1. Tennessee Flight (Mufreeseboro, TN – Tom Insell – Nike)
The Buzz: The most talented team in the South has several players from outside the region in Kaleena Lewis and Ronika Ransford. Look for the Flight to be in contention to repeat as Nike National Champions and the top spot in the nation.
2. Memphis Elite (Memphis, TN – Andre Pruitt – No Affliliation)
The Buzz: Memphis Elite won the Silver Division of the Boo Williams Invitational behind the guard play of Lauren Avant (Tennessee) and Antonita Slaughter (Louisville). The difference between #1 & #2 is vast.
3. Georgia Elite (Atlanta, GA – No Affiliation)
The Buzz: Elite beat FGB and Kentucky Blue Chip on the way to winning the Peach State Tip Off Classic behind the strong guard play of super-frosh Andraya Carter and the front court play of Lauren Coleman. Georgia Elite does not have a roster loaded with Division I talent but might be the most cohesive team in the region.
4. Team Breakdown (Miami, Fl – No Affiliation – Pat Gajardo
The Buzz: Many questioned how good Team Breakdown would be this year but they passed their first test with flying colors, showing they may be the class of Florida travel teams this year. Dawnn Maye’s 40 point performance may have propelled her into the McDonald’s All-American game next year.
5. Kentucky Blue Chip All Stars (Lexington, KY – Adidas Travel Team- Jim Underwood)
The Buzz: Ebony Rowe (Dunbar) had great senior leadership for Blue Chip at the Peach State Tip Off. Sarah Hammond is one of the most underrated 2011 players in the country and as she progresses look for her stock to sore. Blue Chip beat the Georgia Blazers in the semi-finals of the tip-off classic.
6. Essence (Tallahassee, Fl – Nike Travel Team – Kim Davis)
The Buzz: The Essence has a very young team this year but got a great draw at Boo Williams by winning their pool untested. Once tested by the Philly Belles, the Essence were beaten relatively easily 60-46. The early season loss of Alicia DeVaughn likely kept them out of the top 5 in the region.
7. Jacksonville Lady Rams (Jacksonville, Fl – Mike White – Tony Bannister
The Buzz: The Rams are another young team who look to make waves this year. We listed them as a sleeper in our Deep South preview because of that youth. The Rams were just that but lost in the first round of Deep South to Mid-Penn Motion. The Rams finished 17th at Deep South.
8. Georgia Blazers Black (Columbus Georgia – Joe Foster – Elite Basketball Family)
The Buzz: The Blazers have one of the best front courts in the country with Shaunice McKinney (6’4’’ C Lefore) and Kayla Brewer (6’2’’ F Ribault). The Blazers led Kentucky Blue Chip for the majority of the game before falling in a close battle at the Peach State Tip off. In the 3rd place game the Blazers turned a 6 point half time deficit in to a 3 point victory over FGB.
9. FGB (Winter Park, Florida – Necole Tunsil/Chontell Cecil – Elite Basketball Family/Blue Star Travel Team
The Buzz: While a lot of other teams have star national-level players, FGB has some of the biggest sleepers in the South. Latavia Dempsey’s (5’8’’ G Boca Ciega) recruiting has taken off after a big weekend at the Peach State Tip Off. FGB beat Team Breakdown early in the spring and fell to Georgia Elite and the Georgia Blazers by single digits in Atlanta last weekend.
10. Southeast Elite (Atlanta, Georgia – Toni Gore – Elite Basketball Family)
The Buzz: Southeast Elite is one of the most talented teams in the South but is still looking to find their groove after losing to Georgia Elite twice and to the South Florida Jaguars. Tiffany Mitchell and Sydney Wallace make up one of the top backcourts in the country for the future. Look for Southeast Elite to make one of the biggest jumps once July begins and this team begins to run on all cylinders.
11. South Carolina 76ers – Won the Southern Premier Hoops Classic at Georgia State.
12. Georgia Ice – The top young team in the region features Diamond DeShields and Kaela Davis.
13. Garner Flames – Struggled at Boo Williams finishing 2-4 but has junior prospect Ariel Johnson from Oak Hill Academy.
14. Queen City Dynasty – finished in sixth place at the Deep South Classic falling to Irvine Sol 52-37 in the 5th place game.
15. Nike Georgia Elite – Finished 1-2 at Boo Williams with a win over the Cal Storm but was bumped out of the bracket with a tie-breaker to Cal Storm and North Tartan.
16. Wallace Prather Celtics – Lost in the finals of the Southern Premeir Hoops Classic at Georgia State to the South Carolina 76ers.
17. Alabama Roadrunners – Hurt with Kaneisha Horn announcing she will not play this summer, but added Laurin Mincy who is one of the top players in the country. Finished 0-3 at Boo Williams.
18. Georgia Metros – The Metros are not the team they were with Maya Moore and finished 0-3 at Boo Williams.
19. Orlando Comets Red – Struggled at Boo Williams losing three games by a combined 49 points. The Comets have a strong frontcourt with super-soph Amber Henson and Miami bound Selina Archer.
20. Alabama Twisters – Added Alicia DeVaughn but didn’t finish in the top 4 of the Southern Premier Hoops Event in Atlanta.
The Southeast Region consists of the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia.