The March to Macon has concluded. The games are set, and the season only has a handful of games left before we turn the page to the AAU season. 

A-DII and 4A kicked off championship week, and here’s what you need to know from the first day in Macon. 

4A

Champions

Pace Academy won its fifth championship with a 66-51 win over Fayette County. It’s the Knights’ third championship in four seasons, and Coach Sharman White picks up his 10th championship as a head coach. 

The Knights dominated the glass 41-19 and held Fayette County’s potent offense in check. 

Juniors pace Pace

Not only juniors in name, but LJ Moore and KJ Greene are also the junior leaders of this Pace team. They’re two of the more experienced players on this young team, and they played like in Macon. 

At the guard spot, Greene controlled the tempo of the game after settling in. He was able to get to his spots as a scorer and make tremendous passing reads to set up clean looks for his teammates. Greene finished with 19 points on 9-13 shooting. He added five rebounds as well. 

In the first half, Moore was the guy for the Knights. He was productive at the forward spot and was emphasized as a weapon in the paint early on. At the half, Moore was already up to 17 points. He finished the win with 23 points and 7 rebounds. 

Way, way too early

Sure, the possibility for change is high. There are plenty of unknowns between now and when the 2023-2024 season starts, but it’s fun to prognosticate nevertheless. 

When looking at both rosters, there are a lot of returning starters. Pace has a chance to bring back most of the production from this team. KJ Greene and LJ Moore are both juniors while Eric Chatfield, Jackson Ferry and Chandler Bing are sophomores, and MJ Madison is only a freshman. All of those players have played huge roles on this battle-tested team and will have more experience under their belts. 

Fayette County loses some seniors that will be tough to replace, but they have a core of sophomores that will keep the Tigers operating at a high level. Christian McAllister, Sean Van Dorn and Keith Gillespie will be the leaders, and they’ll form one of the best groups in 4A again. 

A-DII

Champions

Wilkinson County captures the 11th state championship in school history with a 40-36 win over Charlton County. 

Despite trailing for the entire game, the Warriors took their first lead late in the fourth quarter. 

Kwaveon Henderson led with 12 points and 6 rebounds. 

Seniors lead

While Charlton County’s Elyiss Williams was the single best player on the floor, the senior leaders drove the ship to a win for Wilkinson County. 

Kwaveon Hill, Justin Stanley, Jordan Jackson and DeKarteyia Craig are the team’s core. These are the captains of the squad, and they stepped up when most needed. 

The quartet combined for 35 of Wilkinson County’s points and 23 rebounds. 

While no single individual had a blow-away game, it was this group as a whole that won out in the end. 

Show Stealer

The MVP has to go to a player on the winning team. Winning matters above all else, but there’s a case to be made for Charlton County’s Elyiss Williams. If he’s someone's MVP, you’ll hear no arguments from HoopSeen because he was fantastic. He was the best player on the floor. 

Williams finished with 10pts, 21reb and 6blk. The football star capped a phenomenal sophomore season on the hardwood by stealing the show in the championship game. The only thing that slowed him in this one was foul trouble. 

Way, way too early

High school basketball is a unique world these days. There’s no telling what these teams will look like ahead of next season. However, using what we know now, what are the odds of these teams being in a position to make it back to Macon next year? 

Starting with the champs, Wilkinson County graduates much of the production from this squad, but this program has proven to be a winner regardless of their roster. In the last 24 years, they’ve won 11 championships. With a pedigree like that, there’s no reason to believe that they can’t make it back here next season. 

Charlton County will be one of the favorites to win the classification next season. They were led by a pair of sophomores in Jarvis Wright and Elyiss Williams this season. With that duo back, and hungry to play for another championship, the Indians should have a great shot at being back in this spot a year from now.