Augusta legends Ahmed Hill and Frank Booker meet again Sunday in the AugBball Game of the Day

Frank Booker finishes Monday against Erskine. Source 

Here is this week's schedule for the AugBball Game of the Day:

Thur, Nov 2 - 7:00 PM

Augusta at Clemson

- Link to preview

Friday, Nov 3 - 7:00 PM

Georgia Southern at Augusta - Special Hurricane Relief Game

- Link to preview

Sunday, Nov 5 - 2:00 P.M.

Virginia Tech at South Carolina - Special Hurricane Relief Game

Follow @AugBball on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for live highlights and updates from the AugBball Game of the Day!

South Carolina warmed up for Sunday's hurricane relief game showdown against Virginia Tech Monday by beating Erskine 85-44 in the Gamecocks' exhibition game opener. Westside High School graduate Frank Booker scored 11 points, making 4 of 6 shots from the field, including his first three attempts, all from deep.

Booker is featured in these game highlights:



And Frank and Chris Silva, who starred on last season's Final 4 team, spoke to the media after the game. Starting at 2:55, Frank talks about his "long" road from Oklahoma to Florida Atlantic and now to South Carolina. Then he shows off his basketball IQ, describing South Carolina's defensive excellence during last year's NCAA tournament run:



SEC media members chose South Carolina to finish 11th in a 14 team conference. The Gamecocks lost two NBA players from last season's Final 4 team, but the fall off won't be as severe as the media poll predicts. The defensive excellence we saw last March will make South Carolina a good team that finishes in the top half of the conference and reaches the NCAA tournament. That qualifies as a bold prediction.

The Hokies enter the season with NCAA tournament expectations

The ACC media members were more kind to Virginia Tech, picking the Hokies 7th in a 15 team, star studded league. The Hokies were bounced by Wisconsin in the 2017 NCAA tournament after reaching the big dance for the first time in 10 seasons. Aquinas graduate Ahmed Hill joins Kris Clarke, who missed last season's final 9 games after suffering a knee injury, as Tech's returning leading scorers at 11.4 points per game. Hill, a 6'4" junior, made 45% of his field goals and 37% of his threes.

Augusta Basketball Reunion

The last time I saw Booker and Hill go at it in an official game was five-and-a-half years ago when Westside defeated Aquinas in one of the best high school games AugBball has ever featured:

Burke County 27, Thomson 24 - Full Highlights

The Bear Den was filled with thousands of screaming fans Friday.

Burke County's Damari Kelly scored two second half touchdowns to turn a 3 point deficit into a 10 point advantage, and the Bears defeated Thomson 27-24 at home to clinch a class AAAA region 3 title and a top seed in the coming state playoffs. Burke County entered the game ranked #5 in the state and will enter the final week of the season with an even higher spot after topping the #2 ranked Bulldogs in front of a crowd of more than 4,000 fans.

With Burke County trailing 17-14 in the third quarter, Kelly scrambled for a first down on 4th and 6 inside Thomson's 10 yard line. The lighting quick quarterback seemed to be stuffed for a loss, but Kelly extended the play and converted the first down before running the go ahead touchdown on the next play. On the following series, senior Jaylen Odom intercepted a Mills Ridings pass in Bear territory, running it back to midfield and setting up another Burke County scoring drive that Kelly again capped with a short rushing touchdown to give the Bears a 27-17 lead.

Odom's interception was one of several huge plays the senior made. After the game he wore a wrestling championship belt on his shoulder and gripped a baseball bat. Odom explained in this post game interview that the belt was for the interception and the bat was for his success running the ball, including a second quarter touchdown that tied the game at 7.



Burke County coach Eric Parker won his 100th game along with defeating the state's #2 ranked team and clinching a region championship. Burke County (8-0, 4-0) hosts Hephzibah Friday in the regular season finale. Thomson (7-1, 3-1) hosts Richmond.

Breaking News: Augusta University will play Georgia Southern Friday, November 3rd AT HOME

Augusta University Junior Deane Williams dunks in practice

Fun preseason college basketball news is flooding out of Christenberry Fieldhouse, home of the Augusta University men's basketball team, who we just found out will host Georgia Southern Friday, November 3rd in a special Hurricane Relief game.

#StormTheBerry Friday Nov. 3! @AUG_MBB hosts @GSAthletics @GSAthletics_MBB in hurricane relief game for @AugRedCrosshttps://t.co/NAaGOpBS75 pic.twitter.com/EFYb4h5Kik

— AugustaJags (@AugustaJags) October 27, 2017

The details about the game can be found at the link in the tweet above. In the following interview taken today after practice I talked to coach Dip Metress about Augusta's back-to-back pair of exhibition games against division 1 opponents (the Jags visit Clemson Thursday, a game I previewed here), and about Augusta being picked second in the Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll.



Here is next weekend's updated schedule for college basketball preseason games - which will all be played within driving distance - that included Augusta area players. (Read more about the area ties in the Virginia Tech @ South Carolina game at this link.)

Thur, Nov 2 - 7:00 PM

Augusta at Clemson

Friday, Nov 3 - 7:00 PM

Georgia Southern at Augusta - Special Hurricane Relief Game

Sunday, Nov 5 - 2:00 P.M.

Virginia Tech at South Carolina - Special Hurricane Relief Game

AugBball Talk Show with William Avery​ and me - 10-26-17 - NBA Week 1 Review

AugBball Talk Show with William Avery​ and me - 10-26-17

NBA Week 1 Review

Week 1 picks

Chad 8-3; Will 6-5

Differences:

Cavs over Celtics. (for Chad)
Rockets over Warriors (for Will)
Cavs over Bucks (for Chad)
Spurs over Raptors (for Chad)

Top Individual Performer Appearances

7 - Giannis Antetokounmpo
5 - Russell Westbrook
3 - Blake Griffin, Lebron James
2 - James Harden, Eric Gordon, Lamarcus Aldridge, Gasol

Will’s breakout players:

Tobias Harris, Jaylen Brown, Eric Gordon, Aaron Gordon, and Clint Capela.

