What to expect at the 2018 GE8TOC on Saturday
Atlanta, Georgia – The 3rd Annual Georgia Elite 8 Tip Off Classic is set to tip off this Saturday November 10th at McEachern High School (Powder Springs, Georgia). Every year this event has certainly been getting better and better. Bringing nationally known talent and also some of states top players and programs. This seasons event will feature top programs in Georgia including McEachern, Wheeler, Westlake, Meadowcreek, Lincoln Academy, St. Francis, Holy Spirit, and others. Below you can find out what you can expect at this Saturday’s annual event.
Battle of Georgia’s top 2020 bigs go head-to-head
If you like watching big man go to work, then the matchup between The Heritage School (Newnan, Georgia) against Mount Bethel (Marietta, Georgia) should be the game you should look forward to the most. This matchup will feature arguably Georgia’s top two bigs in the 2020 class in Ebenezer Dowuona (Heritage) and Jordan Meka (Mount Bethel). Both players are nominees to win the 2018-2019 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year award and both sit at 6-foot-10. Dowuona and Meka are both extremely good rim protectors and are going to get most of their touches around the basket. Both bigs have had fantastic summer circuits and have just earned some national spotlight. These two future pros will be set to face off at 2:30pm ET, marking on what should be the fourth game of the event.
Jaire Roscoe Eastmond versus Jalen Benjamin point guard matchup
For the second to last game of the event, we will have two of the most toughest 6-foot-0 and under point guards go head-to-head. Denver commit Jaire Eastmond (Wheeler) was one of Georgia’s top sleeper prospects in the 2019 class coming into this season before committing to Denver yesterday. He is an elite floor general and tempo creator for his squad. Roscoe is the engine that will control this Wheeler offense this season and they are certainly playing a tough schedule this year with their first four games being one of the toughest in the nation. He is also a great defender for a player his size and he will certainly need to bring it come this Saturday against UAB commit Jalen Benjamin (Meadowcreek). Jalen is a dynamic shooter with Steph Curry range. Not only can the 5-foot-9 point guard shoot the lights out, but he is great a seeing the floor and finding his teammates. Eastmond-Benjamin should definitely not disappoint, these two guards are considered tough and will be on each other all night.
Dwon Odom takes on Chase Hunter in an explosive guard matchup
Before the Eastmond-Benjamin matchup tips off, we are in for a great matchup between two of my personal 2018-2019 Georgia Gatorade POY nominees in Xavier commit 2020 PG Dwon Odom (St. Francis) and Clemson commit 2019 G Chase Hunter (Westlake). Both Dwon and Chase are one of the nations most explosive guards and they will be able to showcase their talents in this one. It is unknown if both guards will be guarding one another but both teams are not exactly loaded and these programs should matchup evenly. We should also expect a handful of dunks and/or crazy plays/moves, both Hunter and Odom are hold crazy athleticism and will absolutley “wow” you with the array of moves they hold. In my opinion, I believe Westlake could have the edge in this one, as they come in as the more talented team. 2022 PG Dillon Hunter and Rice commit 2019 G Quincy Olivari will also be putting their talents on display in this one for Westlake.
Isaac Okoro versus Anthony Edwards round two
This power matchup right here will features two of Georgia’s top five players. Auburn commit 2019 F Isaac Okoro (McEachern) and 2020 SG Anthony Edwards (Holy Spirit Prep) will meet for the second consecutive season. McEachern and Holy Spirit faced one another last season at the UA Hard in the Paint Classic and where McEachern overcame Holy Spirit Prep in overtime. Okoro and his McEachern squad will be looking to defeat Holy Spirit Prep at home to start the season. But that will not be an easy task to do. This matchup will end the 2018 GE8TOC and it should be a packed house. Both of these future pros had great summers in their respective circuits. Edwards made his name known nationally and has became, not just a top five player in the state, but also the nation. Isaac on the other hand is coming off a summer where he was able to secure a gold medal with the USA U17 team back in July.
Other prospects that you should expect to be on hand include: 2020 PG Sharife Cooper (McEachern), 2019 PG Kye Jeremiah (Holy Spirit), 2019 W Elias King (Lincoln Academy/Mississippi State), 2019 F Stanley Eze (Mt. Bethel), 2020 G Connor Thompson (Heritage), 2020 PG Deandre Brown (Holy Spirit), 2019 PG Coleman Boyd (Mt. Bethel), 2019 F Jared Jones (McEachern/Northwestern) 2020 PG Christian Wright (TSF), 2020 PG Omar Cooper (Walker), 2019 F Ahmi Langlais (Holy Spirit Prep), 2019 SG Damian Dunn (Meadowcreek/Temple), 2020 W Giancario Sanchez (Trinity), 2020 PG Nashay Kelly (Wheeler), 2019 SG Jamir Chaplin (Meadowcreek/South Florida), 2020 SG Brady Burnett (Trinity), 2021 C Bretner Mutombo (Lincoln Academy), 2021F Thomas Yeager (Trinity), 2020 F Perry Smith (Lincoln Academy), 2019 C Moulaye Sissoko (Lincoln Academy/Dayton), 2019 SG Charles Smith IV (Wheeler/California), 2019 F Ibriham Jarjou (Holy Spirit Prep), 2019 PG Quinton McElroy (McEachern), 2020 C Darisu Gaddy (Wheeler), 2021 PG Shomik Shahjahan (Miller Grove), 2019 F Malachi Rhodes (Wheeler/Bucknell), 2019 G Kenny Burns (Wheeler), 2020 SG Buka Peikrishvili (Holy Spirit), 2022 SG Robert Cowherd (Holy Spirit), 2021 F Frank Anselem (Lincoln Academy).