Gwinnett County High School Basketball

I will be taking an "indefinite leave of absence" (at least a day anyways) from the SEC bowl-by-bowl previews to focus on Gwinnett High School Basketball. I will be covering Brookwood High School's Deep South Classic in Snellville, Georgia the next three days and while many of the country powerhouses (Norcross, Meadowcreek, Berkmar, Peachtree Ridge, South Gwinnett) will be playing in other tournaments throughout the Southeast, I'm expecting to see some quality basketball action and will also be an opportunity to cover my alma mater's boys and girls teams. Be expecting a tournament update after the championship games Wednesday.

Arguably the nation's best women's college basketball Connecticut's Maya Moore is a product of Collins Hill high school and high school teammate Shantell Black runs the point for the Ole Miss Lady Rebels. Peachtree Ridge product and current Ole Miss Rebel Zach Graham, long known as a defensive stopper, has six straight double-digit scoring efforts, including a team-leading 14 points in a 76-66 loss at West Virginia. Graham held Norcross product and Milwaukee Bucks' Jodie Meeks to six first-half points in a 85-80 Rebel win over Meeks's Kentucky team last year. Meeks averaged 23.7 ppg, including a school-record 54 points and ten three-pointers in 90-72 win at Tennessee. The most prominent Gwinnett High School men's player is clearly the Philadelphia 76ers' Lou Williams, a second round pick out from South Gwinnett, who's averaging 15.8 points ppg and 4.8 apg this year.

Two of Meeks's high school teammates, Al-Farouq Aminu (16.1 ppg and 10.7 rpg) and Gani Lawal (14.7 ppg and 9.8 rpg), lead ACC powers Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, respectively, in scoring and rebounding. Dacula product, former Georgia Bulldog, and current New Orleans Privateer Billy Humphrey averages 17.7 ppg and poured in a career-high 31 points against Sun Belt rival Troy in 78-76 road loss. Former Williams high school teammate, Humphrey college teammate, and South Florida's Mike Mercer averaged 11 ppg and 13.6 ppg in his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively, in Athens and is currently 7.3 ppg with the Bulls, including a season-high 19 points in a 69-60 win at San Diego. Parkview product and Colgate's Yaw Gyawu is averaging 14.9 ppg and led the Raiders in scoring (14 points) in their lone 63-44 win at Dartmouth. A final Gwinnettian, Berkmar product and current Memphis Tiger Wesley Witherspoon has more than doubled his scoring from last year, averaging 10.1 ppg as the team's sixth man.