RABBITTOWN -- To say there is a buzz surrounding Friday night's Class AAA playoff game between East Hall and No. 1 ranked South Atlanta is like saying Rolls Royce builds a nice car.
It simply doesn't do either justice.
"It's unbelievable," Vikings coach Joe Dix said of Friday night's 7:30 p.m. tip-off in Valhalla. "I've been here 12 years as an assistant and a head coach, and I've never seen anything like it."
And it's not like East Hall hasn't played some good teams in Dix's time -- the Vikings have reached nine final fours in that span -- or played against some great players. South Atlanta junior Derrick Favors will be the seventh McDonald's All-American the Vikings have faced.
There again, East Hall has rarely, if ever, played anyone this good this early.
"This is a first-round game because the two teams involved lost some games they shouldn't have," Dix said.
East Hall (22-6) knew the situation coming into last Saturday's 7-AAA championship game against Flowery Branch -- and wanted to avoid it.
"We knew that the loser got South Atlanta," Dix said. "But Flowery Branch came up with big plays down the stretch [to defeat the Vikings 87-82 in overtime], and now we're here.
"And we're going to do everything we can to make sure we're ready to play."
South Atlanta certainly didn't expect to be in this position. The Hornets (27-2) dominated almost every opponent they faced this season and had little trouble during region play -- at least until the 5-AAA tournament, where South Atlanta was upset by fifth-ranked Blessed Trinity, 67-66, in the semifinal round. Until that point South Atlanta's only loss had come against St. Benedict's Prep of New Jersey -- the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
When you feature a junior -- the 6-foot-9 Favors -- who some recruiting services rank as the top player in the nation (in his class) and have defeated teams by an average score of 73-58, you're not expected to lose semifinal contests. Yet despite the setback, Hornets coach Michael Reddick says his team is ready to forge ahead, even against a battle-tested team like East Hall.
"It's an unusual first round game," Hornets coach Michael Reddick said. "East Hall has always been a strong team, and I have a lot of respect for coach Dix and what he does."
What Dix and his players will try to do on Friday is find a way to slow down Favors, who has been almost unstoppable underneath the basket. In fact, his above-the-rim skills are so impressive, a quick Google search reveals a number of high-flying Favors dunks.
"The biggest thing is keeping him off the glass," Dix said. "That's where he hurts people. He's going to score and hit some shots, but where he kills people is on rebounds and putbacks."
Dix should know, he's seen Favors play a number of times and has known of him for years.
"I first saw Derrick in the sixth grade," Dix said. "I knew Wallace Prather, the coach of the Atlanta Celtics [an AAU team], and he said he'd found the next Dwight Howard [a current NBA star]. And Derrick's certainly turned out to be everything he thought he'd be."
Though East Hall has yet to play anyone of Favors' skill set this season, Dix says his team has played two similarly talented squads -- when they faced Miami Northwestern and Norland High out of Miami during East Hall's holiday tournament in Tampa Bay, Fla.
"They'll try to make it up-tempo, and we've got to do a good job handling their press," Dix said of South Atlanta. "We've got to go after them and not play scared."
Funny enough, Reddick said almost the exact same thing about facing the Vikings.
"We've got to take care of the ball against East Hall," Reddick said. "And we've got to knock down our open shots."
Whatever happens, each coach expects a battle between two teams used to playing at this time of year.
"We're excited about playing," Reddick said. "Our kids are just ready for the tournament to begin."
Oh, and if you're counting, East Hall is 6-0 so far against McDonald's All-Americans. Friday night, they'll try and make it 7-0.
Wednesday
June 18th, 2025
2:19AM
