Reaching the top of Class AAAAAA is the mission for the Newton boy’s basketball team in 2024.
The Rams are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in the Class AAAAAAA playoffs last season. Their season came to an end by the hands of the McEachern Indians and Ace Bailey, 67-64.
The 2024 season started off in a much different way on Saturday, as Newton defeated the same Indians team 62-60 on the road to begin the year 1-0.
Newton is led by second-year head coach Barry Browner, who went 20-7 in 2023-24 with a 7-3 record in Region 4-AAAAAAA in his first season. Browner’s squad finished second in region play behind the eventual Class AAAAAA champion, the Grayson Rams.
To begin the season, most coaches try to get their squad prepared for the remainder of their schedule, and Browner did just that with Newton’s non-region slate. Browner believes having a tough non-region schedule will be a key to success for the 2024-2025 season.
“Well we open up the season with a tough opponent, McEachern, who beat us in the playoffs last year , " Browner said. “The non-region schedule we have will help us in the long run playing teams like Cedar Grove, McEachern and Woodward Academy.”
The 2024-2025 Rams basketball team will consist of six seniors, four of whom are returners such as seniors Ted Neal and Zach Harden Jr.. But, Browner expects a big year from a couple of guys who were in reserve roles last season.
“I believe that Jordan Green will be really good for us as the season progresses,” Browner said. “Bryce Jackson will be a breakout player for us because he can really shoot the ball well and he is really athletic and He’s been in the program for three years. RJ Wilson is a senior that is coming into his own after not having the season he wanted last year.”
Managing expectation is something that Browner has learned since being the head coach of the Newton program. Over the past three seasons dating back to the 2021-2022 season the Rams have been the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight once.
“What I’ve learned in my second season is learning how to manage expectations. When you talk about basketball in the state of Georgia, Newton gets mentioned,” Browner said. “I have to hear about the tradition of Newton basketball everyday because my assistant coaches played at Newton.”
With Class AAAAAAA eliminated, teams like Wheeler, Norcross and McEachern are now in the same classification as the Rams as the GHSA highest classification being Class AAAAAA.
“If you just sit back and look at it, the 6A classification is the hardest classification in the entire country," Browner stated. “When you have teams like Norcross, Wheeler and Grayson in your classification it lets us know that there isn’t an off night when we play.”
Following their season-opener win over McEachern, the Rams will wrap up the first month of the season against non-region teams such as Alcovy, Peachtree Ridge, Woodward Academy and Impact Christian Academy.
