With most Northeast Georgia-area regions already underway just a week or so into December, some early trends have begun to develop for area teams on the boys side.
And most are not who you would expect, based on recent success.
West Hall, Flowery Branch, and Chestatee all have jumped out of the gates strong, especially in the early part of their region schedules. All three lead their region or subregion after the first week of region play.
Flowery Branch is a perfect 7-0 on the season, including a Region 8-5A-opening win over Clarke Central. The Falcons are the only unbeaten team left in 8-5A.
Coach Jay Burney said coming into the season he felt they had a chance to make some noise. It looks like they have to this point.
“I’m very pleased with the start we have had,” Burney said. “We’re playing pretty well as a group.”
Seniors Tyleek Worth, Jack Burney, Fe Honors and Jackson Owens all returned. Sophomore point guard Jeremiah Ware has helped facilitate the offense. They are averaging 71.8 points/game in the early going after managing just 55.3 ppg last season.
“We’re scoring the ball better so far this year and that has been a big factor,” Burney said. “We’re a more experienced group and we have some quality depth. But there are a lot of good teams left on our schedule.
“We are in a very tough region. We will have to continue to improve each week, each game.”
Chestatee, meanwhile, has not had a winning campaign in well over a decade. The War Eagles have just three playoff appearances in their history, the most recent in 2020.
But second-year coach Tanner Plemmons has his group off to a 5-1 start and a pair of Region 8-4A wins, including a rout of defending region champ North Hall last week. They sit atop their early subregion standings.
Plemmons said the focus has been somewhat of a reversal for the War Eagles, usually known for their offensive abilities.
“Last year we lost a lot of close games so improving on the defensive end was our main focus during the offseason,” Plemmons said. “We have really played well on the defensive end in the early going.”
Chestatee allowed 58.2 points/game last season. They have lowered that to 51.6 ppg so far.
The main offensive cogs -- senior guards Hugh Pruitt and Jarvis Weaver, junior guard Josh Bull, junior forward Colton Wilbanks and senior forward Eli Parlier -- have benefited from the improved defense.
“We have gotten a lot of points off transition from the defense and we have a pretty balanced offense, inside and out, which is also a big key for us right now,” Plemmons said.
Cherokee Bluff, also in Region 8-4A, is 4-2 overall and 2-1 in region play and is riding a two-game region win streak.
The Bears won 12 games in 2021-22 and did not advance to the playoffs. But they did not lose any significant players to graduation and had senior guards Carlos Marlow and Jhace Justice and sophomore forward Boston Kersh all return. Junior guard Logan Holmes has added some quality minutes as well in the early part of the season.
Banks County has been a playoff stalwart making the postseason each of the past eight seasons. But a pair sub-par campaigns with a young roster is starting to show some gains.
The Leopards won just nine games last season but is just one win from matching that in early December. The Leopards are 8-1 with their only loss by one, 63-62, to North Hall.
Third-year Leopards' coach Ryan Griffin was hoping his group was ready for a quick start.
Seniors Mason Adams and Kolby Watson, junior Aaron Scott, and sophomore Hunter Youngblood have led the early charge. Like Branch above, the Leopards have improved their offense from 58.5 ppg last year to 66.1 ppg so far this season.
“I felt back in the summer that we could be pretty good,” Griffin said. “The guys are a year older and are sharing the ball really well. In our nine games we’ve had four different guys lead us in scoring.
“I really thought this is about where we could be at this point in the season. But we still have a lot of basketball left and a lot of things to improve on.”
West Hall, which has not made the playoffs since 2019 and has not had a winning season since the 2010-11 campaign (24-6) is off to its best start since then.
The Spartans, who won just 8 games last season, currently sit 6-3 overall and are a perfect 2-0 in Region 7-3A play going into tonight’s huge showdown at home against White County. They lead the early region standings by a half-game over both White County and Pickens.
Andrew Malin, Isaiah Holder, Quintavous Reid, and Owen Jenkins have led the early improvement. Jenkins is having a breakout season so far averaging over 20 points/game.
Habersham Central in Region 8-6A is off to a 7-1 start, though 8-6A does not begin region play until after the New Year.
There are several area teams that have gotten off to slow starts as well. Jefferson, a quarterfinalist last year in Class 4A, has just one win as a young team that lost its top four scorers from last year and is still trying to find its way. The Dragons are just 1-5 in the early going.
East Hall, which sports two freshmen and two sophomores in its starting lineup, is also off to a slow start with just one win after snapping a seven-game losing streak to open the season. They also have been without star Cletus Agborsangaya, who has been out since the second game of the season with a back injury.
White County, an 18-game winner last season, is just 4-6 so far but did open its Region 7-3A schedule with a win over Class 3A No. 9 Wesleyan last week.
Rabun County, the 2021-22 Region 8-2A champs and a 23-game winner last season, sits just 3-3 so far but will not open its Region 8-A Division slate until after the New Year.
Buford, which moved up to Class 7A after finishing as the Class 6A state runners-up last year, started 0-2 but has won its last three games. The Wolves won't start region play until after the Christmas break.
(Check the schedule below for the schedule of Tuesday's games involving Northeast Georgia-area teams.)
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Dec. 13
Apalachee at East Jackson
Banks County at Franklin County
Commerce at Riverside Military
East Hall at Seckinger*
Flowery Branch at Jefferson*
Forsyth Central at Cherokee Bluff
Gilmer at Lumpkin County*
Madison County at Johnson*
North Hall at Cedar Shoals*
North Oconee at East Forsyth*
North Springs at Gainesville
Pickens at Dawson County*
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee at Buford
Stephens County at Rabun County
Walnut Grove at Chestatee*
White County at West Hall*
(* -- denotes region contest)
