Wildcats Final Four Bound -Elite Eight- Wheeler 78, Berkmar 56

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1 1 Hate it or love it, Wildcat Nation is on Top! Wildcats Final Four Bound -Elite Eight- Wheeler 78, Berkmar 56

2 Final Four Match Up 2 Boys Basketball Game Preview Wheeler Wildcats vs Hiram Hornets Thursday, 03/06/08 5:30 PM Gwinnett Arena Home Visitor This Year Recent Games This Year Region 6-AAAAA Region Record 16-0, Overall Record 29-2, Tot Points Scored 2453 Avg Points/Game 79.1 Tot Points Allowed 1939 Avg Points/Game 62.5 N/A Region 4-AAAAA Region Record 9-3, Overall Record 24-6, Tot Points Scored 2076 Avg Points/Game 69.2 Tot Points Allowed 1808 Avg Points/Game 60.3 Wheeler 27-2 Region 6 tournament champions Wins Against Tournament Teams: McEachern 87-78, Centennial 93-64, Sprayberry 68-59, Sprayberry 85-79, Miller Grove 82-77, Northview 84-66, Northview 74-42, Centennial Notable losses: None to Georgia teams Tournament Results: Defeated Parkview 92-72, Defeated McEachern 70-67, Defeated Berkmar Notes: The Wildcats keep rolling. After a convincing win over the Berkmar Patriots Wheeler looks to be a team on a mission. If they keep the playing at the level they displayed at Mt. Zion it will be tough for anyone in the state to take them down. Hiram 24-6 Second Seed out of Region 4 Wins Against Tournament Teams: Mundy s Mill 77-64, Morrow 76-71, Mundy s Mill 86-81, Newnan 59-56, Morrow Notable Losses: Lithia Springs 74-93, Osborne 52-54, Newnan 54-55, East Coweta 76-79, Morrow 70-77, Mundy s Mill Tournament Results: Defeated M.L. King 71-67, Defeated Lowndes 67-61, Stephenson Notes: Hiram is a team that appears to be peaking at the right time. Coach Hood has turned this team into quick, fast, fluid machine. While Hiram lacks height, the guard play has been exceptional throughout the tournament. Hiram likes to run and that could bode well for Wheeler.

3 Savannah 29-2 Second Seed out of Region 4 Wins Against Tournament Teams: Liberty County OT, Beach 65-50, Windsor Forest 89-78, Richmond Academy 72-53, Savannah Johnson 89-75, Jonesboro 61-45, Irmo (S.C.) 62-38, Tallahassee Lincoln (Fla.) 87-67, Bradwell Institute (OT), Savannah Johnson 55-52, Bradwell Institute 64-81, Groves 75-65, Beach Notable Losses: Mundy's Mill 69-71, Savannah Johnson Tournament Results: Defeated Tift County 68-46, Defeated Mundy s Mill 82-52, Defeated Douglass Notes: Apparently beating a team three times in a season is as tough as they say. Johnson knocked out the Blue Jackets easily in the 3-AAAAA region tournament thus moving Savannah to Norcross side of the bracket. Savannah has a great chance to knock off Norcross. Guards Kevin Williams and Norris Rumph continue to lead the way as two of the best scorers outside of Atlanta. Norcross 27-2 Region 7 tournament champions Wins against tournament teams: Collins Hill 76-43, Peachtree Ridge 70-37, South Forsyth 77-30, Westlake 62-57, Collins Hill 65-54, Peachtree Ridge 64-29, South Forsyth 61-47, South Forsyth 61-54, Peachtree Ridge Notable losses: None to Georgia teams Tournament Results: Defeated Harrison 72-49, Defeated Centennial 69-54, Defeated Northview Notes: Can Eddie Martin and his staff make it three in a row? If Al-Farouq Aminu continues to play like he has been this season, it isn't out of the picture. The Wake Forest bound big man is having the best season of any senior in the state and raised the level of play up for Norcross this season. He's truly embraced his role on his team and having a tremendous season. Big man A.J. Hawkins has proven himself as an interior defender while Denzail Jones can hit the big shot and Taariq Muhammad has tasted the big game before. Depth is the big question mark with this team. Impact Players 3 Dequan Jones #23 Al-Forouq Aminu#42 Kevin Williams #2 (Savannah)

4 Hiram Boys Basketball Team Roster No First Name Last Name Gr Height Stewart Clark PG 3 Mario Roland PF 5 Marcus Middlebrooks PG 13 Marquan Berry 11 6'3 SF 14 Arsenio Nuckles SG 20 Joel Frasier 11 5'11 SF 22 Pierce Wilder PF 24 Kody Wood 11 5'10 SG 30 Jarrell Benson C 33 Jack Wilson 10 5'9 PG 40 Leighton Gasque 10 6'2 C 42 Justin Garner SF 45 Alex Wagner C Norcross Boys Basketball Team Roster No First Name Last Name Gr Height Tarriq Mohammad PG SG 3 Quintin Square SG PG 4 Nick Jones PF SF 5 Marty Johnson SG PG 12 Jeremy Lamb SG PG 21 Malcolm McDonald PF C 23 Denzail Jones SG PG 24 Jonathan Grant SF SG 25 Prince Kent PF SF 33 Taylor Killian SF PF 35 A.J. Hawkins PF C 42 Al-Farouq Aminu SF PF 50 Zach Lamb PG SG 55 Ariel Jones PF C Savannah Boys Basketball Team Roster No First Name Last Name Gr Height 1 2 Caleb Banks 11 6'4 PF PF Andre Parker 10 6'4 PF PF 00 Khiry Waldburg 11 6'4 PF SF 1 Norris Rumph PG 2 Kevin Williams 12 6'0 SG PG 3 David Waldburg 12 6'3 SF PF 4 Darnell Jackson 11 6'2 PF SF 5 Alonza Shields 12 5'8 SG PG 11 Marshall McFadden 12 5'6 PG SG 21 Dwayne Sutton 11 5'10 SF SF 23 Jason Ellison 11 5'9 SG SF 24 Greg Smart 11 6'0 PG SG 32 Charles Futch 12 5'11 SG PG 33 Rodney McGirt 11 6'3 SF SF 40 Melvin Young 12 5'11 SG SG 44 Brad Harris 12 6'5 C C 50 Jay Westbrook 12 6'5 C C 55 Chancellor Hudson 11 6'4 PF PF

