It is not easy when the number one and two teams in the state

are in your region but that is what our local high school basketball

teams face. Griffin and Carver, Columbus are the two top teams in

AAAA in the state and they represent direct competition to East

Coweta, Fayette County and McIntosh. If one can get by Griffin or

Carver, the possibilities are endless.

East Coweta is led by junior point guard J.D. Stephens,

who Coach John Thrower heralds as the team leader. "He can

score and he gets the other players involved on the court, a true

point guard." Other juniors that are integral to the Indians' success

are Marcus Robinson, the athletic two guard,and Eric Harris.

"Eric played a bit for us last year,"

said Coach Thrower. "He has a knack for ending up in the right

place with the ball." The biggest strength for the Indians should be

their depth of players inside. They have seven players all vying for time

at the post position, including seniors Chris Caswall and

Derrick Canty and juniors Zavier Darden and Kevin Zachery. The

Indians have excellent athleticism on the perimeter and good

quickness. They will open their season at home against Eagle's Landing

Dec.1.

Coach Steve Hale is confident that the McIntosh Chiefs will

have one of their strongest seasons this year,as he has seven seniors

on the team. Michael Patrick is the leading scorer for the Chiefs

and was one of the top players in the region last year. The other

senior starters are Ryan Bobbitt, Brian Jones, Chris Massmann and

Jim Hanchett. Hanchett, a transfer from Texas, may be the

biggest surprise for McIntosh. "He is a tough player," said Coach

Hale. The Chiefs are quicker and more athletic than they have been in

the past and very deep. Juniors D.J. Dunlap and Nate Wesley,

both football players for McIntosh, will see some playing time, as

will Shawn Dunn, a 7'2 junior who has made sizable

improvements in his game. For the Chiefs to succeed this year they will have

to defeat all of those regional rivals, but Coach Hale thinks that is

a possibility this year. "This is one of the better teams we've

had," said Coach Hale. "It's a good all-around team, like one of

the Sheppard teams." That is very high praise and only time will tell

how accurate that statement is. The Chiefs open the regular season

Dec. 1 at Sandy Creek.

Sandy Creek has a very young and inexperienced team this

year but Coach Rick Francis seems positive that his team will

gel. There are only two players that played a full year of varsity

ball last year and the rest either have never played under Coach

Francis or have never played high school basketball. The young

players have talent though. Coach Francis is looking for big things

from sophomores L.T. Lockett and Andre Green. "L.T. is a

phenomenal player and we really expect some good things from Andre

as well." The strength of the Patriots is aggressive defense and

speed. "If we can click defensively, we'll be O.K.,"said Coach Francis.

The Patriots will not over or underestimate any team this year. As

far as the coach is concerned, everyone is a threat and potentially

damaging. Sandy Creek will travel to Morrow High School today for

a 4:30 p.m. game against Forest Park in the Arrowhead Clinic

Thanksgiving tournament.

Starr's Mill may not have the size and strength of some of

their opposition but they hope to make up for it with constant motion

on offense and constant pressure on defense. The Panthers have

eight juniors and three sophomores, which means eleven players

that have been learning Coach Tim Miller's system for over a

year. There is some tough competition in the region from

Riverdale, Morrow, Mt. Zion and North Clayton. "Riverdale is heads

above everybody else," said Coach Miller. "It seems like some of

the best teams in the state are all in our region." The boys nabbed

their first varsity win over the weekend against South Forsyth in the

South Forsyth Thanksgiving Tournament. They won by a score of

66-47. The Panthers are hungry for more wins and anxiously

await their season opener against Salem Dec. 1 at Starr's Mill after

the girls game.

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