Skip to main content

BCB/MLK Showcase notebook

21, Jan 2014

BCB/MLK Showcase notebook

LILBURN, GA -- The Blue Collar Basketball MLK Showcase featured three of Georgia's undefeated teams, five Top 20 Power Poll teams and 10 good Georgia high school basketball programs. The full day of hoops played out beautifully at Berkmar High School as basketball fans were treated to a brilliant day of action.

ONE STREAK STAYS ALIVE...

Greater Atlanta Christian came into Monday's match-up against Hillgrove on a 37-game win streak that spans the course of two seasons. The No. 1 team on the HoopSeen.com Power Poll had a big challenge against No. 15 Hillgrove.

Hillgrove, runner's up last season in AAAAAA, gave GACS everything they could handle for the first three quarters of action. Down by nine points with roughly five minutes left to play, the Spartans dug deep and made a surging comeback.

Cam Boyd hit six three-pointers in the game while Tyler Hamilton did a lot of the little things in the fourth quarter to help close the gap.

Isaiah Wilkins, our easy pick for Mr. Georgia Basketball, was huge down the stretch. The future Virginia player had a back-to-back dunks and an incredible diving play to save a ball that led to a GACS score. It was a tremendous play and one that kept the state's longest winning streak alive as GACS went to overtime and won 69-65. Wilkins finished with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds.

"We were playing kinda of scared, not to lose instead of playing to win," Wilkins said. "We know we had to come with energy."

That they did.

Not a bad outcome with the team's starting point guard, Troy Morrison, sitting on the bench with a bum ankle.

GACS improves to 20-0 on the year while Hillgrove falls to 15-4.

...WHILE ANOTHER STREAKS COMES TO AN END

Clarke Central of Athens came to the BCB/MLK Showcase on a 17-game winning streak and ranked No. 12 overall in the HoopSeen.com Power Poll. Coming off a big win over rival Cedar Shoals, Clarke Central was riding as high as any team in Georgia.

But Morgan County had different plans. The class AAA program took the game to overtime and eventually walked away with a 76-67 victory.

Cameron Johnson came out of the gate shooting for Clarke Central. The state of Georgia's top unsigned senior drilled three three-pointers en route to 18 first half points as CCHS went into the locker room with a 10-point halftime lead. After three quarters, Johnson and his teammates remained on top but Morgan County was surging.

Paced by the always reliable scoring of junior guard Tookie Brown, Morgan County came back in the game and eventually forced an overtime period.

Johnson drove to the rim in the closing seconds of regulation and looked for a foul in the paint but never received a whistle. The buzzer sounded and we had four free minutes of basketball.

From there, CJ Turman and Brown took over. Turman, a muscular and sometimes menacing post presence, scored six overtime points while Brown controlled the pace with his scoring touch and speed with the bal. He hit two huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help lead Morgan County back.

"I told the guys in the huddle to lock up and defend because I knew they weren't going to call the fouls. If we did that, we were going to win this ball game," Brown said.

Morgan County had a lot of help from Jaylin Ingram, who is one of the state's most impressive sophomores this season. Ingram has been on a tear since the holiday tournaments. The 6-foot-6 forward scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Morgan County in the win over Clarke Central.

PERFECTION REMAINS INTACT

Allatoona, the No. 9 overall team on the Power Poll, came into the event with a perfect 18-0 record but only three wins of major significance. So, a pairing against No. 18 overall Fayette County was important for a number of reasons.

For starters, the game was a measuring stick match-up. Fayette County is talented with good size, good players and good coaching. This was a game that held some proving points for both teams.

Allatoona used a big third quarter defensive effort to hold off Fayette County for a 65-57 win. Junior wing Rodney Brown scored 25 points in the victory while Daniel Fowler, one of the state's best unsigned seniors, played well enough to earn a scholarship offer from Furman University after the game.

Fayette County came out strong right from the tip. Future James Madison wing Dante Sterling showed off a full arsenal of skills. He finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Unsigned senior Chaz Berry drilled six three-pointers and finished with 25 points.

Allatoona improves to 19-0 while Fayette County drops to 12-4.

BUFORD MAKES IT DRAMATIC

Buford was rolling in a match-up against Gainesville Johnson on Monday afternoon but the team watched a 10-point lead with less than two minutes left to play nearly slip away. The Wolves made foul shots when it mattered to hold on for a 71-68 win.

Johnson's Drew Dunham took advantage of a Buford turnover and drilled a three-pointer with 45 seconds left to play to cut the lead to three but that's as close as the game came. The outcome just about gave Buford head coach Allen Whitehart a patch of grey hairs.

Buford sophomore D'Marcus Simonds scored 22 points while UConn bound big man Rakim Lubin scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Unsigned senior point guard Matt McMorris added 15 points.

Johnson was led by senior James Hodges, who scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

PEBBLEBROOK WINS THE JUNIOR BOWL

Ty Hudson and Trhae Mitchell combined for 42 points as Pebblebrook beat Athens Christian 73-67 in the nightcap of the BCB/MLK Showcase.

Hudson was calm and collected in the fourth quarter from the foul line, knocking down six of eight freebies to put away an Athens Christian team that got hot in the fourth quarter. Hudson finsihed with 24 points and was one of the best guards in the building on Monday.

Junior wing Trhae Mitchell added 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the win for Pebblebrook.

Will "Turtle" Jackson found his range in the second half, hitting a pair of three-pointers en route to 23 points. Junior forward Demetrius McWhorter dropped 30 points while junior big man Chris Tate scored a loud 14 points.

ALL EYES ON US

Furman head coach Niko Medved was the lone Division I head coach in the building while assistant coaches from Clemson, Furman, Gardner-Webb, Kennesaw State, Marshall, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Rice, South Alabama, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech and Winthrop were there.

Coaches from Emmanuel, Oglethorpe, Piedmont, Shorter, South Georgia Tech and Tennessee Temple were also at the event.


Justin Young
Editor-in-Chief

Justin Young has been the editor-in-chief of HoopSeen.com since 2013. He manages the day-to-day operations on the site and in conjunction with our national and regional events. He was the national basketball editor for Rivals.com and a contributing editor at Yahoo! Sports. Young has been earned numerous awards for his work in sports journalism, including the Georgia Press Association Columnist of the Year. His Justin Young Basketball recruiting service has been in existence since 2002 and worked with over 300 schools from all levels. He is the director of HoopSeen Elite Preview camps and our national Preview camp series. 

Upcoming Events

Dates
March 29 – 31, 2024
Venue
Suwanee Sports Academy
Who
Girls 5th-11th grades
Event Stature
National
Entry Cost
$350
Dates
March 29 – 31, 2024
Venue
The Finley Center
Who
Boys 6th-12th grades
Event Stature
National
Entry Cost
$475
Dates
April 5 – 7, 2024
Venue
Suwanee Sports Academy
Who
Boys 8th-12th grades
Event Stature
National
Entry Cost
$475