Pace Academy

Region 6-AA
Head Coach: Demetrius Smith
Last Year’s Record: 27-3 (15-0)

Top Returning Players: Wendell Carter (Jr.), Zack Kaminsky (Sr.), Caleb Holifield (So.)
Top Newcomers: Isaiah Kelly (So.)

Key Games: Westlake (Holiday Hoopsgiving), Greenforest (Basketball Xplosion), Holy Innocents (Twice), Greater Atlanta Christian (Twice), High Point Christian Academy (NC)(Peachtree Corners Invitational)

Team Preview: Pace Academy will be a team with a lot of eyes on their games every night because of their man in the middle in Wendell Carter, the number one player in the nation in the class of 2017. Carter was an absolute force to be reckoned with last year as a sophomore, and he is coming off of a summer that saw him rise to the top of the 2017 rankings as a key member of the Nike EYBL Peach Jam champion Georgia Stars team. We simply cannot explain enough the value he brings to this Knights team. He scores the ball at an extremely high level, rebounds like an animal, blocks shots, and so on and so forth. Him alone is reason enough to include Pace Academy in the Power Poll; however, he is not alone on this Pace Academy team.

Carter forms a very solid three-headed attack between senior wing Zack Kaminsky and sophomore wing and newcomer Isaiah Kelly. Kaminsky is coming off of a good travel season with Atlanta All Stars and provides a lot of versatility, being able to play all positions two through 4. He can step out and shoot the ball as well as put it on the floor and attack. Meanwhile, Isaiah Kelly, who transferred in form Augusta Christian, is one of Georgia’s best prospects in the class of 2018 and is a very effective scorer and can put the ball in the basket in a variety of levels. As teams key in on Wendell Carter, look for both of these guys to have big seasons.

One question mark about this Pace Academy team is their point guard play and how will the ball get to these three off-the-ball players. Sophomore guard Caleb Holifield could assume a lot of those duties, getting passed onto him from his brother Elijah who has graduated from last year’s team. His play could be very important to this team’s success. However, it would not be shocking to even see Zack Kaminsky also get some ball handling responsibilities in spots. Even with this question mark, look for Pace Academy to be one of the favorites in the AA classification and make a run at Macon.