Chad’s week 1 stories of note:

How the Rockets and Thunder are getting things done compared to how we predicted.
The Spurs’ excellence without Leonard.
Giannis looks like MJ

Chad’s top 3 week 1 players of note:

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Blake Griffin
Mar Gasol

Augusta's exhibition game at Clemson will tip off a weekend of area college basketball that includes Ahmed Hill (Virginia Tech) and Frank Booker (South Carolina)

Augusta's Kyle Doyle

Next Thursday (Nov 2) Augusta University’s men’s basketball team, along with a bus packed with Jaguar fans, will tip off a long weekend that includes two college basketball exhibition games featuring area teams and players. Here are the details:

Thur, Nov 2 - 7:00 PM

Augusta at Clemson

In the interview above recorded after Wednesday's practice, coach Dip Metress talked about the excitement of playing an ACC opponent and the challenges of getting the team ready to play.

Sunday, Nov 5 - 2:00 P.M.

Virginia Tech at South Carolina - Special Hurricane Relief Game*

To purchase tickets for the Nov. 5 Hoops 4 Hurricane Relief exhibition: https://t.co/bWioU4SWNj

To donate online: https://t.co/oVsZfi2U8l pic.twitter.com/7Z3bX6ZXiM

— Gamecock MBB (@GamecockMBB) October 23, 2017

Of course, Virginia Tech and South Carolina feature area stars Ahmed Hill (Aquinas, class of 2014) and Frank Booker (Westside, class of 2013). Hill averaged 11.4 points per game as a sophomore on the Hokies NCAA tournament team last season. Booker joins the Gamecocks as a graduate student for his senior season. His college career includes two seasons at Oklahoma where he was a member of a sweet 16 Sooner squad. South Carolina reached the Final Four last season.

Even though Hill and Booker will figure prominently in two of the most competitive college basketball conferences during the 2017-18 season, when I think of these two guys I still think first of their meeting in February of 2012, which was one of the first AugBball feature games. And to this day one of the very best!



*These specially approved, extra exhibition games are popping up everywhere. For example, Georgia Tech will host Georgia State this Saturday (Oct 28), and the next day Georgia will visit Michigan State. So don't be surprised if coach Metress soon finds another opponent to play for a good cause in the preseason...

Will and Chad's NBA Daily (Tuesday, October 24)

Every weekday Will Avery and I pick the prior night’s top 3 individual performances and pick that night’s key games. Monday's "weekend edition" covers the games played Friday through Sunday.

Past "NBA Daily" posts:

Monday's "weekend daily": http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/will-and-chads-nba-daily-weekend.html

Friday's "daily": http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/will-and-chads-nba-daily-thursday_20.html

Thursday's "daily": http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/will-and-chads-nba-daily-thursday.html

Wednesday's "daily": http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/nba-opening-night-special-augbball-talk.html

Monday's top 3 performers (Chad):

Bucks 103, Hornets 94

1) Giannis Antetokounmpo - 32 points, 14 rebounds

Grizzlies 98, Rockets 90

2) Marc Gasol - 26 points in a win at Houston. 

- The Grizzlies are 3-0 with wins against the Rockets and the Warriors.

Sixers 97, Pistons 86

3) Ben Simmons - 21 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists

*It was difficult to choose between Simmons and Joel Embiid (30 points, 9 rebounds. But Simmons's right handed touch shot (see video below) in the paint sealed the deal for me.

Tonight’s (Tuesday's) picks - Chad

Bulls (0-2) at Cavs (2-1) - Cavs

Pelicans (1-2) at Blazers (2-1) - Blazers

Monday's top 3 performers (Will):

Bucks 103, Hornets 94

1) Giannis Antetokounmpo - 32 points, 14 rebounds

Sixers 97, Pistons 86

2) Ben Simmons - 21 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists

Spurs 101, Raptors 97

3) Dejounte Murray - 16pts, 6assists, 14rebs

Aldridge scores 10 in the 4th. Murray finishes with 16 PTS, 15 REB & 6 AST.@spurs improve to 3-0, beat @Raptors 101-97. DeRozan: 28 PTS. pic.twitter.com/Qbm7u3MKyF

— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2017

Tonight’s (Tuesday's) picks - Will

Bulls (0-2) at Cavs (2-1) - Cavs
Pelicans (1-2) at Blazers (2-1) - Pelicans

Will and Chad's NBA Daily - Weekend Edition (Monday, October 23)

The weekend ended with a matchup between 2 talent-soaked squads.

Every weekday Will Avery and I pick the prior night’s top 3 individual performances and pick that night’s key games. Monday's "weekend edition" covers the games played Friday through Sunday.

Past "NBA Daily" posts:
See Friday's "daily" here: http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/will-and-chads-nba-daily-thursday_20.html

See Thursday's "daily" here: http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/will-and-chads-nba-daily-thursday.html
See Wednesday's "daily" here: http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/nba-opening-night-special-augbball-talk.html

Let's start with Sunday night and work backwards

As you can see in the video above, I got league pass just in time to see the best game of the weekend, and probably of the first week of the season. All three of my players of the day come from that matchup.

