Whirlwind week sets teams up for something special

Mar. 6—I'm tired.

Over the last six days I have seen so much good basketball it is hard to comprehend. The trek took me from Kennesaw State to McEachern and then back to KSU. There was a trip to West Georgia University, the Georgia State Convocation Center and then one more to KSU.

The miles were worth it, and here's what I saw:

Kennesaw State played three grind-it-out games in six days to win the ASUN tournament.

The Wheeler boys played two high-pressured matchups against county foe McEachern and then Gwinnett County power Grayson to reach their third state championship game in the last four year.

The Kell girls and boys both looked dominant in their Class AAAAA semifinal victories in West Georgia, and in the one game I didn't see the Mount Paran Christian girls will try to win their second straight state championship after their win over Landmark Christian in the Class AA semis at Georgia College and State University.

Let's start with the Owls, since it is still the freshest in my sleep-deprived brain.

For 15 years I watched a lot of bad college basketball at the KSU Convocation Center. KSU would win a game here or there, but the idea of it ever qualifying for the NCAA tournament was laughable.

That started to change when the university finally hired the right coach in Amir Abdur-Rahim. It finally came to fruition on Sunday when KSU beat Liberty 67-66 to earn its first trip to the NCAA tournament. The Owls are dancing and they are being led their by a Cobb County coach, and his Cobb County point guard in former Campbell High School star Terrell Burden.

Burden has grown into arguably the best point guard in the ASUN and one of the best in the southeast. With his defensive prowess, quick first step and ability to finish at the rim he would be a shoo in for the NBA if he was 6-foot-3 instead of 5-10. But the rest of the country is about to find out about him, Brandon Stroud, Chris Youngblood, Demond Robinson, Spencer Rodgers, Kasen Jennings and the others, as they take their defensive mindset on the road to somewhere. KSU will have to wait for another week to find out who and where they will play, but I expect them to be a No. 14 seed. That may change by one spot either up or down, but they are not going to be a team whoever their opponent is will enjoy playing.

Wheeler's Isaiah Collier is the kind of basketball player I haven't seen before, and I don't make that statement lightly.

In a county that has produced recent NBA stars like Boston's Jaylen Brown (Wheeler), Utah's Collin Sexton (Pebblebrook), Cleveland's Isaac Okoro (McEachern) and the likely No. 2 selection in this summer's upcoming NBA Draft in Scoot Henderson (Kell), I think Collier, who was named the boys Naismith Player of the Year last week, has a chance to be as good, if not better than all of them.

Against the Indians, and it seems most teams this year, I saw him set up a pass from the wing. In one quick motion he whipped the ball through/over the defense to the opposite corner to get his teammate a wide-open 3-point attempt. The ball likely singed the noses of the defenders, but the ball went by them so fast they had no time to see it. Collier's basketball IQ is off the charts, and he is the fastest player with the ball I have ever seen. I guess there's a reason he is already projected by the folks at ESPN to be a top-5 selection in the NBA Draft in 2024.

His partner in crime, forward Arrinten Page, patrols the middle of the lane and he sends fear down the spine of opponents when he sends one of their shots into the sixth row. He also has a velvety shooting touch to go along with his power dunks. The duo will make USC a power next season.

Kell could bring home two titles this week. Point guard Crystal Henderson put on a ball-handling clinic in the Longhorns' semifinal win over Maynard Jackson. She consistently broke double and triple teams to bring the ball up the floor and put the offense in gear. Known for her outside shooting, to my recollection, she only tried one 3-point attempt in the game, but in the second half consistently pounded the ball inside. It led to her scoring 20 of her 22 points over the last 16 minutes, and now she is four quarters away from ending her career with a state title.

Peyton Marshall is fun to watch. He is also somewhat of a question mark. There is one thing no one can teach, and that is how to be 7-foot tall. The big man can dominate inside in the half-court offense and as an intimidating force on defense. But a unique thing about the Longhorns is when he isn't in the game, they can play a much faster, up-tempo style of offense. It's an interesting dynamic that allows coach Jermaine Sellers a lot of options and likely gives opposing coaches fits when game planning.

Marshall, a forward/center, is committed to Auburn. If he loses a few pounds and gets into better running shape, he could terrorize the SEC upon his arrival in two years.

Mount Paran has a chance to do something not too many teams do. The Eagles can win a state title despite moving up a classification.

Last year at this time, Kara Dunn was leading them to the first state title in program history. She scored 30 points in the championship game against Hebron Christian. Getting to see that front and center was Jessica Fields. Last year the moment looked like it was a bit too much for her as a freshman.

That certainly isn't the case anymore. As a sophomore she has become one of the team leaders. She had 15 points, 11 rebounds and maybe most importantly eight blocks against Landmark on Saturday. She has taken the next step, and she still has two more years to play in high school. Watch out.

We can't leave without mentioning the McEachern girls. They fell in the semifinals against Brookwood. The Broncos have lost only one game all year, and they are the ones that gave Mount Paran its only loss. For much of the 58-53 loss on Saturday, the Indians were the better team. The whole starting lineup is expected to return next season and coach Phyllis Arthur is right. They will be back.

That's a lot of observations from a lot of basketball games this past week. Cobb County could bring home four state titles from Macon this week, and KSU will find out where the dance will take place.

No rest for the weary here. Time to brew another pot of coffee for the ride.

John Bednarowski is the sports editor of the Marietta Daily Journal and the former president of the Associated Press Sports Editors. He can be reached at sportseditor@mdjonline.com or on Twitter @cobbfballfri or @jbednarowski