The hoops class of 2021 is setting themselves apart from the pack

 On a basketball team like on any other team there is a hierarchy that works its way down from the most experienced to the newcomers or least experienced. This basketball season however has seen the class of 2021, the juniors, both boys and girls, step up in a big way for their respective teams. There are big time seniors throughout the county playing well this season. Players like Northside forward Jamarcus Thompson, who is averaging 20-plus points per game and Warner Robins senior forward and co-captain Anthony “Quon” Dillard, who along with being the team’s leader in the paint has also received multiple scholarship offers to date. 

Stacie Jones, Keliyah Johnson and Tamia Luckey at Veterans, Quidashasia Dunnom at Northside and A’dajia Edwards at Perry are some other senior leaders pulling their weight for teams at or near the top of their respective regions standings on the girls side. All of them and more are excellent players that will most likely go on to do big things on the next level as collegiate athletes and students, but the junior class however, is making a name of their own this campaign. 

The Northside Eagles have had an interesting season thus far, winning four of their first five games en route to an 11-5 overall record mid-way through the season. A huge reason for that success is the play of juniors Tre Grane and Jordan Brown, two of the featured members of the 2021 class. In a recent four-point victory over Perry Brown and Grane managed to score nearly half of the Eagles 73 points (29) to go along with a combined 31 rebounds (Brown had 15 and 13 blocks). Grane added six assists and four steals during the win. “Tre is the ultimate competitor,” said Northside head coach Matt Simon. “He will never be outworked and has a desire to be the best he can be.”

“He is an emerging leader.”

The duo assures the Northside program a solid foundation next season. Brown is no slouch off the court either as he was recently chosen to represent the state at the Congress of Future Medical Leaders this summer in Boston. “Jordan, in my opinion, is the best defender in the state,” said Simon. “He has a high IQ, is a hard worker, and wants to make his teammates better. Both he and Grane love the game and more importantly are fantastic students.”

Down the road on the campus of Warner Robins High School a few unheralded juniors are using a unique opportunity to get their names out. Demons guard Greg Jones and forward Rashaun Tomlin have both come off the bench and started for the 14-2 defending Region 1-5A champs. As their roles have grown -neither was a full-time starter last year- so have their games. “Both guys are outstanding young men that handle business in the classroom and that attitude carries over to the court,” said Demons head coach Jamaal Garman.

Tomlin, six-foot-five and wiry strong, dominates game at times but does so quietly and efficiently. “Tomlin isn’t big on the vocal side but he’s extremely athletic,” said Garman. Jones, an excellent finisher at the rim, continues to bring an aggressive defensive pressure to the Demons backcourt alongside senior guard Keshun Houser. “He is more of a vocal leader for us,” said the coach of Jones. 

With the region regular season title looking like it is going to come down to the result of the Demons rematch with the Warhawks on Jan. 25, both players will be crucial if Warner Robins is to avenge that 73-65 loss on Jan. 10.

The Houston County Lady Bears have found a way to win all season and don’t let the 60-40 loss to Veterans Tuesday night  fool you. A young team, they only have one senior, the Lady Bears will be a force to reckon with in a competitive Region 1-6A and the play of junior forward TJ Lawrence is one of the reasons why. Averaging 13 points per game, Lawrence is having a career season. Her versatility is one of the reasons Lawrence is having such a strong season, in a home loss to Veterans Tuesday she only managed to score seven points but added a team high five steals.

Veterans girls program has a number of seniors on their roster and have been dominant this season, losing just twice this season to Northside and Putnam County. With a Division I commit among the four seniors that get playing time, the Lady Warhawks are an experienced team blessed enough to have three members of the class of 2021 on the roster. Guards Raven Glover and Ansley Miranda, the coach’s daughter and the team’s sharp shooter, and small forward Zykeria Jenkins have the cupboard full for the foreseeable future. 

Jenkins forces the action with a smooth offensive game while Glover is already one of the best on-ball defenders in the county, boys or girls. Miranda, who has missed some time this season with an injury, gives the team a coach on the floor and a three-point shooter of the highest order when healthy. “Ansley is a natural leader, floor general, competitor and team captain,” says Miranda. “She’s a student of the game.”

“Zykeria is also a student of the game and has a high basketball IQ, she’s a gifted passer and strong rebounder,” added Miranda. “She is a threat from outside, and has the ability to penetrate and create for her teammates.”

On Glover Miranda calls the combo guard, “super athletic and a strong defender with great speed and leaping ability. Raven creates second chance opportunities for her teammates and runs the floor well.”

“These juniors are an integral part of our success.”

Houston County has a point guard in junior HB Morgan that grew up in a big way during last year’s Region 1-6A tournament and carried that strong play into this season. With senior and big brother TJ Morgan out for a while with a torn meniscus, Morgan will have to be even bigger if the Bears are to get back to the postseason. Morgan is averaging 2.4 steals per game while scoring close to 10 points per game, both career highs. 

Veterans Warhawks junior DeAngelo Hines has been on a roll this season. Part of a rotation of guards last season, Hines is setting himself apart in a number of ways this year. During a 52-46 victory over Houston County Tuesday night Hines scored 10 points and in a win over Warner Robins last Friday he scored 16 points. “DeAngelo has done a good job for us, he is very conscientious about his play and his teammates,” said second-year Warhawks head coach Brett Hardy. “He really loves basketball and worked hard in the offseason to improve his game. For us, he gives us that much needed outside presence that opponents have to honor and that helps loosen things up.”

The Northside/Warner Robins rivalry consists of more than football and boys basketball and that will remain so thanks to Demonettes juniors Courtney Davis and Nykia Carter and Lady Eagles point guard Kamia Ridley. The Lady Eagles are currently 0-3 in region play, but Ridley is playing well despite, averaging almost two and a half steals per game this season.

The Demonettes have not played much better in Region 1-5 play following a 56-43 loss to Harris County Tuesday. Carter and Davis, the teams leading scorers, will have to continue playing at a high level if they plan on playing in the AAAAA state playoffs next month. Both players are averaging double-figures this season and have the ability to get their team (9-9 overall) back to the postseason.

The class of 2021 is elite and there’s still a lot more basketball to be played.

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