The path to a basketball state championship in high school doesn’t look like what you may see in the NBA or even in major college hoops. 

On the Georgia high school hardwood, it’s all about the region. A team could lose every holiday tournament contest, could falter in every non-region matchup, yet if it can strike hot at the right time — say, around January — that squad can still find its way into the GHSA state tournament and compete on Georgia high school hoops’ largest stage. 

Perhaps that’s why Newton boys basketball coach Charlemagne Gibbons says don’t talk to him about win-loss records until after Christmas. 

“I don’t even look at the record until January, We just go to play. We’re playing these teams because we want to go fight. And, if we can get our fight where it needs to be, then we’ll be fine come February.” 

That said, as basketball season approaches, it stands to reason to take a gander not only at our area basketball teams, but also the regions wherein they compete. 

How hefty or how weak is each group of teams? Who are the region frontrunners and players to watch? And which squad may pose the biggest challenge to a Covington/Newton County area school’s quest for a state crown? 

You’ll get that here in our preseason region report as we break down each region our four GHSA schools compete in. 

Alcovy Tigers Boys

Region: 3-AAAAAA

The overview: Gone are nationally ranked and defending Class AAAAAA state champion Grovetown along with a solid Evans. But the retooled region now includes perennial powerhouses like Jonesboro and Woodward Academy. Jonesboro’s been a stalwart on the hoops scene since those back-to-back state championship days back in the early 2010s. Last year, the Cardinals finished 21-9 overall and 11-3 in Region 3-AAAAA with a trip to the Class AAAAA Final Four. Woodward Academy’s overall record (15-12, 10-4 in Region 3-AAAAA) last year wasn’t as impressive. But the War Eagles always have talent. Rockdale (17-11) could also make noise as the Bulldogs return two of their three top scorers from last season. 

The frontrunner: Jonesboro. Though the Cardinals lost Malcolm Simmons to transfer, they gained two more through the same means in 6-foot-5 Micah Norris (from Solid Rock Academy) and 6-foot-4 Jason Isaac (From ELCA). Leading scorer Devon Rainey (17.8 ppg) will come in as arguably the region’s best player. Rainey, a 3-star football prospect who’s committed to Miami-Ohio for football, is a pure athlete. 

The dark horse: Rockdale. Although it lost junior Khayri Dunn to Tucker, the Bulldogs still have 6-foot-4 senior Chase Hill (13.1 ppg) 

The MVPs: Rainey seems like the obvious choice. But Woodward’s Brandon Peters is one to watch. So is Chase Hill from Rockdale. Also, don’t be surprised to see a few transfers shine in their new digs. 

Alcovy Tigers Girls

Region: 3-AAAAAA

The overview: It’s the opposite story for the Alcovy girls. Whereas the retooled region made things arguably a bit easier for the boys, it got exponentially tougher for the Lady Tigers. Forest Park, Woodward Academy and Lovejoy are all state championship pedigree programs. In fact, Woodward and Forest Park duked it out for Class AAAAA supremacy last year, while Lovejoy made its Class AAAAAA state title jaunt look easy. And though Forest Park is three seasons removed from its 2019-20 Class AAAAAA state crown, it has played in championship games each year since. 

The frontrunner: Lovejoy. It’s kind of hard to choose, given the strength of the region. But we’ll go with the team that has the most recent 6A championship experience. 

The dark horse: Forest Park. While Woodward has to replace Sydney Bowles, the now-Texas A&M freshman who led the War Eagles in scoring pretty much since she stepped on campus, the Lady Panthers return almost everyone from their Class AAAAA runner up squad. But don’t discount Rockdale, last year’s Region 3-AAAAAA regular season standings leader. 

The MVPs: Speaking of Rockdale, make note of the name, Danielle Carnegie. The 5-foot-10 junior had a stellar sophomore season where she averaged 21.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 steals per game. Forest Park’s Yasmine Allen (19.1 ppg), Jonesboro’s Queen Adams (10.4 ppg, 12 rpg), Lovejoy’s Bryanna Preston (16 ppg) and Woodward’s Sara Lewis (14.1 ppg) are players to watch as well.

Eastside Eagles Boys

Region:  8-AAAAA

The overview: This year, Eastside’s region got one team smaller, lost Walnut Grove, Greenbrier, Jackson County and Johnson but gained Winder-Barrow, Jefferson and Heritage and Flowery Branch. Aside from Eastside, only Loganville and Clarke Central are holdovers from last year’s region alignment. It’s already proven itself to be a stalwart football region. And while there won’t be any real basketball powerhouses here, parity should make this an ultra competitive league.

The frontrunner: Jefferson. The Dragons were two wins away from playing for a Class AAAA state championship last season, and they’ve been a steady playoff contender since the 2016-17 season. 

The dark horse: Eastside. The Eagles finished fourth in the standings to Loganville last year. But Loganville was pretty senior heavy and lost a lot to graduation. Eastside’s got a young, promising squad returning. 

