Every Thursday, we will take a look at the hoops landscape for the week and give our three takes on things that catch our eyes. These topics can range from any and all aspects of the game and are designed to open things up to conversation. This is the Ryze Thursday Triple Take.
The Next Great Following
Every few years in the Peach we get a player that gets followed with packed gyms, loud crowds, and a special kind of following that creates a ton of buzz. The biggest two guys we think of when this comes to mind are Lou Williams & Collin Sexton. Huge followings. Other players have had it as well: Anthony Edwards, Sharife Cooper, Jaylen Brown. However, Scoot Henderson has the chance to have the next big following. After his performance against two of the internet's most popular players at Holiday Hoopsgiving, I'm looking for his games moving forward to have a lot of buzz surrounding them. He's a fun player, and I could see his popularity skyrocketing even further moving forward off the back of his performances this Thanksgiving.
It's All Wide Open
Most years in Georgia's biggest classification, we have one or two clear front runners to win the state title. While some of those front runners were tripped up along the way, they were still regarded as favorites. This is the most wide open slate of teams in the classification that I can remember. There are more than a handful of teams that I could see coming away with a state title and each of them for a different reason. There are upwards of ten teams that have the talent to make a run at the 2021 state title in AAAAAAA. The way it all shakes out is going to be a fun one to watch.
Collegiate Bragging Rights
There is always a fun debate as to who is the best collegiate team in the state. While a lot of eyes remain at the top with the biggest universities in the state, the argument for Mercer right now is a really good one. With in-state wins over Georgia Tech, Georgia State, & North Georgia, the Bears are off to a really good start. Neftali Alvarez looks like a conference POY contender and they are getting good boosts from Ross Cummings, Felipe Haas, and sophomore forward James Glisson.