Sunday's top 3 performers (Chad):

Timberwolves 115, Thunder 113

1) Andrew Wiggins - 27 points, 10 rebounds

Andrew Wiggins puts up 27... including the game-winner... to lead the @Timberwolves in OKC! #AllEyesNorth pic.twitter.com/6MIS18iX7B

— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2017

2) Karl Anthony Towns - 27 points, 12 rebounds

My LORD Karl Anthony Towns just committed a felony on Patrick Patterson somebody call the cops pic.twitter.com/QQHuD3yBx7

— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) October 22, 2017

3) Russell Westbrook - 32 points, 10 assists, 5-8 3 pt FG

Russell Westbrook in today's game:

31 PTS - 10 ASTS - 5 REBS#ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/KRKIZV1MXw

— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2017

Saturday's top 3 performers (Chad):

Grizzlies 111, Warriors 101

1) Marc Gasol - 34 points, 14 rebounds

Marc Gasol put Klay in a spin cycle pic.twitter.com/nM2ddKgi8F

— "SPORTS" (@BruhReport) October 22, 2017

Bucks 113, Blazers 110

2) Giannis Antetokounmpo - 44 points, 17-23 FG, 8 rebounds, 4 assists

A career-high 44 PTS, a clutch steal, AND the game-saving block... Giannis had himself a game! pic.twitter.com/sHZ5dv8Pkj

— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2017

Clippers 130, Suns 88

3) Blake Griffin - 29 points, 7-13 FG, 3-5 3 pt FG

Buzzer beaters from Blake!

His 3rd three of the game puts the @LAClippers up 58-44 on @NBATV.

Blake: 17 PTS, 3 AST pic.twitter.com/H9CFJwBe6P

— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2017

Friday's top 3 performers (Will):

Lakers 132, Suns 130

1) Lonzo Ball 29pts, 11rebs, 9assts

Lonzo Ball Highlights vs Suns. 🅱️🅱️🅱️

•29 Points
•11 Rebounds
•9 Assists

pic.twitter.com/Unx9fVWUdi

— Lake Show™ (@LakeShowFamily) October 21, 2017

Cavs 116, Bucks 97

2) Giannis Antetokounmpo 34pts, 8rebs, 8assts. 15-22 FG

Warriors 128, Pelicans 120

3) (Twin Towers)
Demarcus Cousins 35pts, 14rebs, 5assts.
Anthony Davis 35pts, 17rebs, 5assts. 15-21 FG 3-4 3pt

Friday's top 3 performers (Chad):

Cavs 116, Bucks 97

1) Lebron James - 24 points, 8 assists, 10-16 FG, 2-4 3 pt FG

2) Giannis Antetokounmpo 34pts, 8rebs, 8assts. 15-22 FG

LeBron James (24p, 8a, 5r, W) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (34p, 8r, 8a) duel in Milwaukee! #KiaTipOff17 pic.twitter.com/6NJ1iDmKRb

— NBA (@NBA) October 21, 2017

3) Golden State's big 3

Klay Thompson - 33 points, 7-13 3 pt FG

Steph Curry - 28 points, 8 assists

Kevin Durant - 22 points, 8 rebounds, 7 blocks

After watching this stretch my son kept saying “this isn’t a game these are highlights!” @Will_Avery5 +my NBA Daily: https://t.co/neM6hz84qh pic.twitter.com/guimOWVDOX

— Chad Cook's AugBball (@AugBball) October 23, 2017

Tonight’s (Monday) picks - Chad

Grizzlies (2-0) at Rockets (3-0) - Rockets
Raptors (2-0) at Spurs (2-0) - Spurs
Hornets at Bucks (1-1) at Bucks (2-1) - Bucks

Tonight’s (Monday) picks - Will

Grizzlies (2-0) at Rockets (3-0) - Rockets
Raptors (2-0) at Spurs (2-0) - Raptors
Hornets at Bucks (1-1) at Bucks (2-1) - Bucks

Evans tops rival Greenbrier 52-20 to grab top spot in region

The most prolific pair of high school football players in the area, #1 Damekus Taylor and #3 Corey Watkins, again lit up the scoreboard Friday, helping Evans improve to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in class AAAAAA, region 3 action with a 52-20 home win over rival Greenbrier.



Ahead for Evans is another rival, Lakeside, which enters Friday's matchup 2-6 overall and 2-1 in region play.

Aquinas claims the region's top spot with a 24-8 road win over Washington-Wilkes

Senior running back Joseph Douglas scored 3 touchdowns, and the defense did the rest as Aquinas topped Washington-Wilkes 24-8 Friday to claim first place in the class A, region 7B standings.

Aquinas 24, Washington Wilkes 8
AugBball Game of the Night

Post game interviews with Joseph Douglas (3 TDs) and Ferris Lowery (1 int) pic.twitter.com/JbP82cDyBJ

— Chad Cook's AugBball (@AugBball) October 21, 2017

The Irish defense held the Tigers scoreless through 3 quarters. And it seemed like every time their fans who travelled from Augusta screamed for a big stop on 3rd and 4th down, coach James Leonard's team gave them what they wanted.

3rd down stops; Lowery’s interception; Welch’s forced fumble... the @IrishNationAHS defense came through all night in 24-8 win at W-Wilkes pic.twitter.com/VbGNsWYxb3

— Chad Cook's AugBball (@AugBball) October 21, 2017

Friday's win was the fifth straight for the Fighting Irish. All that stands between Aquinas (6-2, 4-0) and a perfect region record is next week's stop at rival Lincoln County (4-4, 3-1). The Red Devils have won 3 straight games.

Full game highlights from Aquinas's 24-8 win at Washington Wilkes:

To see the game's highlights as they happened, scroll the @AugBball timelines on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Will and Chad's NBA Daily (Friday, October 20)

On off (from the show) days Will Avery and I will pick the prior night’s top 3 individual performances and pick that night’s key games.