The MVPs: Winder-Barrow’s Jeremiah Holloway, as a point guard, is likely going to be the class of the region.  

Eastside Lady Eagles

Region 8-AAAAA

The overview: With Greenbrier and Walnut Grove gone, a solid Loganville bunch with the addition of Jefferson and Winder-Barrow make this a top-heavy region with the aforementioned trio of squads leading the way. Lizzie Teasley graduated, so the Lady Eagles will be looking for new leadership. But the young squad has a chance to be much improved and should be able to fight valiantly for at least a No. 4 seed. 

The frontrunner: Loganville. According to MaxPreps, the Red Devils only graduated one senior last year. It’ll be fun to watch Winder-Barrow and Jefferson get to know each other on the court. Those other two squads will provide a formidable challenge. 

The dark horse: Jefferson. The Lady Dragons won Region 8-AAAA going away last year. They’ve got a good bunch of returning players. They should be solid once again. 

The MVPs: Junior 6-foot-3 center Emaya Lewis is arguably going to be the most dominant player in the region. Eastside point guard MehKyla White has a chance to own this team this year.

Newton Rams Boys

Region: 4-AAAAAAA

The overview: Not much change in this region from last season to this season, except for the addition of Archer  — a familiar nemesis in year’s past for Newton which finished 20-10 and 8-5 last year en route to a third place finish in Region 7-AAAAAAA. This region still looks like a three-team race between Newton, Grayson and South Gwinnett. But Archer’s presence will make it tough, and Parkview and Brookwood look to be much improved. 

The frontrunner: Newton. The nationally-ranked Rams are loaded with 6-foot-7 UCONN signee Stephon Castle as the team’s headliner. But his supporting cast includes a 4-star Indiana signee in Jakai Newton and MJ Whitlock, considered one the state’s best two-guards. 

The dark horse: Archer. The Tigers bring virtually everyone back from last year’s solid squad. But they'll be in a decidedly more difficult region this year with nationally ranked Newton along with Grayson and South Gwinnett. Yes, Archer played in the same region last year as the Norcross squad that ended Newton's state championship hopes. But outside of the Tigers and Berkmar, last year's Region 7-AAAAAAA was a bit of a dud.

The MVPs: Stephon Castle, hands down. Grayson’s Chad Moodie is a versatile player who, at 6-foot-8, 215 pounds, will create tons of matchup issues. 

Newton Rams Girls

Region: 4-AAAAAAA

The overview: While not much has changed in Newton’s region, a lot has changed with Newton itself. Two of its stars from last year have transferred, 5-foot-8 Sanaa Tripp (Parkview) and 5-foot-9 Tre’Miyah Berry (Rockdale) and new coach Jawan Bailey has come over from Class AA state power Josey (Augusta). Bailey and a new cast of young, unproven players will be figuring out life in Georgia’s top classification of high school basketball.

The frontrunner: Brookwood. Only because they’ve got a senior-laden staff that’s largely returning. But…

The dark horse: Grayson is definitely a favorite to challenge. No one will be surprised if the Rams from Lawrenceville turn up as region champs. Keep an eye on Archer as well. Parkview will also be much improved.

The MVPs: If Tripp is healthy, she can make a strong case. But honestly, this region is loaded with MVP-caliber talent such as Brookwood point guard Diana Collins, Archer floor general Courtney Nesbitt and 3-player Taniya McGowan and Grayson’s Samara Saunders. 

Social Circle Boys

Region: D-1 Region 5-A

The overview: On paper, Social Circle — as good as it was last year after posting an undefeated regular season and a Final Four Class A finish — should have an easier path to a state tournament berth this year as it transitions from an eight-team Region 8-A to a four-team Region D-1 Region 5-A. Every team in this region will be getting to know each other.

The frontrunner: Social Circle loses five seniors from last year’s bunch that probably still feels like it should’ve played for a Class A state championship. But it still has the best returning crop of talent in a group of teams that mostly struggled last year. 

The dark horse: Prince Avenue. The Wolverines have enough talent returning from last year’s state tournament team to be much improved and, perhaps, make a push. 

The MVPs: It may be a toss-up between guard Lamarius Jackson and center AJ Vinson. 

Social Circle Girls

Region: D-1 Region 5-A 

The overview: For all the publicity the boys team garnered last year, the Lady Redskins put together a solid campaign that netted them a state tournament appearance. They graduated Taylor Favors and her 12.6 points and 3 assists per game, but a young team with momentum returns, and, just as the Social Circle boys, will be in discovery mode for the first few region games as it works to learn its new set of opponents. 

The frontrunner: Oglethorpe County, just based on last year’s performance (19-10, 10-5 in Region 4-AA) and who the Lady Patriots return. 

The dark horse: Prince Avenue or Social Circle.