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Top Ten Series: Georgia HS Players 2005-2009

RYZE Hoops Staff

While LakePoint Hoops has hit the pause button on our events, that doesn’t mean we have to stop talking about our great sport. In the meantime, our LakePoint Hoops staff members Dan McDonald and Carter Wilson will bring you rankings of different topics every single day to hopefully get you through until basketball is back on our campus.

Today, we’re ranking the top 10 players to come out of Georgia from 2005 thru 2009. After reading our lists and reasoning, please go vote in our poll on our Twitter account @LakePointHoops to let us know which list you like more.


Dan McDonald

1. Louis Williams (South Gwinnett 2005)

2. Jodie Meeks (Norcross 2006)

3. J.J. Hickson (Wheeler 2007)

4. Derrick Favors (South Atlanta 2009)

5. Lorenzo Brown (Centennial 2009)

6. Al-Farouq Aminu (Norcross 2008)

7. Trey Thompkins (Wesleyan 2008)

8. Mike Mercer (South Gwinnett 2005)

9. Chris Singleton (Dunwoody 2008)

10. Travis Leslie (Columbia 2008)

The Breakdown:

This was a fun list for me to put together because I had the opportunity and privilege of playing against some of these guys. I’d imagine Louis Williams is going to be pretty unanimous in the top spot for anyone who would put one of these lists together. He along with Mike Mercer at No. 8 were the best show in town at South Gwinnett during their high school days. Jodie Meeks was an absolute beast for Norcross and was an easy choice for me at No. 2. J.J. Hickson at No. 3 might be a little bit of a surprise to some, but he was the toughest post player I ever had to defend. He was just so tough and relentless. Derrick Favors was an easy call at No. 4 as one of the top overall players in the 2009 class nationally who has had a good NBA career. Lorenzo Brown was such a smooth player and made everything look so easy. The next two were pretty tough to call, but Aminu’s NBA career gave him the edge over Thompkins. To finish it off, Chris Singleton and Travis Leslie both had great high school and college careers that led to both getting drafted into the NBA.


Carter Wilson

1. Louis Williams (South Gwinnett 2005)

2. Gani Lawal (Norcross 2007)

3. Derrick Favors (South Atlanta 2009)

4. JJ Hickson (Wheeler 2007)

5. Javaris Crittenton (SACA 2006)

6. Al-Farouq Aminu (Norcross 2008)

7. Jodie Meeks (Norcross 2006)

8. Sharaud Curry (Wheeler 2005)

9. Mike Mercer (South Gwinnett 2005)

10. Chris Allen (Meadowcreek 2007)

The Breakdown:

Surprise, surprise at the top of this list with Louis Williams at number one. Lou Will will always be a folk hero in the Atlanta basketball community. When he led South Gwinnett, they were must-see and played in front of packed houses every night. The next three includes forwards in Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors, and JJ Hickson that could all be interchanged. However, Lawal was the best winner of the bunch so he took the number two spot with Favors and Hickson following. Javaris Crittenton was one of the most talented and physically gifted guards that the Atlanta area has ever seen. It's unfortunate that his career panned out the way it did, but his talent as a prep hooper was undeniable. Al-Farouq Aminu is now a ten-year NBA vet, and was a huge part of Norcross' run of state championships on the 2007 & 2008 squads that lost just five games combined in those two years. Another Blue Devil, Jodie Meeks checks in next. Meeks is a state champion, NBA champion, and had one of the most dominant single years from a college basketball player I've ever seen in his junior year at Kentucky. Former Wheeler PG Sharaud Curry was nothing but fun and entertainment on the floor and went on to have a heck of a career at Providence and as a pro overseas. Mike Mercer was Louis Williams' running mate at South Gwinnett and with the Georgia Stars. He could score the ball really well and provided a ton of assists on Lou Will buckets. Rounding out the list is Chris Allen, who was yet another fun scorer and a big part of Georgia's loaded 2007 class.



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