See Thursday's "daily" here: http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/will-and-chads-nba-daily-thursday.html

See Wednesday's "daily" here: http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/nba-opening-night-special-augbball-talk.html

Last night's (Thursday) top 3 performers (Chad):

Thunder 105, Knicks 84

1) OKC's "big 3:"

Russell Westbrook: 21 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds
Paul George: 28 points
Carmelo Anthony: 22 points

I chose all 3 players because I think they confirmed in their first outing that they are more than capable of integrating their immense talent into a unit that will be disadvantaged against ZERO NBA teams, including mighty Golden State. This team will be an intimidating defensive squad, as Kenny Smith described at halftime of the game:

2) Kristaps Porzingis: 31 points, 12 rebounds

Porzingis vs his former teammate Anthony was a fun matchup in the first half while the Knicks were still within striking distance. Porzingis scored 19 points in the first 24 minutes.

Melo and Porzingis 🦄 went all out in the 1st half!

📊 @carmeloanthony: 15p
📊 @kporzee: 19p pic.twitter.com/nM9LfFFKLp

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 20, 2017

Clippers 108, Lakers 92

3) Blake Griffin: 29 points, 12 rebounds

.@blakegriffin32 looks ready to take over as the No. 1 option for the @LAClippers! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Q2o7L9fO10

— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 20, 2017

Last night's (Thursday) top 3 performers (Will):

Blake Griffin 29pts, 12rebs. 12-23 FG 3-6 3pt
Russell Westbrook 21pts, 10rebs, 16assts. 7-12 FG

Raptors 117, Bulls 100
Jonas Valanciunas 23pts, 15rebs. 9-17 FG

Tonight’s (Friday) picks - Chad

Bucks over Cavs (7:00 on ESPN)
Warriors over Pelicans (9:30 on ESPN)

Tonight’s (Friday) picks - Will

Cavs over Bucks
Warriors over Pelicans

Will and Chad's NBA Daily (Thursday, October 19)

Will's Bucks pick (3rd in the east) looks good after opening night.

On off (from the show) days Will Avery and I will pick the prior night’s top 3 individual performances and pick that night’s key games.

See Wednesday's "daily" here: http://www.augbball.com/2017/10/nba-opening-night-special-augbball-talk.html

Last night's (Wednesday) top 3 performers (Chad):

Giannis Antetokounmpo: 37 points, 13 rebounds

Bucks (1-0) 108, Celtics (0-2) 100

.@Giannis_An34 dropped 37 on only 13 made FG (11/13 from the line). Here's all of them. #OwnTheFuture pic.twitter.com/mymjVSK09E

— Dave DuFour (@DaveDuFourNBA) October 19, 2017

Lamarcus Aldridge: 25 points, 10 rebounds

Spurs (1-0) 107, Timberwolves (0-1) 99

LaMarcus Aldridge triple double watch???pic.twitter.com/9K9I4SKkMD

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) October 19, 2017

John Wall: 28 points

Wizards (1-0) 120, Sixers (0-1) 115

John Wall letting out some pent-up feelings. #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/kUQKn121DJ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 18, 2017

Last night's (Wednesday) top 3 performers (Will):

Giannis Antetokounmpo 37pts, 13 rebs. 13-22 FG

Bucks (1-0) 108, Celtics (0-2) 100

Hassan Whiteside 26pts, 22rebs.

Heat (0-1) 109, Magic (1-0) 116

Tobias Harris 27pts, 10rebs 11-18 FG. (One of my breakout players)

Pistons (1-0) 102, Hornets (0-1) 90

Tonight’s (Thursday) picks - Chad

Thunder over New York (8:00 on TNT)
Clippers over Lakers (10:30 on TNT)

Tonight’s (Thursday) picks - Will

Thunder over New York
Clippers over Lakers

NBA Opening Night Special AugBball Talk Show Episode

William Avery​ and I went live on Facebook this morning when the buzzer on the clock behind us went off.

Tune in to our NBA Opening Night Special Episode above! Here’s the format:

1) Cavs vs Celtics review

Young Guns:

Jaylen Brown - 25 points
Jayson Tatum - 14 second half points, double-double

Star Watch CLE:

Lebron James: 29 points (12-19 FG), 16 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks

Star Watch BOS:

Kyrie Irving: 22 points, 10 assists

2) Warriors vs Rockets review

Bench Play HOU:

Eric Gordon: 24 points, 9-10 2 pt FG, 29 min
PJ Tucker: 20 points, 4-6 3 pt FG
Luc Mbah a Moute: 14 points, 2-3 3 pt FG, 23 min

Bench Play GS:

Nick Young: 23 points, 6-7 3 pt FG, 26 min

Star Watch HOU:

James Harden: 27 points, 10 assists
Chris Paul: 4 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds

Star Watch GS

Steph Curry: 22 points
Kevin Durant: 20 points, 4 blocks
Klay’s Thompson: 16 points, 4-7 3 pt FG

3) Top 3 individual performances from opening night

Chad's picks

Lebron James: 29 points (12-19 FG), 16 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks
James Harden: 27 points, 10 assists
Eric Gordon: 24 points, 9-10 2 pt FG, 29 min

Will's picks
Lebron James: 29 points (12-19 FG), 16 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks
James Harden: 27 points, 10 assists
Jaylen Brown: 25 points

4) Pick Wednesday’s ESPN games (Wizards-Sixers and Spurs-Timberwolves)

NBA preseason predictions by Will Avery and me ahead Tuesday night's tip off

Will Avery and I have previewed the start of the NBA season for the past few episodes of the AugBball Talk Show. During episode 5 Saturday we talked about our preseason predictions for the top 8 seeds in each division, the all star teams, and the MVP and rookie of the year award winners. Those picks and the games that we pick each night when there will be noteworthy games on TV will make for a good competition this season. And we allowed a third contestant ("Player 3" below) in our game.

Tune in to episode 6 of the AugBball Talk Show Wednesday morning (Live on the @AugBball Facebook page) to hear us break down Tuesday Night's Celtics @ Cavs and Rockets @ Warriors action.

