The High School season kicked off this weekend in Georgia and one of the most anticipated was the Georgia Elite8 at McEachern High School.
Make5 caught the second half of the day, coming away with these thoughts.
USF signee CJ Brown is ready to lead Kell after the departure of Peyton Marshall to Overtime Elite. The athletic, downhill guard plays with infectious energy on both ends.
Kell can surround Brown with three shooters on the floor at anytime that can open driving lanes for Brown, including SG Jaylen Colon (Alabama A&M) junior Chris **Mclavish and heady freshman PG Zach **Graves.
While Greenforest took the L and never really threatened Kell, they should be odd’s on favorite to win 1A. They have two sophomore forwards with size and length in Daniel Daramola and Orion Wilson and scoring PG Elijah Lewis. They will have to find another scoring threat to complement Lewis…Wilson may be the answer.
The value of possessions is key to the success for any team at any level. Writers are great in capturing points, rebounds, assist and even steals but how often have you seen turnovers mentioned? An often overlooked stat in high school basketball, turnovers can point to the success and failure to a team.
Osborne was plagued by that turnover bug in their loss to Newton County. 2025 G Akai Fleming led all scorers with 20 points for Osborne. Athletic 6-4 wing Bez Jenkins (Belmont), 2025 6-5 F Ted Neal and promising 2026 6-7 F Jordan Green led the way for Newton.
Wheeler is going through a “rebuilding year” but have pieces to compete in 7A this year. 6-9 F Josh Hill (Arkansas State) was effective on both ends, senior wing Ricky **McKenzie (Kennesaw State) provides a deep threat, the backcourt trio of sophomores Kota Suttle Jr. and Lamarrion Lewis with freshman Kevin **Savage III are tough minded defensive guards with perimeter scoring touch.
Dutchtown senior wing, 6-5 Joah Chapelle was an eye catcher for LM’s to get eyes on. Lefty had crafty finishes in the lane, was effective as a secondary ball handler against pressure and made quality passing decisions in transition.
In late, late action, Grayson breezed to win over McEachern. Senior guards Gicarri **Harris (undecided) 20pts and Anthony **Alston (Appalachian State) 17pts were the catalyst. Grayson has the deepest talent in the state and is the heavy favorite to win 7A this year. Add high flying, ever improving top25 2025 WF Jacob Wilkins (UGA commit), 2024 PG CJ Hyland (Western Carolina), 2025 6-8 F Amir Taylor with a solid bench and you see why.
Top ranked 2024 F Ace Bailey, who made his commitment to Rutgers official after the game, led all scorers in the loss with 29.
McEachern 2024 6-1 PG Jaye Nash , who transferred in from Briarcrest (TN) has a decision to make but isn’t rushing the process. The vocal, defensive minded, pass first point guard has offers from USF, Missouri, Arizona State and Ole Miss with interest from Georgia Tech and Auburn. “I’m not sure when I’ll make my commitment but I’ll know when it feels right”, he stated. “I’m working on setting up visits to USF and Missouri “, he continued.