to track over the regular season in Justin Payne and Justin Wise.

Justin Payne of North Oconee

Woodward Academy had a productive showing behind Deke Cooper, Zac Foster and Brandon Peters. North Gwinnett won the left side of the bracket and all signs point to Caleb Jones-Dick as the leader with others having an opportunity to be counted on come the regular season. Etowah rebound from two straight opening losses to finish with wins. Aiden Weaver and Dimitri Angelakos will be the keys for Etowah this upcoming season.

Mike White of Mountian View

RED: Mountain View wins the bracket defeated Buford. Mountain View also defeated Peachtree Ridge, East Coweta and Marist. Mike White has continued to come around and albeit not one with a lot of press, he has the intangibles that could power Mountain View in the regular season. Buford, West Forsyth and Peachtree Ridge all were notable teams on the right side of the bracket. Will Moore will be one to keep eyes on this season for West Forsyth. Derwin Hodge will be an impactful player for Peachtree Ridge.

Marist won the left side of the bracket with an overall balanced attack led by Luke Harping. Walnut Grove also had a productive weekend behind Marcus Smith II and Deston Christian.

Cassius Watkins of Maynard Jackson

TEAL: Jackson-Atlanta wins the bracket defeating Lithonia in the finals playing without Mehki Turner. Cassius Watkins was vital for Jackson-Atlanta as he continues to develop into an quality player and see his recruiting interest grow. Jackson-Atlanta also defeated Riverwood, Rockdale County and Woodland-Stockbridge. Lithonia continues retooling as Cortez Vaughn and Marcus Calhoun had solid weekends and will be key for Lithonia this upcoming season. Riverwood, Providence Christian and The Walker School are other notables from the right side of the bracket, while Rockdale County finished strong as well. Moustapha Diop (The Walker School), Jalen Leonard (Riverwood), Sam Thacker (Providence Christian) and Fallou Dioum (Rockdale County) had solid weekends on the right side of the bracket.

Javyn Smith of Collins Hill

Collins Hill won the left side of the bracket with victories over Cambridge, King’s Ridge and Woodland-Stockbridge after falling in the opener to Rockdale County. Javyn Smith (Collins Hill) and Jaxson Jones (Collins Hill) you will need to keep eyes on the remainder of the summer into the regular season as they could make Collins Hill more dangerous than what meets the surface with their inside-outside dynamic.

William Jobe (King’s Ridge-now back at Fredrica Academy), Jaydon Cole (King’s Ridge), Michael Rosser (King’s Ridge), Jeremias Heard (Model), Chase Allen (Model)and Mason Lewis (Woodland-Stockbridge) are other players that had productive weekends in th eleft side of the bracket.

Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

PINK: Cross Creek wins the bracket defeating Thomson. Cross Creek also defeated Brookwood-a surprising semifinalist out of this bracket yet Cason has shown to be able to use all hands on deck-, Bendedictine and LaGrange. Cross Creek may one of the most disrespected programs in the state of Georgia. Cross Creek, under head coach Lawrence Kelly, has won two state titles (back-to-back) in the last three years and reached at least the semifinals four straight seasons. Jaden Priester, Kylen Clark, Quavon Henry all had solid weekends and will be vital for Cross Creek next season.

Long County, Thomson, Calhoun County and Monroe Area also had productive showings on the right side of the bracket. Alex Young (Brookwood), Kaleel Anderson (Long County) and Roderick Randall (Long County) had notable weekends.

Columbia won the left side of the bracket defeating Westside-Macon. Lagrange and Savannah also had productive showings on the left side of the bracket. Tahmar Mann (Columbia), Quay Wallace (Columbia), Sanchez Brown (Columbia) and BJ Wortham (LaGrange) all had productive weekends on the left side of the bracket.

LIME: Westside-Augusta wins the bracket over Dougherty. Westside-Augusta with a lot of youth and guys who were on their state title team a season ago but did not get meaningful minutes also defeated Greenbrier, Jones County and Mitchell County. Dougherty, Portal, Greenbrier and Monroe-Albany all had productive weekends onthe right side of the bracket.

Dougherty’s Montravious Perkins (00) and Portal’s Amir Jackson (15) compete against each other.

Other notable names who played well and should be watched throughout the summer into the regular season include; Amir Jackson (Portal), Elijah Coleman (Portal), Joseph Thomas (Portal), Jackson Jennings (Greenbrier), Camden Prada (Greenbrier), Martez Ford (Greenbreier), Jai’on Burns(Dougherty), Markell Jones (Dougherty), Jaden Stanley (Jones County) and Rashund Washington Jr (East Laurens)

The Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

YELLOW: Decatur wins the bracket defeating South Paulding in the finals. Decatur also defeated South Cobb, Central Gwinnett and Douglass-Atlanta. Other teams that played well on the ride side of the bracket are Lovett, Gainesville and South Cobb.

