2017-2018 Savannah High School Boys
Basketball Preview
by Travis Jaudon
It’s high
school hoops season in Savannah once again and this season begins with more
questions than answers for most of the perennial powers in the area. As has
been the case for several years, the high school basketball scene in Savannah
centers around the always difficult region 3-AAA.
Housing the
public school name brands like Jenkins, Johnson, and Savannah High, the region
was tilted on its hinges last season with the official arrival of Islands
basketball. Led by their terrific trio of Justin Cave, Hugh Durham, and Trae
Broadnax, the Sharks made some considerable noise inside of the loaded region.
The departure of those three players, and how Islands will replace them, is one
of the leading questions coming into this season.
Let’s start
with my preseason predicted order of finish along with some questions
surrounding the teams coming into the year.
Region 3-AAA
Predicted Order of Finish
1.
Johnson
(19-10 in 2016, Kyle Sandy’s
preseason AAA rank: 2)*
2.
Jenkins
(22-8, KS: 6)*
3.
Windsor
Forest (9-16)*
4.
Beach
(10-17)*
5.
Savannah
(13-15)
6.
Islands
(19-10)
7.
Southeast
Bulloch (10-17)
8.
Groves
(1-23)
*State playoff teams
Johnson comes in as the favorite to win
region 3-AAA according to most anyone you could ask.
Deservedly so.
The Atomsmashers, led by their one-of-a-kind coach Utaff Gordon, are returning a wealth of
talent. Amanze Ngumezi (UGA commit)
is one of the better players in the state for Gordon and the ‘smashers.
Ngumezi, a 6-foot-8 center, has the ability to create mismatches every night he
takes the floor. If he can keep from getting into foul trouble throughout the
season, the senior should put up big numbers in his final high school campaign
while being the rock that Johnson leans on throughout.
Ngumezi will be joined by a cast of formidable sidekicks,
most notably, junior wing Shamar Jones.
Jones, who led the team in scoring last season, also took the
most shots. He can turn the tides of the entire region if he increases his FG%
this time around. Eleik Bowles, E’Maury
Bowles, and Elavian Bowles will
all three be counted on as returning playmakers from the 2016 squad.
Jenkins, a perennial power in the city of
Savannah (and the entire state of Georgia) since the arrival of head coach Bakari Bryant. Now in his sixth season
as the head Warrior, Bryant will have a unique team this season. Returning
guard Tre’ Mays is a steady presence
at the top for Bryant and company. One of eight seniors on the 2017 roster,
Mays (10.4ppg in 2016) teams up with fellow returning starters Ahmad O’Neal and Tyrone Scott (12.3ppg/7.2rpg) this year.
The real question for the 2017-2018 Warriors surrounds their
four highly thought of transfers: Lamont
Sams (Johnson in 2016), Matt Sams
(Savannah), Daqwan Outing
(Savannah), and Sai Fisher (St.
Augustine Prep: New Orleans, LA).
Fisher, who averaged around 14 points per game last season as
an honorable mention all state selection in Louisiana’s class 5A, will take
over the reigns of the Warrior offense as the point guard. The big bodied guard
is excellent at driving and drawing contact in the lane. Each of these players
are upperclassmen with experience, but they are new to Jenkins and new to the
returning core of Scott, Mays, and O’Neal. Time will tell if the influx of
talent leads to an increase in wins for HVJ, but something tells me they’ll be
just fine.
After Johnson and Jenkins, there are a ton of questions
surrounding the region. The two other name brands from the 912, Savannah High and Beach, are both trying
desperately to return to their glory days of region titles and state playoff
runs. For each school, that task is becoming increasingly more difficult as the
rise of Jenkins in recent years has led to some players taking their talents
elsewhere. Of course, there are other factors to the recent lack of success on
the hardwood for both the Blue Jackets and Bulldogs, but no matter the reason,
the point remains: Savannah basketball is better when Beach and The High are
contenders.
