Saturday, February 26, 2005

Hoops Incoming Class

Some notes on Lewis Clinch - link here. His team lost the other night against Troup to get knocked out of the high school playoffs.


On the other hand, Alada Aminu's Stephenson team advanced, beating Tift County. Aminu had 17 points and now they will play Norcross March 3..... Another mention here.


In addition, on Friday, Aminu had a nice outing as his team beat Houston County:

Georgia Tech recruit Alade Aminu had 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Jaguars topped Houston County 63-54 in the second round of the GSHA Class AAAAA boys basketball playoffs at the Macon Coliseum.


Aminu, a 6-foot-9 senior, had three dunks, and 6-2 guard Fred Christopher added two more, including a sensational rebound dunk late in the third quarter.


Aminu made an impact early in the game, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the first half. The taller Jaguars dominated the offensive glass, often missing easy inside shots but getting multiple chances with their offensive rebounds.


"It was an ugly win, but we'll take it," said Aminu, adding that he thought the emotions got the best of his team at times. "But we'll take it."


In addition, I found a few mentions of Austin Jackson.

L.D. Bell advanced with a 70-56 win over Denton Ryan on Tuesday in a bi-district playoff. Ryan guard Austin Jackson, a Georgia Tech signee, scored 32 points.


Another mention here:

Denton Ryan's Austin Jackson and Southlake Carroll's Aaron Luna are on the short list of the state's top high school athletes. And both consider baseball their best sport.


Some free advice for local seamheads: Check out one of the two District 5-5A meetings between these senior standouts this season.


Who's the better athlete?


"That's hard to say," said Jackson, who has played with Luna on the junior national team.


Luna, a power-hitting shortstop who was SportsDay's All-Area MVP last spring, would love to finish his high school career by earning his fourth state championship ring. He contributed on the Class 4A baseball championship team as a freshman and won two 5A Division II football titles as a do-it-all tailback. He'll focus on baseball for at least his freshman year at Rice.


Jackson is a five-tool outfielder who helped Ryan advance to the 4A title game the last two seasons. Baseball America projects Jackson as a first-round pick in the Major League Baseball draft, but he has signed to play basketball at Georgia Tech. He said he will continue his baseball career, but his dream is to play both sports professionally.


Another Jackson blurb prior to his team losing:

Ryan's hot player is guard Austin Jackson. In Ryan's three-game winning streak entering the playoffs, Jackson has scored 74 points. Jackson has signed with Georgia Tech.


"Jackson is the real deal," Durant said. "He's very quick, very athletic. We've seen some good players this season, but he may be the best."


Prior to his team's loss, Jackson scored 35 points to helps secure a playoff berth.

Denton Ryan 69, Keller Fossil Ridge 63: In Keller, Austin Jackson scored 11 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to help Ryan (18-9, 10-4) clinch a playoff berth in District 5-5A.