“The youngsters are taking over”

Henry County Classic – McDonough, GA

The trophies were on hand for some of the state’s most unsung B-ballers as they all converged on the Henry County High School Gymnasium in the humble community of McDonough, Georgia over the Christmas Holidays for the Henry County Classic Tournament.

Girls high school basketball teams from neighboring counties took to the hardwood floor in quest of the coveted classic trophy and giving the fans a chance to see a lot of the up and coming high school hoopsters put on a display of exciting tournament play.

The Jonesboro ladies led by junior Jawanda Duffey, younger sibling to highly touted Jonesboro star Jasmine Duffy.

But this feature serves to draw your attention to some names you will eventually be hearing in the near future, barring any unforeseen turnarounds.

The Lady Cats of Lovejoy bought two highly talented post players to the holiday event in sophomore Schatavia Gray and senior Shari Buford. When talking about frontcourt players in basketball, the word “Beast” is usually the moniker given to the player that dominates down low underneath the rim on offense and defense. Describing Gray as a beast is hard to do because of the sweet little girl look she has when she’s sitting, but it all changes once she hits the floor. It’s really like a Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing. 

Union Groves Andrea McCullers, the coach’s daughter, gives the Lady Wolverines a presence in the middle that teams find hard to cope with once she gets into her groove. She’s definitely not in the lineup because of her relations.

Forest Park bought notice with 5-10 sophomore forward Jessica Franklin going up against bigger opponents holding her ground posting up underneath without being shy when forced to perform from the perimeter, shortening her approach to the basket, drilling the trey and the 15-footers.

Henry County’s sophomore guard Nikki Holloway provide the Lady Hawks with scoring around the perimeter dropping three’s on her way back down court to switch to an aggressive style of defensive play that keep opponents’ offenses out of sync.

The Eastside Lady Eagles have found their go-to-player in sophomore Catherine “Cat” Lee with her dart-like three pointers from the base line that won her all-tournament honors over the holidays.

The Fayette County Lady Tigers have a jewel in freshman guard Tessa Holt. Her coaches feel as though she will turn into one of the state’s top players by the time she’s a sophomore. Wow! That’s next year. Look out for this one.

---

Most of us know about the Geiger sisters, Jessica and Meghan, but there’s a sophomore that has come on for Parkview in the name of Kimberly Reeves. The way she plays on defense will certainly take the Lady Panthers a long way this season. Know what you’re doing when trying to penetrate the paint, and look out for explosive contact if you decide to make that move against her.

Well, that’s some of the talent I took in as a privileged media person in attendance. Sure there was a lot more talent on hand, but the aforementioned are the ones I feel we all need to be on the lookout for in the coming years. After all, “That’s What I Do.”