High Point Academy, Hampton County 1-2 In AA Boys Entering The Basketball Play-offs

HSSR AA Boys Basketball Rankings - (As of Feb. 5, 2025)

1. High Point Academy

2.Hampton County

3. Atlantic Collegiate Academy

4.Mullins

5.Chesnee

6.Manning

7. Landrum

8.Andrew Jackson

9. Bridges Prep

10. Philip Simmons

High Point Academy, Hampton County 1-2 In AA Boys Entering The Basketball Play-offs

By Billy G. baker

Publisher

Moncks Corner—The 2024-25 AA boys’ basketball state championship will be contested at the Florence Civic Center around 4 p.m. on March, 8^th and one thing for sure is that neither Oceanside Collegiate, or Gray Collegiate will be back defensing their recent dominance of the AA finals.

With realignment and the three -multiplier for out of district students, Gray Collegiate has moved up to the AAAA level while Oceanside Collegiate is now in Class AAA.

Former Erskine College head coach Lee Sartor, who also coached Zion Williamson at Spartanburg Day is the head coach at top ranked High Point Academy who are 21-3 near the conclusion of the regular season.

“I certainly think we have an opportunity to play for the AA boy’s championship this season,” said Coach Sartor. “We have excellent guard play, a 6-7 inside man and two 6-5 players on the wing spots. We had an early season loss up at Chesnee when they shot 27 free-throws and we got into foul trouble. We have beat a lot of bigger schools like Westside and Boiling Springs.

“The team is modeled a little differently this season,” said Coach Sartor. “We try to play the right way by sharing the basketball. We can also get out and run if we need to, and we can also settle into a half-court game if that is what we need to do also.

“We are up-temp on defense and we a lot of man-to-man defenses,” said Coach Sartor. “We lot numerous prospects on this team and our 6-7 sophomore big man J’Sean Sanders just might be a power five prospect.”

Sanders is averaging 16.2 points and 7.9 rebounds thus far this season. “He has strong inside play and with continued development he should be a power five guy by his senior year.”

The other top scorers for the Grizzlies include senior guard Chonci Miller whom Coach Sartor describes as a “jumping jack” Miller is averaging 10.9 points a game and 5.4 rebounds. Junior 6-5 prospect Chris Copeland is averaging 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game.

Additional offensive support comes from junior guard Joe Miller averaging 8.3 points a game along with 6-1 senior guard Jaden McNeil averaging g 9.1 points a game. Senior point guard Trapp Morgan is averaging 8.2 points a game with 3.8 assists. Junior combo guard Jerry Jones plays well also at 6-2.

“The only disappointing loss we have had this season was a loss up at Chesnee when they shot 27 free throws and we got into foul trouble,” said Coach Sartor. “We have beat several larger schools like  Westside and Boiling Springs.”

Behind High Point in the AA boys’ basketball rankings are: 2. Hampton County, 3. Atlantic Collegiate Academy, 4. Mullins, 5. Chesnee, 6. Manning, 7. Landrum, 8. Andrew Jackson, 9. Bridges Prep and 10. Philip Simmons.

Number two ranked Hampton County is 17-4 and 8-0 near the end of the regular season.

Fourth ranked Mullins was (16-4, 7-3) after their 62-31 win over Kingstree on February, 7.  

Eric Troy’s Auc’s are led by junior point guard Deyon Ford at 16.8 points including 3.5 assists  and 3.1 steals per game. Sophomore 5-2 wing Dakori Worley is averaging 15.7 points and 10.2 rebounds a game.

The second AA ranked Hampton County Hurricanes were 17-4 and 8-0 near the end of the regular season.

Head coach Joshua James has a very athletic and quick team. The team has three players in double figures led by junior shooting guard Darius Brooks at 18.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game.  

The other top two scorers are junior forward Tyler Davis at 10.5 points and 3.4 rebounds a game and junior guard Jaquan Solomon who is averaging 11.9 points and 3.1 rebounds a game.  Davis is also shooting an incredible 83 per cent from the field.

Fourth ranked Atlantic Collegiate Academy is located in Conway and they were 17-3 and 9-1 near the conclusion of the regular season.



The team is head coached by Tanner Massey. The team is led in scoring by senior big man Jamie Brooks who is averaging 13.9 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. The only other player in double figures is junior forward Jayden Bellamy at 12.3 points a game. Talented freshman guard Alton Daniels is contributing 8.8 points a game and senior power forward Clayton Hemingway is averaging 6.2 rebounds a game.