Decatur came with a small group yet the wealth was spread across the board behind Luke Brooks, Aiden Daniels and Bryce Howson. AJ Horton (South Cobb), Ellis Pitts (Gainesville), Landyn Murphy (Lovett)Cameron Cannon (Lovett), Andrew LaVigne (South Paulding), Tim Smith (Central Gwinnett), Malik Rideout (Central Gwinnett)

Alpharetta won the left side of the bracket behind another solid spring and summer showing from Jacob Bryant. Other teams from the left side that faired well are Mays, Adairsville and Heritage-Conyers. Josh Mickell (Douglass-Atlanta), Jacob Mickell (Douglass-Atlanta), Derron Lindsey (Mays), and Jayshon Arrington (Mays) are once to keep eyes on from the left side of the bracket.

Grant Smith of Madison County

NAVY: Madison County wins the bracket by defeating Union Grove in the finals. Madison County also defeated Butler, Upson-Lee and Griffin. Grant Smith, Mason Smith and Deshaun Johnson had productive weekends for Madison County. Madison County has the tools to make a deep run this upcoming season especially with Jay Carruth and Fra’Quane Wilkins in the fold.

Other notables from the right side of the bracket were Union Grove, Butler, Christian Heritage and St. Francis. Nile King (Union Grove), Caleb Samples (Union Grove), Greg Howard (St. Francis), Jax Abernathy (Christian Heritage), Chol Kiir (Calvary Day), Kuol Kuol (Calvary Day) and Roosevelt Brown (Butler) all had notable performances this weekend.

Eastside won the left side of the bracket using an overall team effort throughout the weekend led by Treber Edwards, Jayvon Johnson. Sprayberry, Carver-Columbus, Sumter County and Griffin had productive weekends on the left side of the bracket.

Griffin’s Khore Furlow

Other players to keep a watch for throughout the summer and into the regular season include; Khore Furlow had a very productive weekend for Griffin and is a player to watch come the regular season. Furlow has nice size, plays well on the wings and around the basket, is active on both ends of the floor and plays with controlled aggression. He led Griffin in scoring and rebounding in all games during the Live period. Anthony Tyson (Sumter County), Corey Wright (Sumter County), Tony Montgomery (Carver-Columbus) and Miles George (Sprayberry).

Marcus Gillespie of Clarke Central- Photo Courtesy BST

OLIVE: Clarke Central wins the bracket defeating Wesleyan in the finals. Clarke Central also defeated South Atlanta, Athens Academy and Mary Persons. Marcus Gillespie is the leader for Clarke Central and knows how to put it in the bucket. Laneric Gill also played well for Clarke Central. Wesleyan, Darlington and South Atlanta all had good runs on the right side of this bracket.

Josh Kavel (Wesleyan) showed off his shooting touch and scoring prowess all weekend and continues to build on his efforts from last season throughout the spring and summer. Kamel Williams (Athens Academy), Blake Wilson (Hebron Christian), D’Marion Floyd (Darlington), Bol Deng (South Atlanta) and Saku Hurst (South Atlanta) are names to watch throughout the remainder of the summer into the upcoming season

Paideia won the left side of the bracket defeating Salem, Roswell and Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy after losing their opener to Dacula. CJ Harper (Paideia), Frank Jackson (Paidea), Jakorri Arnold (Salem), Logan Holmes (Chreokee Bluff) and Boston Keersh (Cherokee Bluff) solid performances over the weekend on the left side of the bracket.

The Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

OTHER SUMMER LEAGUES:

Not all summer league declared winners. Here are the winners from notable summer leagues that did declare a winner or used a tournament at the end of the summer league.

Eagle’s Landing Summer League: Eagles Landing won their summer league defeating McDonough in the finals.

Relentless Hoops Summer League: Harrison won this summer league defeating Dacula in the finals.

Jonesboro Summer League: Greenforest won this summer league defeating host Jonesboro in the finals.

There was a lot to unpack in June. June again is great for high school basketball players, coaches, programs and the basketball people. Basketball in June is just great for everyone.

Now we hit July and everyone goes back to their AAU teams (or gets on a new AAU team) and college coaches will be back out in a few days for the July Live periods. The more coaches see you play the better especially if they saw you in April, then June and in July again. You never know who is watching, what they are watching for and you never know who is in the gym.

There were a lot of players that we didn’t mention for multiple reasons. We don’t have to explain but we are open to shedding a little light on it. Some players we want to see more. Some players we want to just keep tabs on (low-key), some players looked good in April, ok in June and so July becomes big. Some guys score it at a good clip or shoot it at a good clip however it’s hard to find other things that they can do that get chalked up as IWPs or translates to the next level. Some guys are great team players and at times maybe too unselfish, yet they make the right basketball play and have a number of IWPs but they are also lacking something else. We could list names for the sake of listing names but we decided to list a few names, keep others close the vest and let the basketball play out.

Once July is done, school will be back in. August, September and early October will be filled with fall leagues before official practices hit in late October and the regular season hits in November. Look up and it will be November before you know it. Time flies!

Be mindful that in the summer and fall leagues there are no scouting reports, dedicated practice geared to a team/opponent, the games feature running clocks and less team timeouts, no travel and multiple games in a day. In the regular season there is official timing (and this year new and better foul rules for HS basketball-but Georgia was ahead of that years ago), no officials working their fourth and fifth game of the day, practice prep, scouting reports, big cheese travel, flights (for those that schedule like that), charter bus travel (for teams that schedule like that) and those Tuesday, Friday and Saturday night region games along with those November and December filled showcase event games, they hit a little different.

