Two of North Georgia’s premier programs do battle. Expectations are high for a young East Hall team that is coming of age. All of Coach Joe Dix’s key players return outside of post Mahki Brown. Luke Cooper is a sweet shooting senior while Sedrion Morse is a versatile piece that was an All-Region pick along with Cooper. Johnson-Gainesville transfers Kylan Curry and Qua Butler bring experience to the backcourt to fight for playing time with junior Luke Holtzclaw. 6-foot-5 sophomore Malachi Vance holds promise.

Stephens County gave Georgia’s only undefeated team Upson-Lee all they could handle in the Class AAAA Sweet 16 before falling 76-70. Underrated 6-foot-7 post De’Undra Singleton is the No. 6 ranked big man in Georgia. Surrounding him is shooter Chaz Bridges and athletic slasher Ty Nails. Montavious Thornton is a high-energy point guard. The loss of 6-foot-6 forward AJ Curry to Habersham Central hurts.

Lakeview Academy was four points shy of playing for a Class A-Private state title, dropping to Southwest Atlanta Christian in the Final Four, 77-74. The Lions lose their two best athletes in Tre Gober and Josh Randolph, but Region 8-A Player of the Year Drew Cottrell is back, a 6-foot-3 pure shooter. Evan Pitts provides scoring and rebounding from the forward position. Adam Cottrell enters his junior season as another deep threat, while Jack Blackburn should see an increased role in the backcourt.

Lanier’s Adrian Martin will have to make Lakeview’s guards defend on every possession.

The rest of Class A-Private has waited in bated breath for what will become of the two-time defending state champion Greenforest Eagles after losing Coach Larry Thompson to Wheeler and four Division I seniors. Assistant coach Rory Griffin takes the reins and will try to continue Greenforest’s domination of the competition. He will have to do so without Mohammed Abdulsalem, who is off to the next level as well. Rumors have swirled around Greenforest involving two move-ins from Senegal and Christian Jackson formerly of Fulton Leadership Academy. With the rest of the roster in flux, Terrell Sanders returns with the most experience, a 6-foot-4 2019 wing.

Whoever Greenforest has will get Grayson’s best shot, the Rams coming off their first ever trip to the Final Four in Class AAAAAAA. Geoffrey Pierce’s team is powered by the No. 2 ranked 2018 point guard in Georgia, Travis Anderson. The physical 6-foot scorer poured in 21.4 points per game, second-best in Gwinnett County, while adding 4 assists. Nick Edwards has developed into an important second scoring option that averaged 12 points and 3.6 assists as a junior. South Gwinnett transfer DJ Williams brings great athleticism as a 6-foot-1 senior guard while sophomore Deivon Smith, a defensive dynamo, has grown to 5-foot-11 and plays above the rim. The calling card to Grayson’s recent success however has been the glass-pounding interior play. While Gerald Buncum has graduated, 6-foot-6 junior Kenyon Jackson is ready to take his game to the next level following a season in which he posted 9.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 3.1 blocks per game. Once Jackson truly buys into his offensive game and becomes more aggressive, expect his name to gain traction with D-I schools. Joining him this year is 6-foot-7 senior Terence Porter, a Creekside transfer who has all the intangibles to make a name for himself in Loganville. Keep an eye on 6-foot-6 freshman Taje Kelly, who may see extended playing time early while Jackson, a LSU wide receiver-commit, is on the football field.

The nucleus of seniors Michael Zabetakis and Andrew Stanton along with sophomore Joseph Staiti can pose problems for unexpecting opponents. Zabetakis is a 6-foot-3 guard while Stanton has size at 6-foot-5 and shows flashes of being able to carry the load downlow when aggressive. Staiti has the highest upside of the group. He is the younger cousin of Jenna Staiti, current UGA Lady Bulldog and the GHSA’s most dominant post presence this decade. Staiti is a 6-foot-3 slashing wing with some bounce and swagger in his game.

The Class AAAAAA state champion Panthers square off with the Class AAAA state runner-up Golden Lions. Langston Hughes loses all contributors except for junior forward Jaylen McCluney and Georgia’s No. 1 ranked shooting guard, Landers Nolley. St. Pius returns every starter outside of Carson Seramur. The Golden Lions take pride in their meticulous extra-pass offense and tough as nails defense. They will have to find the open man, especially senior Everett Lane who drilled seven three-pointers in the state championship. Juniors Matt Gonzalo and Zach Ranson bring their own special dynamics. Gonzalo is an elite on-ball defender with wiggle on offense. Ranson is an undersized 6-foot-3 post player that rebounds at a high-clip and provides toughness alongside 6-foot-8 senior Kennedy Willis, who has quietly turned in a strong summer and is ranked the No. 18 post in the state. Langston Hughes will have to rely on others to take the pressure off Nolley. If the Panthers can find some help, they will remain a dangerous threat with the state’s most unstoppable scorer still on the floor.

There will be plenty of guard play with Miller Grove showcasing Maurice Harvey and company. Harvey vs. Nahiem Alleyne will be a 2019 matchup that college coaches will want to checkout. Mountain View should have the edge with the three-point ball with Spencer Rodgers, but the Wolverines have a massive advantage with Kevin Paige and Jermon Clark roaming the paint. Mountain View will have to team rebound to keep the bigger Wolverines a non-factor on the offensive glass.