AugBball Talk Show Preseason Predictions

Tuesday’s picks (Will)

Celtics over Cavs
Rockets over Warriors

Tuesday’s picks (Chad)

Cavs over Celtics
Warriors over Rockets

Tuesday’s picks (Player 3)

Cavs over Celtics
Warriors over Rockets

Playoff picks

West (Will)

1. Warriors
2. Rockets
3. Thunder
4. Spurs
5. Timberwolves
6. Nuggets
7. Pelicans
8. Clippers

West (Chad)

1. Thunder
2. Warriors
3. Spurs
4. Rockets
5. Clippers
6. Grizzlies
7. Timberwolves
8. Pelicans

West (Player 3)

1. Warriors
2. Thunder
3. Rockets
4. Spurs
5. Pelicans
6. Clippers
7. Timberwolves
8. Blazers

East (Will)

1. Cavs
2. Celtics
3. Bucks
4. Wizards
5. Raptors
6. Hornets
7. Heat
8. Pistons

East (Chad)

1. Cavs
2. Celtics
3. Wizards
4. Raptors
5. Bucks
6. Hornets
7. Sixers
8. Heat

East (Player 3)

1. Cavs
2. Celtics
3. Bucks
4. Wizards
5. Raptors
6. Hornets
7. Heat
8. Sixers

All Star Teams

East All Stars (Will)

Irving
Wall
James
Antetokounmpo
Embiid
Walker
Beal
DeRozan
Hayward
Love
Porzingis
Turner

West All Stars (Will)

Curry
Westbrook
Durant
Leonard
Towns
Harden
Lillard
Davis
Butler
Cousins
Griffin
George

East All Stars (Chad)

James
Irving
Antetokounmpo
Hayward
Love
Lowry
DeRozan
Wall
Beal
Walker
Embiid
Wade

West All Stars (Chad)

Curry
Durant
Harden
Westbrook
George
Thompson
Paul
Anthony
Davis
Cousins
Leonard
Lillard

East All Stars (Player 3)

James
Irving
Antetokounmpo
Hayward
Love
Lowry
DeRozan
Wall
Walker
Thomas
Drummond
Schroder

West All Stars (Player 3)

Curry
Durant
Harden
Westbrook
George
Thompson
Paul
Anthony
Davis
Cousins
Leonard
Lillard

MVP (Will)

Kevin Durant

MVP (Chad)

Kawhi Leonard

MVP (Player 3)

Steph Curry

ROY (Will)

Dennis Smith Jr

ROY (Chad)

Malik Monk

ROY (Player 3)

Malik Monk

Live interviews with Augusta University (men's and women's) coaches and players at the first practices

I interviewed three coaches and 4 players live from the practice floor at Augusta University for the Jaguars’ first practices of the 2017-18 season. Check out my interviews with Dip Metress (head coach, MBB); Drew Gibson (asst coach, MBB); TC Fields (Sr, MBB); Kyle Doyle (Sr, MBB); Tyvez Monroe (Jr, MBB); Millette Green (head coach, WBB); and Mallory Myers (Jr, WBB).

Live interviews Monday at 7:30 with Augusta University head coaches Dip Metress and Millette Green

Aaron Byrd snaps a pass in Augusta's first practice of the season Sunday morning.

Tonight at 7:30 at the Augusta University Athletics Facebook page I will have interviews with Augusta University head coaches Dip Metress and Millette Green live from the practice floor during the men’s and women’s teams’ first Monday of practice. Share, like and follow on Facebook to watch the interviews and see the Jags in action in the background. Send us questions for the coaches too, please.

About coach Metress*

Metress is beginning his 22nd season as a head coach and his 14th at Augusta, where he has recorded an incredible .730 winning percentage. 8 of Augusta’s 12 NCAA tournament appearances have come under Metress’s direction, and he led the Jaguars to 3 consecutive elite 8 appearances between 2008 and 2010.

The Jags finished 24-8 last season and earned the Peach Belt Conference’s East Division regular season title by recording the best record in the entire conference. Augusta was eliminated in the NCAA tournament round of 32.

Senior Tamyrik Fields will again be a team leader for Augusta.

About coach Green

Green is beginning her first season at Augusta and her first as a head coach after assisting at William and Mary, and before that Fairleigh Dickinson and Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI). Green is a 2003 graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), where she was a member of the women’s basketball team.

Senior Kyle Doyle sizes up his options Sunday during Augusta's first practice.

*Complete bio info for the coaches can be found at augustajags.com.

Highlights of Keshun Sherrill, plus an interview, after Sherrill's 22 points in blowout home opener win

Keshun Sherrill scored 22 points to lead New Heroes to a 91-65 win over the Den Helder Suns in Dutch Basketball League Play today. Sherrill made 10 of 17 field goals and scored 16 first half points as New Heroes built a commanding 53-28 lead going into intermission.

New Heroes improved to 2-0 after opening the season Tuesday with an 81-63 road win over Weert.

I interviewed Keshun over the phone after his team's home opener (see below). He talked about the fiery (literally) introduction before the game, his ability to use his left hand (Sherrill made 4 left handed shots Sunday), and the fact that his image is already on the back of the team's bus (See photo via New Heroes).

Of course Sherrill is the all time leading scorer for both Augusta University and the Peach Belt Conference.



