Ahead of the first AugBball All Star Games, we rank the top 10 area teams and the top 25 players

***Check out the news about the first AugBball All Star Games at this link:
http://augbball.blogspot.com/2019/01/saturday-march-23-is-date-for-first.html
***

Top 10 Area Teams

1) North Augusta (12-5, 1-0) - SC Class 4A

The Yellow Jackets have won 6 of 7 games since super sophomore RJ Felton and junior Chris Wilder rejoined the team after the football season ended (Felton also had to recover from a broken bone in his arm). The team's most impressive win was against Lakeside in the championship game of a holiday tournament in late December.

2) Lakeside (15-2, 3-0) - Class 6A

Lakeside has blown out teams every time I've watched them in person this season. The most recent was last Friday's 70-48 spanking of Heritage:

3) Evans (17-0, 3-0) - Class 6A

The Knights are ranked #1 in class 6A by 2 of the 3 rankings sites I follow. The team has considerable size on the frontline and two high scoring guards in junior Christian Chambers and senior Cameron Cabarrus. This Friday's home game against arch rival Lakeside is highly anticipated by many fans. Evans delivered in a big way the last time it faced a rival, Greenbrier, in December:

4) Glenn Hills (15-3, 8-1) - Class 2A

The supersized wing combo of John Whitehead and Emmanuel Jones, both juniors, have led the Spartans past the halfway point of their 16 game region schedule with only one loss. The most recent victory at Butler gave Glenn Hills a 2 game lead in the league standings over Butler, Hephzibah, Laney and Josey. These are the highlights from that game:

5) Thomson (12-3, 1-1) - Class 4A

Tuesday's 54-38 loss to Cross Creek surprised me because I was very impressed by the Bulldogs last Saturday when they opened region play with a 65-60 win over Baldwin at home. Thomson is big and tough and athletic, as you can see in the highlights from that win:

6) Baldwin (10-5, 2-1) - Class 4A

The Braves bounced back quickly from Saturday's loss at Thomson with a 73-50 win at home over Burke County. Last Friday's win at Richmond was impressive because Baldwin was not at its best, but it still found a way to win by overcoming a 5 point deficit in the final minute to grab a 47-46 victory on Justin Webb's buzzer beating layup:

7) Butler (10-3, 6-3) - Class 2A

The Bulldogs probably play harder than any team on this list. That makes up for a lack of experience in the backcourt. Senior Jyheem Rollins has produced all season without exception. He scored 22 points in Tuesday's loss to Glenn Hills:

8) Hephzibah (8-6, 6-3) - Class 2A

A core group of young Rebels have transformed Hephzibah into a contender this season. With 11 games remaining, the team has already matched its highest win total for a season since the 2012-13 campaign. All three of Hephzibah's region losses were in overtime, the most recent being a heart breaking 64-60 loss to Butler last Friday at home:

9) Richmond (12-5, 1-1)

10) Silver Bluff (6-4, 1-0)

A mainstay in South Carolina's class 2A top 10 rankings, Silver Bluff sports wins over Washington County and South Aiken so far this season.

Top 25 Area Players

1) John Whitehead (Glenn Hills)
6-5 Junior

2) RJ Felton (North Augusta)
6-3 Sophomore

3) Emmanuel Jones (Glenn Hills)
6-7 Junior

4) Kalen Williams (Lakeside)
6-2 Senior

5) Nate Dunlop (Augusta Christian)
6-6 Senior

6) Zy Wright (Aquinas)
6-4 Junior

7) Christian Chambers (Evans)
6-2 Junior

8) Jyheem Rollins (Butler)
6-3 Senior

9) Trez Ruffin (Josey)
6-3 Senior

10) Latavian Lawrence (Silver Bluff)
6-5 Junior

11) Zander Hamilton (Thomson)
6-4 Senior

12) Richard Crawford (Greenbrier)
5-11 Senior

13) Justin Webb (Baldwin)
6-7 Senior

14) Chris Williams (Aquinas)
6-8 Junior

15) Vontrez Roberts (Richmond)
6-9 Senior

16) Malcolm Daniels (Thomson)
6-4 Senior

17) Maison Hall (Aiken)
6-2 Senior

18) Chris Wilder (North Augusta)
6-0 Junior

19) Donte Justice (Baldwin)
6-0 Senior

20) Jahleel Roundtree (Burke County)
6-5 Senior

21) Omarion Byrd (North Augusta)
5-10 Junior

22) Kobe Stewart (Cross Creek)
6-5 Junior

23) Jonathan Taylor (Aquinas)
6-0 Junior

24) Cameron Cabarrus (Evans)
6-2 Senior

25) Jalen Blount (Hephzibah)
6-0 Sophomore

26) Matt Jones (Laney)
6-6 Sophomore