The Hillsman Heavy and Total Sports Coverage would like to thank Prep Sports Nation and 929 The Game in Atlanta for allowing us to keep everyone in the loop with June Basketball. If you missed it, you can check it out here.

What you do in the summer….shows in the winter (late February/early March). Keep hooping!

#SeeYouInTheGym

HILLSMAN HEAVY: June Basketball 6/20/2023

The first Live Period of June Basketball is in the books with the completion of the GBCA SE Regional and On The Radar/Southern Hoops Report events completed over the weekend. Let’s take a quick look back at these events from the weekend.

Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

There were a number of teams that had quality weekends and a number of players that earned offers from the over 200 college coaches from all levels that were in attendance at both events. The GBCA SE Regional Live was a showcase event where most teams played four games over the three days.

WHAT COLLEGE COACHES ARE LOOKING FOR: The college coaches we spoke with were looking at multiple things. Some were looking for players to keep an eye on for the future, some were looking to see a player again after having seen them earlier in the spring during travel ball season, some were looking to at players to see if they fit into their style of play and some were just looking to see who caught their eye. There were some college coaches that liked Player A more than Player B but Player B may fit what they do more than Player A. There were some coaches who were watching Player C but also took notes on Player D for future reference. Another common thing in coaching conversations is; Can he play and help us win in our league. One Power 5 head coach said “I know there are a lot of people that like that player [we are not interested], I don’t think he is a fit for the way we play.” The common theme is fit and can a player(s) help schools when in their league, regardless of level.

TEAMS THAT IMPRESSED: While the records are the records there were some teams that stood out. In no order; Grayson (Ga), Oak Ridge (FL), Holy Innocents (GA), Wheeler (GA), North Mecklenburg (NC), Kell (GA), Lake Worth (FL), Miami Country Day (FL), Newton (GA), SLAM Tampa Charter (FL) and Westminster Academy (FL)

TEAMS TO CONTINUE TO TRACK: Suncoast (FL), Myers Park (NC), McEachern (GA), Windermere Prep (FL), Fayette County (GA), Collins Hill (GA), Spencer (GA), Baldwin (GA), Cedar Shoals (GA), Eagle’s Landing (GA), Hoover (AL), Berkmar (GA), Chapel Hill (GA), Cox Mill (NC), Millbrook (NC), Quality Education (NC), Riverwood (GA), Etowah (GA), Greenforest (GA), North Gwinnett (GA), Pace Academy (GA), Mater Lakes (FL), McDonough (GA), Carrollton (GA), Norcross (GA) and Grovetown (GA),

WHICH PLAYERS HAD A SOLID WEEKEND/CONTINUE TO TRACK: These are just SOME of the players we saw that either had solid weekends or we will continue to track. SOME of these received offers this past weekend, others received additional offers, some generated quality interest and some we think will be looked at multiple times throughout the summer and into the regular season and stay in coaching conversations. In no order by groups of 10;

Ramone Seals of SLAM Tampa Charter has his named circled by several coaches with high interest in the 6’5 guard.

Stone Bureau (Suncoast FL), CJ Hyland (Grayson GA), Aiden Portee (St. Pius X GA), Ramone Seals (SLAM Tampa Charter FL), Tylis Jordan (Shiloh GA), Joah Chappelle (Dutchtown GA), Jalen Leonard (Riverwood GA), Levonta Ivery (Augusta Christian), Tre Lawrence (Baldwin) and Mekhi Ragland (Berkmar GA).

CJ Hyland of Grayson continues to show his development as an overall player.

Ja’meir Jones (Oak Ridge), Caleb Holt (Buckhorn AL), Jaden Priester (Cross Creek GA), Langston Boyd (Cox Mill NC), Cruise Miller (Cox Mill NC), Gicarri Harris (Grayson GA), Kevin Curtis (Grovetown), Caleb Kawela (Greenforest) and Bobby Cannon (Quality Education NC) and CJ Hyland (Grayson).

Windermere Prep’s Sinan Huan is a 7’0 2026 player with a bright upside

Jalen Reece (Oak Ridge FL), Jordan Tillery (Oak Ridge FL), Aston Pierce (North Mecklenburg NC), Braedan Lue (Alexander GA), Eric Chatfield (Pace Academy), LJ Moore (Pace Academy GA),CJ Harper (Paideia), Hedrens Bartelus (Lake Worth FL), Colt Langdon (Millbrook NC), Sinan Huan (Windermere Prep FL)

Wheeler’s Kota Suttle continues to develop and is garnering attention from multiple coaches.

Ocien Valdes (Miami Southridge FL), Rey Daniels (Miami Southridge FL), Deke Cooper (Woodward Academy GA), Isaac Celiscar (Winter Haven FL), Kota Suttle (Wheeler GA), Ricky Mckenzie (Wheeler GA), Josh Hill (Wheeler GA), Aiden Weaver (Etowah GA), Alexander Constanza (Westminster Academy FL) and Jeremy Innocent (Lake Worth FL).