New Heroes improved to 2-0. The game can be viewed in full at this link: https://youtu.be/MKGlGJDSCvQ

AugBball Talk Show with Chad Cook and Will Avery - Episode 5

AugBball Talk Show with Chad Cook and William Avery - Episode 5

Live from the CSRA Middle School Developmental League

Topics:
1. HS Football
- N Augusta tops S Aiken
http://www.augbball.com/…/north-augusta-tops-south-aiken-im…
- Evans over Grovetown
http://www.augbball.com/…/evans-42-grovetown-32-full-highli…
- Aquinas vs Washington-Wilkes is Game of the Week
2. Picks for Tuesday’s NBA double header and preseason picks for the top playoff spots
3. Crazy college football upsets
4. College Bball practices beginning

NBA predictions

Playoff picks

West (Will)

1. Warriors
2. Rockets
3. Thunder
4. Spurs
5. Timberwolves
6. Nuggets
7. Pelicans
8. Clippers

West (Chad)
1. Thunder
2. Warriors
3. Spurs
4. Rockets
5. Clippers
6. Grizzlies
7. Timberwolves
8. Pelicans

East (Will)
1. Cavs
2. Celtics
3. Bucks
4. Wizards
5. Raptors
6. Hornets
7. Heat
8. Pistons

East (Chad)
1. Cavs
2. Celtics
3. Wizards
4. Raptors
5. Bucks
6. Hornets
7. Sixers
8. Heat

MVP (Will)
Kevin Durant

MVP (Chad)
Kawhi Leonard

ROY (Will)
Dennis Smith Jr

ROY (Chad)
Malik Monk

Tuesday’s picks (Will)
Celtics over Cavs
Rockets over Warriors

Tuesday’s picks (Chad)
Cavs over Celtics
Warriors over Rockets

North Augusta tops South Aiken; improves to 8-0

Dejuan Bell had 3 interceptions in North Augusta's win over South Aiken.

North Augusta’s defense made the difference in the Yellow Jackets’ 21-7 win over region rival South Aiken Friday. Class AAAA's #4 ranked North Augusta improved to 8-0 with 2 regular season games remaining. South Aiken fell to 6-2.

Defensive back Dejuan Bell grabbed three interceptions in the first three quarters as the Yellow Jackets hung on to a 7-0 lead, which was established late in the first quarter when quarterback Landon Washington rushed for a 3 yard touchdown. South Aiken finally got on the board in the third quarter when Deshun Kitchings scored from 5 yards out after Chris Roberts marched the Thoroughbreds down field with a string of rushing gains.

North Augusta's crowd roared when the Yellow Jackets made two key second half stops.

Then North Augusta’s defense made two key second half stops. First, with the crowd roaring its support, the Jackets stuffed Roberts on 4th and 1 at North Augusta’s 45 yard line. Next, Zach McGhee dumped Cody Boynton deep in the backfield on 3rd and 10 early in the 4th quarter.

McGhee’s stop swung the momentum back to North Augusta, which quickly scored to take a 14-7 lead after a Landon Washington to Kashawn Johnson connection, a couple Derius Gibson rushes, and finally a Washington keeper for another touchdown.

Landon Washington rushed for 2 touchdowns in North Augusta's win Friday.

After playing more stingy defense, the Yellow Jackets drove 75 yards on the final series to earn the 21-7 win. Washington set the tone on that last drive, running over a defender to get the initial first down. Gibson would take it from there, moving the chains with several significant gains, and finishing with a 15 yard touchdown dash on 4th and 1 with 31.7 seconds remaining.

Evans 42, Grovetown 32 - Full Highlights

AugBball Bonus Coverage:

Evans quarterback Damekus Taylor ran for 3 touchdowns and threw for 2 more as the Knights topped Grovetown 42-32 on the road to improve to 2-0 in region play. The Warriors dropped to 2-1.

Taylor piled up over 140 rushing yards and more than 200 yards passing. Thanks to Chris Gay and Ashley Brown for the stats. And to Robert Drew for the video highlights.

3 HS Football Games I'm Tracking Friday Night

#5 South Aiken at #4 North Augusta is the game of the night!

Follow @AugBball on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter Friday night to see the live highlights and updates from this South Carolina class AAAA showdown:

Special Bonus: Saturday morning highlights from Evans's (4-2, 1-0) visit to Grovetown (4-3, 2-0) for at least a share in the region's top spot.

Here is my interview with Grovetown coach Damien Postell immediately after the Warriors beat the defending region champion Heritage 42-39 last Friday to move to 2-0 in region play:

Finally, Aquinas (4-2, 2-0), winner of 3 straight, enters a 3 game stretch with a home game against Greene County tonight. It will be the final regular season home game for the Fighting Irish, who are rolling after 3 straight wins.

Aquinas coach James Leonard spoke about the community support his program receives this week in the AJC:

Here Aquinas coach James Leonard talks about, among other things, the outstanding support for his program from the Aquinas community. https://t.co/K8vXFJCi4K

— Chad Cook's AugBball (@AugBball) October 9, 2017

This is Aquinas's Boys Basketball coach Darren Douglas telling me about the school, coach James Leonard, and the football team in a recent Coach Talk interview:

Media Day Information and Coach Talk with Darren Douglas and Jeff Williams

Dear basketball community,

Before you hear from Darren Douglas and Jeff Williams, please read about our coming high school basketball media day, which we hope will be packed with every HS boys and girls coach, and key players appointed by their coaches.

Date, time, and place for the expanded Augusta region’s media day:

• Sunday, November 5 from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. at the Old Columbia Middle School
• Message me or Email cookchad08@gmail.com for more details or with questions and RSVPs.
• Schools from Richmond, Columbia, Aiken, Burke, McDuffie, Screven, Jefferson, Baldwin and every other county whose basketball affects ours are invited.
• I ask all my coaching friends, and all players, parents, and hoops fans to spread the word that we want to see every high school boys and girls coach and their appointed player representatives from all the schools. Wear school athletic gear. I will be doing interviews the whole time. Darren has invited the entire media. Now please help me make sure the HS hoops coaches know they are their selected assistants and players are invited! 
• Share, share, share!

