Fans hoping to attend the inaugural Savannah Hoops Shootout at Enmarket Arena on November 24-25 should probably start making plans and buying tickets now. The two-day showcase is scheduled for the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, and it will feature some of the city’s top programs. Enmarket Arena, thankfully, will host high school basketball games, unlike the Civic Center before it. Savannah’s basketball history is rich with legendary players, teams and coaches.
That history only gets richer by the year, but for far too long now, high school basketball here hasn’t gotten the stage it deserves. Now, we’ve got the best and brightest stage in the city prepared to host prep hoops in just over a month’s time. I, for one, can’t wait for tip-off in Enmarket Arena. And I’ll probably be previewing the Savannah Hoops Shootout more in-depth as we get closer to it. But since we know the matchups already, and we’ve gotten this far into it anyways … Might as well take a peak at the matchups for Black Friday and Saturday. Here are those tip times for the Shootout, along with team matchups and 2022-23 overall records.
Friday, November 24
6pm – Groves (15-14) vs. St. Andrew’s (28-1)
8pm – Johnson (25-5) vs. Savannah High (21-8)
Saturday, November 25
4pm – Savannah High vs. Calvary Day (15-10)
6pm – Johnson vs. Benedictine (18-6)
It’s a bit early for preseason polls, so we don’t exactly know where the teams will be in the rankings to start the 2023-24 season, but we do know that most of them will be ranked and expected to win this year. The pedigree of each program, the star players on every roster, and the coaches (several with individual rivalries of their own) on every bench, all contribute to the excitement for the event.
Friday’s nightcap between Johnson (3A) and Savannah High (Class 1A-DI) is a matchup between two likely top-5 teams. Johnson is led by its All-State senior, Josh Quarterman (16.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg). Chuck Campbell’s club also has All-Region first-teamer Favion Kirkwood coming back. SHS, under first year coach George Brown, returns almost everyone from last year’s Sweet 16 squad. Preseason first team All-State selection Maki Joyner and two-time All-Region pick Jermaine Edwards are primary reasons why SHS has its highest preseason expectations since the 2013 state runner-up team.
Before that game, the two-time defending GIAA State Champion St. Andrew’s Lions aim to add another GHSA team to a lengthy list of “bigger” schools that have lost to head coach Mel Abrams’ and company over the past few seasons. SAS is entering the post-Zyere Edwards phase after the program-altering guard graduated as the GIAA’s back-to-back State Player of the Year. His younger brother Zayden Edwards will look to keep improving on already impressive numbers, while sharp-shooter Will Thompson provides Abrams more experience on the perimeter.
On Day 2, Savannah High meets a Calvary Day team that many are picking as a “sleeper” to win the always loaded Region 3-3A. The Cavs spent multiple months in the 3A top-10 last year and they will likely be appearing in those polls again this year. Depending on how far their football team goes, the Cavs could be playing without All-Region forward Jake Merklinger (10.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and others, but they have high hopes for sophomore big-man Chol Kiir, who figures to take a big step forward in his second season, which is the first for head coach Scepter Brownlee…
Speaking of football, BC will almost certainly be playing in the 4A state playoffs when the Shootout comes. Lucky for Cadet hoops fans, preseason All-State first-teamer Caleb Jones doesn’t play football. Jones, a junior who averaged more than 21 points per game as a sophomore, will be in Enmarket Arena, surely penciled into the starting lineup for head coach Frankie Williams. Jones guided BC all the way to the Class 4A Final Four last year, but without help from football contributors like La’Don Bryant early on, he’ll have to carry the scoring load even more than he already would. In terms of player vs. player matchups this year, it won’t get better than Jones vs. Quarterman. Campbell vs. Williams in a battle for best-short-coach-in-the-city is also a decent storyline for the finale of the Shootout.
On the GHSA official sanctioned events list for 2023-24, Savannah High is listed as the “host school” for the event. Do with that what you will. Follow on social media @SavannahHoopsShootout and visit SavannahHoopsShootout.com for more information and ticket purchasing links.
Proceeds from ticket purchases can go back to the school of your choice. Just use the corresponding code from below at ticket checkout screen.
Groves – REBELS
St. Andrew’s – LIONS
Savannah High – BLUEJACKETS
Johnson – ATOMSMASHERS
Calvary Day – CAVALIERS
Benedictine – CADETS
KEY UPCOMING DATES
October 20 – Week 10 GHSA FB regular season
October 23 – First practice for GHSA basketball teams
November 3 – Week 12 (of 12) GHSA FB regular season
November 10 – First round of GHSA State FB Playoffs
November 10 – First games for GHSA basketball teams
OTHER AREA HOOP TOURNEYS SET
The annual Joe Greene Tournament is scheduled for Monday, November 20 and Tuesday, November 21 at Beach High School. The event is showcase-style (no bracket, set schedule) and will feature both boys and girls teams. Also back in 2023 is the Savannah Holiday Classic. The three-day, four-bracket (two boys, two girls) tournament begins on Thursday, December 14 and concludes with championship games at gyms around the city on Saturday, December 16.
PRESEASON ALL-STATE TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The SandysSpiel.com preseason GHSA boy’s basketball All-State teams were released by Kyle Sandy on Sunday, October 15. Several area players made the cut. Those players are listed below.
4A
First Team: Caleb Jones (BC)
3A
Second Team: Josh Quarterman (SCJ)
Third Team: Robert Spaulding IV (SCDS)
1A-DI
First Team: Maki Joyner (SHS)
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This article appears in Connect Savannah | October, 2023.
