Try this for a second: close your eyes and listen to the game.

I sat courtside for the Norcross-Hillgrove Class AAAAAA championship game last year in Macon. The venue was loud, not from a crowd noise perspective either. It was loud on the court. What do I mean? The game was physical, like a college game. You could hear players setting screens. You could hear the box outs. You could hear the players communicating.

There were two games going on at the same time at Georgia Tech's team camp next to each other. Both games were down to the wire competitions. Both courts had a state powerhouse against an up-and-coming team. On one court there was a team from South Georgia playing an Atlanta city school. On the other court there was an Atlanta powerhouse playing a Dekalb County team.

The game featuring the South Georgia team was intense. You could hear that game. The other? Not so much. The result was the same; a finish in the final five seconds. With the non-Atlanta team you could see the intensity and sense of urgency. The Atlanta area team? Not so much.

The day before I was at Savannah State's team camp. That was an important trip for several reasons.

1. I could hear the game there. Savannah, Johnson, Effingham County, Faith Baptist, Brunswick, I could go on and on...they all played loudly. It is a different breed of basketball outside of Atlanta. It is more physical and communicative.

2. Johnson won the AAA state championship last year. But they lost a lot (Tim Quarterman went to LSU, Sadiq Muhammad went to Savannah State). I like what the Atom Smashers have coming back but they are small. Expect full pressure and an up and down offensive game. But are they the top team to beat in AAA this coming season?

3. The answer is "no". Savannah is. Tim Jordan's team is no joke. They are big. They are physical. They are deep. They are hungry. Jamal Norman, Chris Cokley and Jermaine Williams is a nice "Big Three" of Port City. You can hear this team. The Blue Jackets could be a preseason top 5 team in the state.

Other teams that I could "hear" this month: Veterans from Warner-Robins, Wilkinson County, Greater Atlanta Christian, Westlake, Statesboro, just to name a few. See a trend? Tournament teams. And nearly all of them are non-Atlanta area teams.

Will this be the year where physicality wins out over overall talent?