Millbrook’s (NC) Jayan Walker (L) and Holy Innocents (GA) Caleb Wilson (R)

Sean Van Dorn (Fayette County), Jayan Walker (Millbrook NC), Alex Lloyd (Westminster Academy FL), Caleb Wilson (Holy Innocents GA), DJ Hubbard (Cedar Shoals GA), Davin Neal (Newton), KJ White (Newton), Chiam Galvin (Miami Country Day), Kent Jackson (Episcopal School FL) and DeAndre Newland (Mainland FL).

Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

The On The Radar/ Southern Hoops Report Live period event was for Georgia teams only and had some teams and players that impressed as well in front of over 30 coaches from multiple levels.

TEAMS WITH QUALITY PERFOMANCES: Central Gwinnett, Galloway, Cedar Shoals, Woodstock, Lee County and Lithonia

PLAYERS WITH NOTABLE PERFORMANCES: AJ Horton (South Cobb), Cortez Vaughn (Lithonia), Deston Foote (Cedar Shoals), Josiah Parker (Lee County), Jackson Jennings (Greenbrier), Tim Smith (Central Gwinnett), Amado Barry (Central Gwinnett), Donte Golden (Central Gwinnett), Brandon Battle (North Clayton) and Greg Howard (St. Francis).

Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

The next live period weekend is coming up this weekend in the GBCA Live Georgia Only team camp at Lake Point in Emerson, GA. The #GBCALive will feature 160 teams over 10 groups. Each group has 16 teams, and bracket play will be used, with each team guaranteed four games. The groups are separated by the colors Purple, Orange, Blue, Red, Teal, Pink, Lime, Yellow, Navy, and Olive. Since this event is bracket play only, the first round games in each bracket are set. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of each group.

PURPLE: All 16 teams in this bracket have had success in recent years; Holy Innocents and Langston Hughes are the only teams that did not advance past the first round of the state tournament last season. The group features defending champions Kell (5A) and Pace Academy (4A). Other notables are McEachern, Newton, Eagle’s Landing, Pebblebrook and Grovetown. Notable first round games include Tri-Cities/Grovetown, Newton/Osborne, Kell/Jonesboro, Pace Academy/Holy Innocents. There are a number of notable players to watch in this bracket-some that have already been mentioned, in no order are; Caleb Wilson (Holy Innocents), Peyton Marshall (Kell), Davin Neal (Newton), KJ White (Newton), Akai Fleming (Osborne), Eric Chatfield (Pace Academy), KJ Green (Pace Academy), Darrien Reid (Grovetown), Moses Hipps (McEachern) and CJ Brown (Kell).

Jacob Wilkins makes Grayson a very deep basketball team.

ORANGE: This bracket is also loaded with known teams that all have had success in recent seasons. Defending state champions Wheeler (7A), Alexander (6A) and Sandy Creek (3A) are in this bracket. Other notables are Grayson, Norcross, Lanier, Dutchtown and Greenforest. Notable first round games include Greenforest/Dutchtown, Norcross/McDonough, Lanier/Milton and Alexander/Walton. There are a number of notable players to watch in this bracket-some that have already been mentioned, in no order are; Gicarri Harris (Grayson), CJ Hyland (Grayson), Jacob Wilkins (Grayson), Caleb Kawela (Greenforest), Matthew Hinton (Dutchtown), Kota Suttle (Wheeler), Rickey McKenzie (Wheeler), Josh Hill (Wheeler), Jayce Nathaniel (Lanier), Josh Dixon (Milton), Micah Smith (Sandy Creek), PJ Green (Sandy Creek), Amari Bailey (Sandy Creek), Ramon Soyoye (Chapel Hill), Toby Ojukwu (Norcross), Casey Williams (Norcross) and Dennis Scott III (Mt. Vernon).

Cherokee’s Lawrence Sanford has had an outstanding spring and summer so far.

BLUE: This group is filled with quality teams and teams that just have not broken through but are either right there ready to do so or are retooling to stay with the momentum that has been built in recent years. Notable teams in this group are; Etowah, Woodward Academy, Hillgrove, North Gwinnett, Cherokee and St. Pius X. Of this group Cherokee was the 7A state runner-up a season ago. Notable first round games include; Cherokee/Mill Creek, Etowah/Hillgrove, Woodward Academy/Lambert and St. Pius X/North Forsyth. There are a number of notable players to watch in this bracket-some that have already been mentioned, in no order are; Lawrence Sanford (Cherokee), Aiden Portee (St. Pius X), Deke Cooper (Woodward Academy), Brandon Peters (Woodward Academy), Aiden Weaver (Etowah), Trey Sheppard (Hillgrove), Dimitri Angelakos (Etowah), Caleb Jones-Dick (North Gwinnett) and Cole Kirouac (North Forsyth.