Coach Talk: Darren Douglas (Aquinas)

In his first season as the head coach, Darren Douglas led Aquinas to a 26-2 record, a region championship, and a class A state playoff quarterfinal finish last season. 26 represented a 15 game increase in the win column. Coach Douglas talked to me this week about his program's focus in the off season. Darren said he is teaching his players how to "work," and that his ultimate goal is teaching them how a strong work ethic can help them become "better fathers, better husbands, and better people."

Coach Talk: Jeff Williams (Lakeside)

Lakeside senior Brad Hilley works participated in last Wednesday's skill work with coach Jeff Williams.

In his first season in charge, head coach Jeff Williams led Lakeside to a 21-5 season, an undefeated regular season region record, and a region tournament championship. The Panthers won 10 more games than the prior season and achieved many milestones not reached before in the school's three decades of existence. Coach Williams talked to me last week about his team's focus during the off season, what they are doing to improve, and which players are getting the most out of their time in the gym.

Keshun Sherrill starts strong and Ben Madgen is making his dream come true

Sherrill's image is on the team's bus

Keshun Sherrill, the all time scoring leader for Augusta University and the Peach Belt Conference, notched a win in his professional debut, scoring 18 points, dishing 8 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds as New Heroes Basketball topped Weert 81-63 Tuesday in Holland. Sherrill made 8 of 13 field goal attempts and 3 of 6 three pointers, and he also grabbed 4 rebounds. I asked Sherrill in a message after the game whether he was nervous in his first professional outing:

"I would say I was more anxious than nervous," said the pure shooting point guard who racked up 2,333 points in college. "Of course I had the first game jitters, but when the ball went up in the air I was good to go."

Trailing 21-16 after one quarter, New Heroes took command of the game by outscoring Weert 25-5 in the second period. New Heroes led 41-26 at halftime, and the lead only briefly narrowed to as close as 13 once early in the fourth quarter.

New Heroes plays its first home game Sunday.

More news about Jaguars in Europe

Big brother KJ is off to a good start in Germany

After my preseason update about Sherrill and another Augusta University legend, Garret Siler, Augusta assistant Lennie Carlson, who has a wealth of experience playing professionally overseas and coaching at the highest levels, commented that he believed Sherrill will eventually reach a higher level of European ball, possibly in Germany or France. Germany is where Sherrill's brother KJ - who earned All Peach Belt Conference honors in his only season at Augusta University after transferring from UNC Charlotte - is playing. The older Sherrill, who at 6'8" stands a foot taller than Keshun, has averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds in his team's first 6 games. His Bonn II squad's next outing will be this Saturday.

The Sherrill brothers saw each other during the preseason when KJ and his girlfriend watched Keshun play when New Heroes played an exhibition game in Germany. Their close proximity to each other has to help the strain of living in a foreign country. "The next time I'll see him will be Christmas. Instead of coming back to the states I'll go and spend it with them," Sherrill said.

Ben Madgen is living out his dream

This post by Ben Madgen is a must read!
http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/features/blogs/2017-2018/ben-madgen/i/896uownnyoqr8cby/ben-madgen-living-the-eurocup-dream

Ben Madgen, who led Augusta to three consecutive elite 8 NCAA tournament appearances and whose school and conference scoring records Sherrill finally broke in the second to last game of Sherrill's career, is living out his dream of reaching the highest level of European basketball. In a blog post written by Madgen and posted on the official website for EuroLeague and EuroCup basketball, the highest level of ball besides the NBA, Madgen tells his story of success, adversity, risk taking, and the partnership of marriage.

After starring in Australia, his home country, and Belgium for the first half-decade since leaving Augusta, Madgen eventually found his way last season to Lithuania, where he averaged 14 points per game in EuroCup play for Panevezys. This season he plays for Lithuania's Lietuvos Rytas, also a EuroCup participant, and he has scored 9 points per game in the first 6 outings of LKL league play.

Madgen's best game this season was his 21 point outing in a 75-69 road win against Vytautas Thursday. He made 9 of 12 field goal attempts, including all 8 of his two-point tries. Here are the game highlights:

Lietuvos plays its first EuroCup game tomorrow at noon our time. I'll report on Madgen's first outing afterwards!

#4 North Augusta's showdown with #5 South Aiken will likely decide the region's champion

North Augusta vs South Aiken is Friday's AugBball Game of the Night

The sprint through region play will last four more Fridays. Over that time period, about a half-dozen games pitting region rivals will likely decide which teams will grab their region's #1 seed, and with it the chance to earn at least two home games in the state playoffs come November. And high school football's closest watchers are excited about it!

to think, we still get Burke Co/Thomson and Screven/Jeff Co as well these last few weeks. Been a while since we've had these type of games

— Kevin Faigle (@kevinfaiglewrdw) October 9, 2017

I'll have more on the other games mentioned above later. For now I'll focus on Friday's showdown at North Augusta between the Yellow Jackets (7-0, 1-0) and defending region champion South Aiken (6-1, 1-0), the results of which should eventually determine the top seed in South Carolina's class AAAA, region 4. North Augusta, ranked #4 in the state, has scorched through its schedule so far, outscoring opponents by an average margin of 27 points per game. And South Aiken, ranked #5, has picked up a ton of steam since dropping its second game of the season at White Knoll. The Thoroughbreds have won 5 straight games by an average margin of 38 points.

South Aiken's first region game (September 29)

In their first week of region play, both teams made it obvious that their only challenge in October will be against each other. First South Aiken routed rival Aiken 51-10 at home in a game televised on WJBF. In that game, running back Chris Roberts ran for 133 yards on 15 carries and caught 2 touchdown passes. And receiver Deshun Kitchings added a couple scores, one through the air and another on the game's opening kick-off, a 95 yard sprint that you will see at the beginning of this highlight reel he shared on Twitter:

Statement game vs Aiken High 🤘🏾😳 pic.twitter.com/U9Oi9EAsmf

— 🌟 Deshun 🌟 (@shunnyboyy) October 4, 2017

North Augusta's first league game (October 6)

Not to be outdone, a week later North Augusta ran Airport off the field 47-7, avenging a loss suffered in the final regular season game last season. Speedster Dejuan Bell scored 3 touchdowns in that game, first on a 60 yard punt return, next on a 2 yard rush, and lastly on a 61 yard reception.

