Batson's Ballers: AAAA ALL STATE Team

The player of the year in the classification happens to have just been named to several All American teams and named the national player of the year, so it should come as no surprise that Kate Harping was the easy choice. I'm not sure how many more accolades or achievements are even out there for her in basketball before college. She has done it all and now we will all get to watch the next step in her journey at UNC next year. There were several deserving players who did not make this list, but I only am picking eight. [player_tooltip player_id='1110872' first='Katie' last='Elder'] was as good a Robin to Harpring's Batman that Kate could have hoped for her senior year. Creekside, after the injury to C'India "Cece" Dennis, saw their other three guards step up their level of play and impressed me individually on multiple occasions. Kell, who had an excellent season despite losing in the finals, could and maybe should have multiple players on this team. To those who were selected, congratulations- you definitely earned it!    Cornish was one of the most consistent, high-scoring guards in the state for Maynard Jackson. She is without question one of the best shooters in Georgia, whether it is in catch and shoot situations or coming off the dribble. She does an excellent job using her intelligence and experience along with jab steps and step-backs to create the space needed to get her shot off. She finished the year averaging 24 points per game on 56% from the field, 86% from the free throw line, and 51% from three point range totaling 543 points for the season. She is a very skilled scorer, a rare "professional scorer" in prep athletics where a player has one job and that is to put the ball in the basket. She can definitely do that and not just from three, but also finishing at the rim in transition or half court situations, as well as knocking down mid-range jumpers.     Lindsey had one of the more impressive stat lines I saw of any player in the state when I was doing my research for this article. Not only did she score two more points than Cornish (545) on the season, but did so averaging over 15 rebounds per game to go along with the 20 point average. Kopacek had one of the highest field goal percentages I saw as well, shooting a very impressive 64% on the season. She was a major factor on the defensive end of the floor as well recording over 4 blocks per game. If it weren't for the incredible year Harpring had, you could make a strong argument that Lindsey was very deserving of winning Player of the Year in AAAA. She has already eclipsed 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for her career. She holds several offers from lower-mid level division schools. With a strong performance this Spring and Summer, and perhaps another very impressive high school season and Kopacek could see offers come from the major conferences in division one.     Adams finished her career with an excellent season helping lead Jones County to an impressive 25-6 record, including going 16-2 in their region. Adams, who has signed to play at Georgia Southwestern, was one of the more physically strong and imposing kids in AAAA and she utilized that to her advantage dominating the paint both scoring and rebounding the ball at a very high clip. Adams finished her senior season averaging 19 points per game, on 55% shooting from the field, and hauling in 11 rebounds per game. Adams is has a lot of skill around the basket to go with her size and strength. She has good footwork and finishes well with both hands. Her best playing days are still ahead of her as she has made progress expanding her range and becoming more consistent shooting the ball from the midrange and perimeter. Something that if added to her offensive arsenal, could make her a real problem to defend in her conference in college.     Deese is a player who did it all for an excellent Kell team. She was surrounded by very talented teammates and impacted the game in a lot of ways, not just scoring the ball. Deese is long and very athletic with excellent anticipatory skills- somethingshe shows blocking shots both on the ball and coming from the help side on defense to elevating above everyone else and snatching boards with her long wingspan. Deese can definitely score, something she does off both feet and using both hands around the basket. Her ability to cut to the basket without the ball and slash with it make her a mismatch problem for other bigs who lack the foot speed to keep up with her. She plays with great body control weaving her way around defenders to avoid contact at the rim. I think Kennedy has huge upside and will be an excellent player in college where she will attend and play at Howard University. With her size and skill, I would don't be surprised to see her end her college career playing in a Power Four conference.     Camp solidified her spot on this team and as one of the very best juniors in the state of Georgia with an excellent high school season where she led Dalton to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual state runner up Kell. Camp has a very refined game offensively. The fluidity with which she plays on the court makes it look easy at times. She is a very skilled scorer from all three levels and has already eclipsed over 2,000 points for her career in just three years. Camp doesn't just score, she is an outstanding passer with excellent vision and good ball handling. She is deceptively strong as well, throwing full court, one-handed passes to her teammates like a quarterback on the football field. She is a player who could end up in a lot of places in college due to her versatility and skill. She will spend the Summer with Kopacek on the Adidas circuit before returning for high school ball. I would not be surprised at all to see the two meet deep in the state tournament next year as well as battling it out for Player of the Year.     Willis finished her career like others on this list at the hands of Harpring, Elder, and Marist. She played well in that game despite being at the top of the defensive scouting report. She showed how far she had come as a player in four years when she started out as "a kid that can really shoot the three" to finishing as a accomplished scorer who can and did hurt defenses the later part of her career. She has developed a very good midrange game and become efficient and effective attacking the basket. She hit some tough, contested shots against Marist, something she will need to do on the next level to be successful. She can and I think she will at Texas A&M Corpus Christi where she will continue her basketball career. She is a proven winner and coach's kid and with the style of basketball TAMU CC plays, she should be a very good fit for the Lady Islanders.     I had the chance to watch Maliha, along with [player_tooltip player_id='743579' first='Sydnee' last='Hunter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1055876' first='Jacy' last='Mitchell'], go through a short, but intense workout the night before the Cherokee Invitational in North Carolina. The three were locked in and all business as they went through the different drills and their shooting routines. After Creekside lost Cece Dennis, the top ranked Junior in Georgia and their unquestioned leader, the season could have been lost. These three did not let that happen and each could easily be on this team. I look forward to watching all three this Spring/Summer and next year. Maliha was my choice as she averaged 16 points per game and shot the ball over 40%. She plays with quit confidence and operates like a real shooter. She moves very well without the ball and is always ready to shoot. She has great form and almost always gets her shoulders squared up to the basket when shooting. She knows what spots on the court she likes and capitalizes on her opportunities to score even against heavy defensive pressure. Her play not only earned her spot on this team, but her state ranking will be going way up the next round of rankings.     Coulter, who committed to play next year at Albany Technical College over several other schools, finished her high school career by leading Jones County to 23-6 record where they finished 9-3 in the region. Coulter averaged a very impressive double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds per game, in her senior season. She is a competent and confident shooter from the midrange and three who also hurt teams scoring at the basket. She handles the ball well for her size and has good footwork, implementing Euro-Steps on the break while finishing around defenders and going up off two feet on the block in the post. Coulter is very good stealing the ball on defense, specifically coming off her man when the ball handler turns their head and ripping it out before going to score in transition. She is an excellent athlete and with a good stint in Albany, could find herself playing for a good division two program in a year or two.

The player of the year in the classification happens to have just been named to several All American teams and named the national player of the year, so it should come as no surprise that Kate Harping was the easy choice. I'm not sure how many more accolades or achievements are even out there for her in basketball before college. She has done it all and now we will all get to watch the next step in her journey at UNC next year. There were several deserving players who did not make this list, but I only am picking eight. Katie Elder Katie Elder 5'10" | PF Marist | 2027 State GA was as good a Robin to Harpring's Batman that Kate could have hoped for her senior year. Creekside, after the injury to C'India "Cece" Dennis, saw their other three guards step up their level of play and impressed me individually on multiple occasions. Kell, who had an excellent season despite losing in the finals, could and maybe should have multiple players on this team. To those who were selected, congratulations- you definitely earned it!