Cats, Bruins eye ranked playoff foes

Published 11:35 pm Friday, February 23, 2007

Dalton head coach Mike Duffie is glad he won’t have to pack his signature cowboy boots for a road trip to suburban Atlanta.

And Stone Mountain coach William Johnson has no problem with a bus ride up I-75 to play the Catamounts in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs, either.

“I’m so happy we’re going on the road for this game,” Johnson said Thursday. “We’re a much better team on the road than we are at home.”

The No. 6-ranked Pirates (23-6) bring two Division I signees and a bundle of talent to the Cats’ Den for a first-round playoff game tonight at 7. It marks the first state tournament appearance for the Cats (18-9) since a 70-64 loss to Chamblee in 2004.

Northwest Whitfield (15-13) returns to the big bracket for the first time in six years when the Bruins tip off with No. 2-ranked Tucker (25-2) tonight in Atlanta at 6.

“It will be a different experience for us,” Northwest coach Ryan Richards said. “We’re on their home floor, there should be a lot of fans and it’s a state tournament atmosphere. We’re excited about the opportunity.”

Duffie and the Cats will have their hands full with Stone Mountain seniors Andrew Goudelock and Terrell Bell. Goudelock, a 6-foot-2 junior sharpshooter averaging 23.3 points a game, has signed a letter of intent to play for Bobby Cremins at the College of Charleston. Cremins thrust Georgia Tech into the national spotlight during a highly successful 19-year coaching stint from 1981-2000.

Bell, a 6-foot-7 power forward, chose Virginia Tech over Georgia and Cincinnati, among others.

“These two guys are just outstanding,” Duffie said. “Super players. Stone Mountain has four kids who are between 6-5 and 6-7 off the bench, plus two 6-3 kids who play on the wing and a point guard who shoots very well.

“They are by far the most athletic and biggest team we will have played all year.”

Goudelock, who has said he patterns his game after Ray Allen of the Seattle Sonics, poured in 39 and 47 points in back-to-back games earlier this month. He has 11 games of 25 points or more this season.

Stone Mountain is in the state tournament for the first time since 2004 and only the third time since 1973.

“We’re pretty deep in all our secondary players,” said Johnson, in his first year as Pirates coach.

Aside from Goudelock and Bell, two who Johnson says “can score from anywhere on the floor,” Stone Mountain has depth to match. Point guard Pierre Jenkins (5-11), Clyde Taylor (6-1 small forward) and Wynton Crossley (6-6 center) provide more weapons.

The Pirates have eight players on the roster over 6-3. Dalton has three players taller than 6-2, and one of them (6-5 sophomore center John Erwin) will miss the game due to a knee injury.

But Duffie says the Cats have faced a height disadvantage from the start.

“It’s been a factor all year for us,” he said. “All year we’ve been undersized. When you look at the rosters, we’re probably the smallest team in our region. We’ve seen taller players all season, but we haven’t seen these kinds of athletes.”

The coach says “ball movement and player movement” will determine Dalton’s success.

“We can’t stand there watching anything,” said Duffie. “Our guys have to be in motion at all times. If we get caught looking, we’re in big trouble.”

Northwest’s challenge is toppling a Tucker squad whose only two losses of the year have come at the hands of No. 1-ranked Columbia — one of those defeats in last week’s Region 6-4A championship.

Last year, the Tigers barely escaped Murray County in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs and eventually lost to Douglas County in the state semifinals.

Tucker is powered by 6-foot-5 senior shooting guard Marshon Brooks, 6-foot-7 senior power forward Jeremy Simmons and 6-foot-5 small forward Manny Atkins.

“They’re extremely talented and return a lot of players from last year,” Richards said.

“They press quite a bit and we’re going to have to get the ball out on the break. They showed a lot of zone against Columbia, but they’re so big so we anticipate a lot of halfcourt man, too.”

Richards said the Bruins took advantage of extra practice time gained from the week off from school for winter break.

“Everybody’s been going hard,” he said.

Players have embraced practice despite a wave of strep throat that has run through the team, Richards said. Senior guard Hunter Meyer, whose game-winning jumper beat Ridgeland in the third-place consolation game last Saturday, will be playing on a bad knee he initially twisted in practice last month.

“He’s been dealing with that for a few weeks,” Richards said. “My only concern with that is him riding a bus for a few hours and it tightening up on him. We have to make sure it stays loose.”

With a victory, Dalton meets the winner of the Cedar Shoals-Alexander matchup. The second-round playoff is scheduled for March 1 at 8:30 at Marietta High School.

If the Bruins win, they take on the Lithia Springs-Dacula winner. The second rounder is slated for 5:30 p.m. on March 1 at Marietta High.