RED: Notable teams in this group include Cedar Grove, Lithonia, Marist, Walnut Grove, West Forsyth and Miller Grove. Notable first round games include; Cedar Grove/South Gwinnett, Marist/Mountain View, Buford/Walnut Grove. Notable players in this bracket include Manny Green (Cedar Grove), Brennan Wansley (Buford), Will Moore (West Forsyth), Deston Christian (Walnut Grove), Marcus Smith II (Walnut Grove), Derwin Hodge (Peachtree Ridge), Kam Stone (Centennial), Tramello Carter (South Gwinnett), Luke Harping (Marist) and Michael White (Mountain View).

Javyn Smith of Collins Hill is a confident shooter with a quick release.

TEAL: Notable teams in this group include; Providence Christian, The Walker School, Riverwood, Collins Hill, Woodland-Stockbridge, Model and Lithonia. Notable first round games include Collins Hill/Rockdale County, King’s Ridge/Riverwood, and Lithonia/Dalton. Notable players in this bracket include; Mustapha Diop (The Walker School),Cortez Vaughn (Lithonia), Marcus Calhoun (Lithonia), Isiah Sloan (Lithonia), Jalen Leonard (Riverwood), Karris Bilal (Riverwood), Javyn Smith (Collins Hill), Jaxson Jones (Collins Hill) , Fallou Dioum (Rockdale County), Nathan Hawkins (Rockdale County) and Mason Lewis (Woodland-Stockbridge)

PINK: Notable teams in this group include; Columbia, Cross Creek, Monroe Area, Long County, Benedictine, Sequoyah, and Beach. Notable first round games include; Cross Creek/LaGrange, Columbia/Thomson, Benedictine/Sequoyah, and Long County/Rome. Notable players in this bracket include; Jaden Priester (Cross Creek), Tahmar Mann (Columbia), and Brendan Tousignaut (Sequoyah)

LIME: Notable teams in this group include; Portal, Dougherty, Johnson-Savannah, Westside-Augusta (2A defending state champions), Lee County, Jones County and Greenbrier. Notable first round matchups in this bracket include; Dougherty/Evans, Portal/Morgan County, Greenbrier/East Laurens, and Lee County/Windsor Forest. Notable players in this bracket include; Josiah Parker (Lee County), Elijah Coleman (Portal), Marion Tremble (Portal), Joseph Thomas (Portal), Jackson Jennings (Greenbrier) and Camden Parada (Greenbrier).

YELLOW: Notable teams in this group are Central Gwinnett, Gainesville, and Douglass-Atlanta. Notable first round games in this bracket are Gainesville/Mays, Central Gwinnett/Alpharetta, and Decatur/Douglass-Atlanta. Notable players in this bracket include; Ellis Pitts (Gainesville), Octavian Demory (Gainesville), Tobais Rice (Douglass-Atlanta), Tim Smith (Central Gwinnett), Amado Barry (Central Gwinnett), Donte Golden (Central Gwinnett), Malik Rideout (Central Gwinnett), Jacob Bryant (Alpharetta), Josh Mickell (Douglass-Atlanta), Jacob Mickell (Douglass-Atlanta) and AJ Horton (South Cobb).

NAVY: Notable teams in the bracket include; Christian Heritage, Union Grove, Harrison, St. Francis, Madison County, Butler and Calvary Day. Notable first round games in this bracket include; Union Grove/Lovejoy, Butler/Eastside, Madison County/Griffin, Sumter County/Upson Lee. Notable players in this bracket are Nile King (Union Grove), Caleb Samples (Union Grove), Brandon Simmons (Union Grove), Grant Smith (Madison County), Jay Carruth (Madison County), Mason Smith (Madison County), Trebor Edwards (Eastside), Jordan Howe (Harrison), Jax Abernathy (Chrsitian Heritage) and Roosevelt Brown (Butler).

Frank Jackson (2) and CJ Harper (11) are need to know players from Paideia.

OLIVE: Notable teams in this bracket include; Paideia, Darlington, Athens Academy, Hebron Christian and Salem. Notable first round games in this bracket include; Paideia/Dacula, Athens Academy/Cherokee Bluff, South Atlanta/Salem, and Hebron Christian/Roswell. Notable players in this bracket at Marcus Gillespie (Clarke Central), Kymel Williams (Athens Academy), Frank Jackson (Paideia), CJ Harper (Paideia), Blake Wilson (Hebron Christian), Jakorri Arnold (Salem), D’marion Floyd (Darlington), Asa Shepard (Darlington), Logan Holmes (Cherokee Bluff) and Tyler Underwood (Cherokee Bluff).

It should be another great weekend in the gym for the Live Period.

The Final Hillsman Heavy June Basketball will be released next week to close out June 2023.

#SeeYouInTheGym

HILLSMAN HEAVY: June Basketball 6/13/2023

The first week of June Basketball is in the books. There were a number of college team camps held over the weekend and a number of Summer Leagues that started or had one-day summer league events.