Dejuan Bell has 9 touchdown receptions this season.

Friday's game will be my first time watching the Thoroughbreds in person after featuring North Augusta's 34-21 home win over another rival, Strom Thurmond, three Fridays ago:

Judging from the statistics, the teams' standouts at the skill positions look like mirror images of each other:

But when these rivals meet in the most important game of their region schedule, or their "second season," as North Augusta coach Brian Thomas calls it, the statistics that were piled up in August and September can be thrown out the window!

#2 Thomson scores 41 unanswered points, routes Hephzibah 55-20

Thomson's De'arious Jones celebrates his touchdown on an interception return Friday.

With 7:30 remaining in the second quarter of Thomson's 55-20 win over region foe Hephzibah, Artest Banks recovered a blocked punt, catching it on the fly in the end zone to give the Bulldogs a 21-10 lead. During the next 10 minutes of play, class AAAA's #2 ranked Thomson would pile on another 28 points, scoring in every imaginable way.

First Tyrek Braswell rushed for his second touchdown of the game from 8 yards out after Mills Ridings completed a long pass to Jacorey Crawford and followed up with a long run to set up Braswell's score. Next Tyrese Jones returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to give Thomson a 35-10 lead with 1:26 left in the first half. Then before the break, Ridings found Marcus Cade for a pretty touchdown completion from 33 yards out. And finally, right after the third quarter began, De'arious Jones intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 49-10 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.



Before that spree began, Braswell opened the scoring with a touchdown run from inside the 5 yard line. That score came on the third play of the game's first drive, and it was set up by a 43 yard Christian Tutt kick off return and two big gains from scrimmage.

Christian Tutt rushed for a touchdown, tallied over 70 yards returning kicks, and had a tackle for a loss Friday.

Hephzibah answered with a lengthy drive that ended in a Renan Orroyo field goal. Thomson immediately scored again when Braswell set up Tyler Curry's short touchdown run with a long sprint down the right sideline. Curry's score put Thomson ahead 14-3.

The game briefly looked like it would be more competitive than most people expected when Hephzibah's Max Lockwood engineered a touchdown drive on the Rebels' second possession. Lockwood perfectly executed a fake punt on fourth-and-one, finding E'shawn Mayes on a 32 yard completion down the left sideline. Lockwood hit Henri travis in the end zone moments later to cut Thomson's lead to 14-10.

But then the floodgates immediately opened, and the Bulldogs would scored 41 unanswered points, capped off with a score by Tutt, who played his last two snaps of action in the third quarter, rushing the ball twice from direct snap, the second time trucking over a defender at the goal line to give Thomson a 55-10 lead before the substitutes took over.

After the game I spoke with Ridings and Braswell about their respective roles and their teammates:

Interview with Grovetown coach Damien Postell after Warriors' homecoming win over Heritage

AugBball Talk Show with Chad Cook and Will Avery - Episode 3

Link to episode 2

Link to episode 1

Notes for episode 3

#4 North Augusta and Grovetown play important region games at home Friday

North Augusta (6-0) and Grovetown's both have important home games Friday against two region foes from outside of the area. South Carolina's class AAAA #4 ranked Yellow Jackets will open region play in a homecoming game against Airport. Grovetown will try to improve to 2-0 in class AAAAAA region 3 play against the defending region champ, Heritage.

Quarterback Landon Washington leads North Augusta into Friday's region opener.

North Augusta vs Airport

South Carolina class AAAA's #4 ranked North Augusta completed what head coach Brian Thomas called its first season with a perfect 6-0 record last week with a 43-13 win at Lower Richland.

Receiver Dejuan Bell caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Landon Washington and Bell returned a kick for another score.

Dejuan Bell - North Augusta

Running back Derius Gibson ran for a pair of touchdowns to go with his 126 rushing yards.

Derius Gibson - North Augusta

Friday's homecoming game against Airport begins the Yellow Jackets' 4 game sprint through region play. If North Augusta is able to avenge its loss at Airport from one year ago, the stage will be set for the October 13th matchup between the Yellow Jackets and rival South Aiken.

The Thoroughbreds are currently ranked #5 in class AAAA following last week's 51-10 blowout win over rival Aiken. Receiver Deshun Kitchings ran back the opening kick off for a touchdown in that game, and Kitchings and company never looked back!

Statement game vs Aiken High 🤘🏾😳 pic.twitter.com/U9Oi9EAsmf

— 🌟 Deshun 🌟 (@shunnyboyy) October 4, 2017

If the Yellow Jackets and Thoroughbred both win Friday, next Friday's clash at North Augusta will be the AugBball Game of the Night!

Grovetown vs Heritage

Grovetown (3-3, 1-0) has a chance to be the first team in Georgia's class AAAAAA, region 3 to get to two wins when Heritage visits Friday night. The Warriors have given up only 3 points the past two weeks while winning two straight games, including a 17-3 victory in last week's region opener at Alcovy.

Greggory Rogers - Grovetown

The Warriors have gotten important contributions from linebacker Greggory Rogers, who leads the region in tackles with 73, and safety Myles Jackson, who is second in the region in interceptions with 4, including 3 against Alcovy.

Myles Jackson - Grovetown

Senior running back D'angelo Durham, who scored two touchdowns last week, carries much of the load on offense.

D'angelo Durham - Grovetown