Beach is an interesting team sitting in the middle of this
region because they lose three starters from last year’s team, which was one
half of basketball away from making the state playoffs before falling to
Savannah High late in the season, but they also return six seniors including Kawan Williams and Benjamin Brewton. Beach head coach Herman Haggray has made a commitment to playing faster this season,
so expect the Bulldogs to score in bunches if all goes as planned.
Windsor Forest is a team that, in my eyes, is really
intriguing heading into this season. Head coach Aaron Clark will lead his Knights into region 3-AAA play led by
senior guard Ben Mitchell (10.3ppg
in 2016) and junior forward Zimbabwe
Fields (13.1ppg). Fields, a six-foot-three-inch wing player that I believe
is being overlooked. With Mitchell and Fields running the show on Savannah’s
south side, I think the Knights are the team that can potentially shake up the
top of 3-AAA a la the 2016 Islands Sharks.
Islands has more talent to replace coming
into the year than any other team in the entire city. As mentioned earlier, the
loss of their big three means that there are plenty of opportunities for
someone to step up and provide the scoring for head coach Karl DeMasi and his Sharks. Sophomore point guard Derek Edwards (4.8ppg in 2016) and
junior Kalen Deloach (3.8ppg/3.7rpg)
will be asked to contribute in elevated roles this year as DeMasi and company
will try and replace their entire starting five. It won’t be easy, but most
returning Sharks have some experience
which should serve them well in the early non-region schedule.
Outside of Region 3-AAA
Woodville-Tompkins
2016 Record: 16-11, 10-2 in 3-A
Head Coach: Lenny Williams (1st year)
Outlook: The Wolverines of Woodville-Tompkins
may be one of the most talented teams in the area that no one is talking about.
Kyle Sandy ranks WT as the number nine team in class-A coming into the season,
and that lofty rank is well earned. Setting the young school’s high mark for
number of wins (16) last season, Woodville returns its core of sophomore
scoring guards and loses only one senior from a team that made the state
playoffs last season.
The three (now junior) guards Charleston Willingham (9.2ppg in 2016), Jordan Walker (7.7ppg), and Deante
Green (7.0ppg) will join senior point man AJ Hassel (7.0ppg) and junior big man Preston Crisp for what should be a special season for
Woodville-Tompkins.
New Hampstead
2016 Record: 18-9, 6-4 in 2-AAAAA
Head Coach: Tonya Mackey (6th year)
Outlook: The Phoenix are entering what would
what seem like a rebuilding year after losing six contributing seniors from
last year’s squad which came within two points from making the elite 8. Head
coach Tonya Mackey has done a sensational job building this program from the
ground up since their start in 2012 (5-21), but this year is going to be tough
for the Phoenix, especially once they are inside of region play. Returning 0
starters from the 2016-2017 team, New Hampstead “is looking to be competitive
build again with a brand new ball club this season” says Mackey.
Savannah Christian
2016 Record: 14-12, 8-4 in region 3-A
Head Coach: Travis Priddy (4th year)
Outlook: Savannah Christian may have the best
private school team in the city this season. Returning almost all of their
contributing players from last season, the Raiders will look to try and improve
on their 2016-2017 5th place finish in a loaded region 3-A. Juniors,
forward Aly Keys and guard Jordan Grant join forces with seniors, forward Eric Davidson and guard Justin
Anderson to try and accomplish something big for this version of the
Raiders basketball team.
Head coach Travis Priddy, now in his fourth season at the
helm of the Raiders, says his team expects to be near the top of the region but
he is concerned about a possible lack of “toughness” inside. Keys and Davidson
should fix any concerns with interior play as the season goes along, however. I
expect a nice year for the Raiders.
Savannah’s Names to Watch
1.
Amanze
Ngumezi – Johnson
2.
Tyrone
Scott – Jenkins
3.
Shamar
Jones – Johnson
4.
Zimbabwe
Fields – Windsor Forest
5.
Tre
Mays - Jenkins
6.
Charleston
Willingham – Woodville
7.
Ben
Mitchell – Windsor Forest
8.
Sai
Fisher – Jenkins
9.
Derek
Edwards – Islands
10. AJ Hassel – Woodville