5 State Tournament Bracket State Champs

6 6 Regional Rankings South 1. Norcross, Ga. (27-2) 2. Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Va. (34-4) 3. Wheeler, Marietta, Ga. (29-2) 4. Word of God Academy, Raleigh, N.C. (30-3) 5. North Crowley, Fort Worth (36-1) 6. Norland, Miami (26-6) 7. Dunwoody, Ga. (27-3) 8. Dillard, Fort Lauderdale (29-2) 9. Lexington (Ky.) Catholic (26-3) 10. Dulles, Sugar Land, Texas (33-4) 15th In the Nation per USA Today 15. Wheeler, Marietta, Ga. (29-2) Previous: 19. Results: Defeated McEachern (Powder Springs) as Richard Howell and DeQuan Jones each had 16 points for the Wildcats. Howell had 19 points and 12 rebounds in a win vs. Berkmar (Lilburn). Next: Thursday vs. Hiram.

7 7 Rise Magazine National Rankings (Top 10) 1. St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (27-0) *1 The Friars upended Morristown-Beard, 84-36, in the North Jersey, Non Public Group B quarterfinals. Junior forward Dominic Cheek had 13 points and seven boards for St. Anthony, which played Paterson Catholic in the semifinals on Monday. 2. St. Benedict s Prep (Newark, N.J.) (24-1) *3 Senior forward Samardo Samuels tallied 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a win over Benedictine (Richmond, Va.). The Gray Bees, who don t compete in a postseason tournament, are now done for the season. SEASON OVER 3. Chester (Chester, Pa.) (29-1) *5 Senior guard Karon Burton scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Clippers to a win over Williamsport in the first round of the Class AAAA state tournament. Chester plays Harrisburg in the second round on Wednesday. 4. Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) (27-2) *7 Senior forward Al-Farouq Aminu tallied 29 points, 10 boards, six steals and three blocks in the Blue Devils win over Northview in the Class AAAAA state quarterfinals. Junior guard Zach Lamb added 18 points for Norcross, which plays Savannah in the semifinals on Thursday. 5. Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) (29-2) *8 The Wildcats cruised past Berkmar, 78-56, in the Class AAAAA state quarterfinals. Junior forward Ari Stewart scored 23 points for Wheeler, which will play Hiram in the state semifinals on Thursday. 6. Rice (New York, N.Y.) (24-3) *9 Senior forward Dorvell Carter scored 19 points in Rice s win over Xaverian in the CHSAA Intersectional AA quarterfinals. Rice advances to play Holy Cross on Wednesday in the semifinals. 7. St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) (24-4) *10 St. Patrick defeated Eastern Christian, 85-38, in the North Jersey, Non Public Group B quarterfinals. Junior guard Dexter Strickland scored a game-high 18 points for the Celtics, who played Marist in the semifinals on Monday. 8. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (34-4) *11 Senior guard Brandon Jennings tallied 33 points, 10 steals and eight assists as Oak Hill capped the season with a victory over Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.). Jennings, who played in 37 of the 38 games this year, is the Warriors all-time single-season scoring leader with 1,312 points, good for 35.5 points per game. SEASON OVER 9. North Crowley (Fort Worth, Texas) (36-1) *13 Senior guard Willie Warren scored 17 points and junior forward Dontee Kinney added 12 points and 12 boards as North Crowley upset then-no. 4 and defending state champion Duncanville, 61-57, in the Class 5A Region I semifinals. Warren followed with a school-record 47 points in a win over Midland Lee in the Region I finals. The Panthers play San Antonio Madison in state semifinals on Friday. 10. Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.) (25-3) *16 Senior guard Larry Drew Jr. had 25 points and six assists in the Toreadors win over then-no. 23 Fairfax in the CIF Los Angeles City Section finals. Taft took on Chino Hills on Monday in the first round of the Southern California Regional Division I playoffs.

8 8 In The Country Tahj Freezepop Tate and Phil Ice Man Taylor combine for the coldest one-two backcourt punch in the country. Two-Sport Baller Corey Tower knows a thing or two about keeping it cool.

9 Ari Stewart Steps Up 9 Stewart showed off a mature skill set knocking down threes and elevating in the paint to knock down easy jumpers. Quickly in the first quarter Ari was able to find his rhythm and drain his outside shots due to great feeds by floor general Phil Taylor. Ari the air up there Stewart finished the night with 23 points. First Timers The youngsters get their first taste of what Wheeler Basketball is all about.

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