ATLANTA (March 26, 2020) – Each season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club honors the top high school basketball players and coaches across the Atlanta area. Today, Woodward Academy senior forward Walker Kessler and Westlake High School junior guard Raven Johnson were named as Mr. and Miss Georgia Basketball presented by Regions Bank. The Atlanta Tipoff Club also announced that senior guards Genesis Bryant (Lovejoy High School) and Dwon Odom (St. Francis High School) have been named the Atlanta Metro High School Girls and Boys Player of the Year presented by Regions Bank. All three senior players have committed to colleges in the fall with Kessler going to University of North Carolina, Odom attending Xavier University and Bryant joining North Carolina State University.
For outstanding coaching in the Atlanta area, two sets of honors are awarded—the Cremins High School Boys and Girls Coach recognizing Regions 5A-7A of the Year and the Pinholster Boys and Girls Coach of the Year for 1A-4A. Grayson High School boys basketball coach Geoffrey Pierce, a finalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Coach of the Year award, and Buford High School girls coach Gene Durden have been selected as the Cremins High School Coach of the Year award winners. The Pinholster High School Boys and Girls Coach of the Year winners are Drew Catlett of St. Francis and Nichole Dixon of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, her second consecutive honor.
Additionally, the Atlanta Tipoff Club revealed the Atlanta All-Metro High School Boys and Girls Teams with 30 boys and 30 girls included. The player honors were compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club Boy’s and Girl’s Selection Committees.
2020 Atlanta All-Metro High School Boys Teams
AWARD | NAME | HIGH SCHOOL | CLASS | COMMITTED TO |
---|---|---|---|---|
All Metro - 1st Team | Matthew Cleveland | Pace Academy | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 1st Team | Sharife Cooper | McEachern | Senior | Auburn |
All Metro - 1st Team | Sam Hines | Wheeler | Senior | Denver |
All Metro - 1st Team | Deivon Smith | Grayson | Senior | Mississippi State |
All Metro - 1st Team | Jabari Smith Jr. | Sandy Creek | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 2nd Team | Sterling "Scoota" Henderson | Kell | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - 2nd Team | Caleb Murphy | Grayson | Senior | South Florida |
All Metro - 2nd Team | JT Thor | Norcross | Senior | Undecided |
All Metro - 2nd Team | Bruce Thornton Jr. | Milton | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - 2nd Team | AJ White | Chattahoochee | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Eugene Brown III | Southwest DeKalb | Senior | Ohio State |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Cam Bryant | Dutchtown | Senior | Undecided |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Sion James | Lanier | Senior | Tulane |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Brandon Stroud | East Coweta | Senior | Kennesaw State |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Chris Youngblood | East Coweta | Senior | Kennesaw State |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Caleb Byrd | Newton | Senior | Georgia Southern |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | PJ Carter Jr. | Langston Hughes | Senior | Campbell |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Eric Gaines | Lithonia | Senior | LSU |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Colin Granger | Lambert | Senior | Ohio University |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Jusaun Holt | St. Francis | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Jermontae Hill | Tucker | Senior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Dillon Hunter | Westlake | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Zawdie Jackson | Shiloh | Senior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Toneari Lane | Grayson | Senior | Winthrop |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Zocko Littleton | South Cobb | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Jamaine Mann | Dutchtown | Senior | Gardner-Webb |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Ryan Mutombo | Lovett | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Cameron Sheffield | Chattahoochee | Senior | Rice |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Josh Taylor | Norcross | Senior | Georgia |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Emon Washington | South Cobb | Senior | Illinois State |
2020 Atlanta All-Metro High School Girls Teams
TEAM | NAME | HIGH SCHOOL | CLASS | COMMITTED TO |
---|---|---|---|---|
All Metro - 1st Team | Avyonce (AC) Carter | Wesleyan | Senior | Georgia Tech |
All Metro - 1st Team | Sania Feagin | Forest Park | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 1st Team | Jillian Hollingshead | Holy Innocents' Episcopal School | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 1st Team | Kayla McPherson | Madison County | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 1st Team | Tate Walters | Buford | Senior | Furman |
All Metro - 2nd Team | De'Mauri Flournoy | Carrollton | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 2nd Team | Lydia Freeman | Westlake | Senior | Georgia Southern |
All Metro - 2nd Team | Ta'Niya Latson | Westlake | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - 2nd Team | Savannah Samuel | St. Francis High School | Senior | Oregon State |
All Metro - 2nd Team | Sacha Washington | Collins Hill | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Amira Abdur-Rahim | St. Francis High School | Senior | Notre Dame |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Anaya Boyd | Lovejoy | Senior | Georgia Tech |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Jada Farrell | Holy Innocents' Episcopal School | Senior | Undecided |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Malia Fisher | Hebron Christian Academy | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - 3rd Team | Sydne Watts | Cherokee | Senior | Navy |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Kaleigh Addie | Greater Atlanta Christian | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Jameah Alston | Campbell | Senior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Azonya Austin | North Cobb | Senior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Nicole Azar | Hebron Christian Academy | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Sydney Bowles | Woodward Academy | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Denim DeShields | McEachern | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Kara Dunn | Mount Paran Christian | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Crystal Henderson | Kell | Freshman | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Demeara Hinds | Lithia Springs | Senior | Wake Forest |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Paige Lyons | Wesleyan | Junior | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Caroline Martin | North Forsyth | Senior | North Georgia |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Daija Powell | Sandy Creek | Senior | Texas Tech |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Lazaria Spearman | Dacula | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Bridget Utberg | Woodstock | Sophomore | Undecided |
All Metro - Honorable Mention | Ashuntee Weems | Douglass | Junior | Undecided |
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious national honors in all of college and high school basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the most outstanding men’s and women’s college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men’s and women’s college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA’s Lew Alcindor received the first Citizen Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women’s recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include Citizen Watch Company, Jersey Mike’s and Werner Ladder.
###
Media Contact:
Traci Messier
Jackson Spalding for the Atlanta Tipoff Club
404-214-3596