The GBCA Southeastern Regional Live will be one the highlights this upcoming weekend at LakePoint in Emerson, GA The event will feature a total of 154 teams over 5 groups. The groups are Blue (39 teams), Green (45 teams), Red (34 teams) Yellow (22 teams) and Purple (14 teams). The team breakdown by state is as follows; Georgia leads the pack with 105 teams followed by Florida (31), North Carolina (10), Alabama (7) and Ohio (1). Tennessee and South Carolina, two states that border Georgia, are not represented. South Carolina has been represent in previous years. Augusta Christian, a school located in Georgia but plays in the SCISA in South Carolina, will be in the event.

The Blue and Green groups have the most notable and high profile team and player names in their group. McEachern, who has the best player pound-for-pound in Georgia in Ace Bailey (Rutgers), is in the Blue group.

Airious “Ace” Bailey of McEachern is the best player in the state of Georgia this year.

Other notable teams in the Blue group from Georgia are Grayson, Greenforest, Grovetown, Eagle’s Landing, Dutchtown, Alexander, Chapel Hill, Newton, Norcross, Kell, Wheeler, Pace Academy and Sandy Creek. Oak Ridge (FL), North Mecklenburg (NC), Myers Park (NC), Mainland (FL), Hoover (AL), Buckhorn (AL) and Cox Mill (NC) are notable non-Georgia teams in the Blue Group.

Some players of interest in the Blue group to lookout for are Akai Fleming (Osborne), Jeremiah Waters (Osborne), Clark Mastin (Eagle’s Landing), Chris Morris II (Eagle’s Landing), Maddox Melancon (Eagle’s Landing), Elijah Lewis (Greenforest), Caleb Kawela (Greenforest), Jonathan Crayton (Greenforest), KJ White (Newton), Davin Neal (Newton), Ky’Den Mays (Chapel Hill), Eric Chatfield (Pace Academy), Chandler Bing (Pace Academy), KJ Greene (Pace Academy), Braeden Lue (Alexander), Ethan Miller (Alexander), Allen Stoddard (Alexander), John McQueen (McEachern), Gicarri Harris (Grayson), CJ Hyland (Grayson), Ahmad Clark (Grayson), Jacob Wilkins (Grayson), Anthony Alston (Grayson), Darrien Reid (Grovetown), Gabriel Bradley (Dutchtown), OB Watkins (Carrollton), Caleb Holt (Buckhorn), Jalen Reece (Oak Ridge), Tyler Johnson (Oak Ridge), Kota Suttle (Wheeler), Ricky McKenzie (Wheeler), Micah Smith (Wheeler),Peyton Marshall (Kell), CJ Brown (Kell), Cannon Richards (Kell), Jordan Tillery (Oak Ridge), Isaiah Evans (North Mecklenburg), Dewayne Brown (Hoover), DJ Shine (Augusta Christian), Salim London (Hoover), Sir Mohammad (Myers Park), Sadiq AJ White Jr (Myers Park), Josh Dixon (Milton), Bishop Boswell (Myers Park) and PJ Green (Sandy Creek).

In the Green group, notable Georgia teams include Cross Creek, Etowah, Fayette County, Jonesboro, Hillgrove, Langston Hughes, Madison County, Marist, Portal, Riverwood, St. Pius X, The Walker School, Tucker, Tri-Cities, Lanier and Walton. Winter Haven (FL), SLAM Tampa Charter (FL), Sagemont (FL), Charlotte Catholic (NC), Centerville (OH), FSU High (FL) Grissom (AL), Chambers (NC) and Lake Worth (FL) are notable non-Georgia teams in the Green group. Players of interest in this group are Aiden Weaver (Etowah), Dimitri Angelakos (Etowah), Sean Van Dorn (Fayette County), Keith Gillespie (Fayette County), Luke Flynn (Walton), Grant Smith (Madison County), Jay Carruth (Madison County), Frae’Quan Wilkins (Madison County), Moustapha Diop (The Walker School), Karris Bilal (Riverwood), Trey Shephard (Hillgrove), Lawrence Sanford (Cherokee), Tahmar Mann (Tucker), Elijah Coleman (Portal), Ameer Jackson (Portal), Omarion Tremble (Portal), Jeremy Innocent (Lake Worth), Hedrens Barthelus (Lake Worth), Malique Johnson (Tri-Cities)., Jamie Phillips Jr (Winter Haven) and Isaac Celisar (Winter Haven)

The Walker School’s Moustapha Diop is picking up where he left off last season with a very strong summer and people are taking notice.

The Red group has a crop of Florida teams as well that are to be noted including Suncoast, Miami Southridge, Miami Country Day, Lake Highland Prep, Jupiter, Impact Christian, Bartow and Ribault. The Red group has the most Florida teams (11) of any group. Alabama has notable teams Sparkman, Thomson and Central Phoenix. Georgia notables in this group are Paidea, Seckinger, Christian Heritage, Lowndes, McDonough, Ware County, Rockdale County and Walnut Grove. Some players of interest in this group are Frank Jackson (Paideia), David Oglesby-Smith (Paideia), Shariff Kemp (Paideia), CJ Harper (Paideia), Jax Abernathy (Christian Heritage), Fallou Dioum (Rockdale County), Rey Daniels (Miami Southridge), Zion Greene (McDonough), Tyler Jewell (Walnut Grove), Brodie Johnson (Thompson) and Colben Landrew (Thompson).

CJ Harper of Paideia is continuing to build off his strong freshman season. The Sophomore guard is trending in the right direction.

The Yellow group only has two non Georgia teams (Quality Education-NC and Treasure Coast-FL). Georgia notable teams in this group include Spencer, Baldwin, Model, Meadowcreek, East Hall, Lakeside-Dekalb, Calhoun, Central-Carroll and Cedar Shoals. Some players of interest in this group are Jeremais Heard (Model), DJ Hubbard (Cedar Shoals), Daniel Washington (Cedar Shoals), Adonai Mussie (Meadowcreek), Daron Sturdivant (Meadowcreek), Damari Wright (Meadowcreek), Tre Lawrence (Baldwin), Isaiah Dennis (Baldwin), Gary Gaither (Spencer) and Key’Shun Sampton (Spencer)

The Purple group does not have any non-Georgia teams. Notable teams in this group include Mill Creek, Alpharetta and Buford. Some players of interest in this group are Brennan Wansley (Buford), Jacob Bryant (Alpharetta) and Stephen Jackson (Mill Creek).

The Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

The On The Radar/Southern Hoops Report Shootout will be another highlighted event this weekend at Next Play 360 in Marietta, GA.

44 teams across multiple associations will play two games in the one day event on Saturday June 17th. Some of the notable teams in this event include, Archer, Cedar Shoals, Central Gwinnett, Lithonia, St. Francis, Lee County, Greenbrier, Sumter County, Houston County, St. Andrews School, Notre Dame Academy, The Heritage School and St. Anne-Pacelli. Some of the players of interest in this event include Alpha Berry (Central Gwinnett), Tim Smith (Central Gwinnett), Max Skidmore (The Heritage School), Jakorri Arnold (Salem), Jackson Jennings (Greenbrier), Marcus Calhoun (Lithonia), Cortez Vaughn (Lithonia) Isiah Sloan (Lithonia), Malik Gillespie (Houston County), Josiah Parker (Lee County), Dominick Wright (Archer), Darrian Joseph (Archer), Malik Rideout (Central Gwinnett), Jamari Mosley (Notre Dame Academy), Dre Cowan (Notre Dame Academy), DJ Hubbard (Cedar Shoals) and Daniel Washington (Cedar Shoals).

Hillsman Heavy June Basketball 2023

SOME TEAMS FROM THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE TO KEEP EYES ON:

These are teams that had a quality first week that we will keep eyes on the remainder of the summer into the regular season.

Rockdale County: Trees have began to grow in Rockdale County with Fallou Dioum, Nate Hawkins and Jayden Dickens bringing size and length to Rockdale County. Dioum has the makings of being special. If he continues to have a productive June and develops well over the remainder of the summer he could be a name you will come to know as the regular season approaches.

Fallou Dioum of Rockdale County is one to keep eyes on throughout the summer.

Portal: This senior-laden squads returns for another run at a state title after getting tripped up in the Elite Eight last season. They’ve played a heavy summer schedule and requested a number of higher quality teams for their June games. Ameer Jackson is an athletic anchor in the frontcourt. Elijah Coleman is the engineer of the offense while Omarion Tremble and Joseph Thomas can breakout at any time. Freshman David Thomas will have plenty of opportunities to solidify his spot as a sixth man for a team that features 5 seniors, 1 sophomore and 7 freshmen

Cedar Grove: Manny Green returns after a stellar freshman season and will be the leader this season. Cedar Grove is retooling after losses in the backcourt and frontcourt yet have guys looking to continue to make an impact with their activity. Nathaniel Lloyd and Brain Valentine were very productive last week and look to be trending in the right direction. Cedar Grove will continue to work throughout June and it will be interesting to who else is going to step up as we get closer to the regular season.

Emmanuel “Manny” Green will be the driving force for Cedar Grove this season.

Oglethorpe County: Head Coach Larry Brown led the team to the state playoffs and .500 record last season. Juvaun Pittard and Cole Appling return and are the leaders of this team. Oglethorpe County will be improved and the stress on defense and sound play has been a heavy emphasis so far in early June. Coach Brown will need to find some more height and depth but Oglethorpe County is trending up after many lean years.

Greenforest: Greenforest may not have the household names this June and upcoming season however the culture and depth of the program is still there and shining. Elijah Lewis, Mike Robinson, Caleb Kawela, Jonathan Crayton and Daniel Daramola each are ready to step in and continue the lineage of competitive basketball that is in Greenforest bloodline.

Alexander: Lost a lot coming off a state title team from last season, however Braedan Lue is the highlight name and the addition of Allen Stoddard could prove to be very big for the Alexander on the wings. Sophomore Ethan Miller continues to develop and his improved engineering play to go with his known shooting ability and consistent play will mean very good things for the guard as time goes.

There are a bevy of Summer Leagues and one-day summer leagues as is always the case in Georgia in June. Records don’t matter in June. Development, foundation laying, new coaches getting to work with their guys firsthand, building chemistry, working on areas that are important to college recruitment and taking advantage of Live Period events are the highlights of June Basketball for high school basketball programs.

#SeeYouInTheGym

HILLSMAN HEAVY: JUNE BASKETBALL 6/6/2023

The month of June has arrived and the basketballs are bouncing throughout the gyms across the state of Georgia as high school teams embark on the first step towards the 2023-2024 season. From practices, play dates, summer leagues, college team camps and live period events, the month of June will feature a number of teams, players and coaches looking to use June to get lay the foundation for the upcoming season.

College teams camps are also popular among teams and colleges in the month of June. Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Clayton State University, University of Georgia and Mercer University are popular college team camps in the state of Georgia. All of the camps will provide different things for different teams. It could be from showing players a university campus and the appeal of playing on a university campus, to the different styles and levels of competition teams will see, to maybe playing at a university team camp because there is interest about the team and players on the team and to build relationships with college coaches and give the players something else to aspire to as they continue their development with the game of basketball.

As is the case in June, there will be a number of summer leagues held by different schools. The famed Miller Grove Shot Clock League returns, Pace Academy has a Shot Clock league, Eagle’s Landing has a summer league that will conclude with a playoff-style tournament, Jonesboro has a deep summer league, just to name a few.

The three biggest events of the summer as far as high school teams will occur during the Live Period in June. The GBCA Live Multi-State Regional will be held June 16th-18 at Lake Point. The GBCA Live Georgia Only event will be held June 23rd-25th at Lake Point. The On the Radar/ Southern Hoops Report Showcase will be held June 17th at Next Play 360. Combined there will be over 225 teams on display for college coaches during the June Live Period between these three events.

June Basketball

There has been a lot of coaching movement across the state of Georgia since the end of the season in early March. A number of coaches stayed in place while others were/are on the move for various reasons. Here is a look at some of the more interesting coaching changes this past offseason.

NOTABLE COACHING CHANGES:

Newton- Barry Browner moves over from the assistants seat as the new head coach replacing Charlemagne Gibbons (Gainesville). Browner previously was an assistant at Grayson and head coach at Lithonia (12-12 in one season) prior to this time at Newton. He served as “acting head coach” at times while at Newton as well.

Gainesville- Charlemagne Gibbons steps in replacing Chuck Graham (West Hall). Gibbons is known for leading Morgan County to a 3A state title in 2014. Gibbons has college experience as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic University prior to his time at Newton. In four seasons at Newton Gibbons led Newton to three Elite Eight’s and one Final Four.

Forest Park- Vernon Denmark comes over after four years at Stockbridge. Denmark previously was the head coach at Heritage-Conyers for six seasons after serving as an assistant at Rockdale County. Demark posted one winning season at Stockbridge in his four years as head coach.

Union Grove- Ira Hughley takes his first head coaching job after previously being an assistant coach in the Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy girls program. Hughley is the third coach in three seasons for Union Grove, and the second straight season, a first-year coach has been brought in. Union Grove is coming off and Elite Eight appearance last season, which is its deepest state tournament run in school history and has finished as the region runner-up in back-to-back seasons with two different coaches.

Ware County- Lenny Williams comes over after a successful six-year run at Woodville-Tompkins. Ware County has not had a winning season since the 2015-16 season and has not won double digit games the last six seasons. Williams was 123-47 at Woodville-Thompkins and made the state tournament every season including a Final Four appearance.

Archer-Antonie Stroud comes over after a successful four-year run at Druid Hills to replace Joel Lecoeuvre (Jackson County). Stroud was 42-18 the last two seasons with back-to-back state tournament appearances including an Elite Eight appearance at Druid Hills. Archer has never advanced beyond the Elite Eight in school history.

Baldwin- Ben Smith comes over from Dublin to replace Anthony Webb. Smith went 97-18 in four years at Dublin, made the state tournament every season, advanced to the Elite Eight twice and Final Four once to go with two region titles. Baldwin won the 4A state title in 2021.

Spencer– Quantavias Allen returns after a season away at private school Brookstone. Last time Allen was the bench boss at Spencer they went 30-2 and won the 4A State title in 2022. Some over those players will be around for Allen’s second stint at Spencer.

NOTABLE ROSTER CHANGES:

Yes there is a lot of that going on and it is far from over. Rosters are going to change each year as they always have decades before.

SCHEDULING NEWS:

There is some very good scheduling going on this offseason. We are happy to embrace that because scheduling is very vital in the continued growth and development of high school basketball players now and for the next level. Yet in basketball, scheduling never ends. By the end of the month, we’ll have a better grip on how good scheduling will be for the 2023-24 season. There has been a lot of scheduling work done since the end of the season and prior to the end of the school year, but schedule are really never set until well…somebody is always going to need a game. We will say this, look for some good scheduling news to come out shortly after June is over.

The Hillsman Heavy: June Basketball will be published each Tuesday in June with notes and takeaways from the previous week. There will be not a Hillsman Heavy: June Basketball ranking of teams or players nor will there be a “The Triangle Offense” , however teams, players of interest, coaches of interest and other notable observations will be shared as warranted weekly throughout June.

#SeeYouInTheGym