All-Area High School Basketball 2024: Abernathy, Ridley both claim 3rd straight player of the year awards

Published 7:00 am Friday, May 17, 2024

The conclusion of the 2023-24 high school basketball season brought with it the end of another standout year for a pair of local high school basketball stars.

For a third consecutive year, the Dalton Daily Citizen All-Area High School Basketball Player of the Year awards go to Christian Heritage School’s Jax Abernathy and Dalton High’s Gracie Ridley.

Abernathy is the boys basketball player of the year after winning the award in his sophomore and junior seasons, and Ridley goes back-to-back-to-back too, winning the girls basketball player of the year after having won the 2022 and 2023 awards too.

Abernathy wraps up decorated high school career with stellar senior season

Abernathy again led a powerful Lions team with his multi-pronged offensive attack during his senior season. Abernathy poured in 24.9 points per game, shooting efficiently at 37% from 3-point range while knocking down his array of close finishes and mid-range jump shots at 56%. Abernathy also grabbed 5.4 rebounds per game and dished 3.2 assists per game on his way to being named the Region 7-A DII Player of the Year.

Abernathy, after scoring at a 29 point per game clip as a junior, said he came into his senior season wanting to develop the other areas of his offensive game.

“I knew I could score the ball effectively, but, going into this year, I really wanted to focus on impacting the game in other ways, like passing or rebounding,” Abernathy said. “I draw attention, but I was able to get the other guys some open shots. I think I did a better job of that this season.”

Christian Heritage finished 19-4 during the regular season in 2023-24, but the Lions ran into the same problem as the 2022-23 team that started 21-0: Greenforest Christian. The Lions shared Region 7-A DII with one of the top teams in the state and fell to Greenforest in the region title game, meaning the Lions would be a second seed for the state playoffs. Like in 2023, Christian Heritage won in the first round but had to travel to play a tough opponent in the second. Macon County beat the Lions in 2023, and Warren County put Christian Heritage out in the second round in 2024.

“I thought that these last couple of years, we could have gone further in the playoffs,” Abernathy said. “Even though we didn’t go as far, I enjoyed playing for coach (Tyler) Watkins, and all the guys that I’ve played with.”

During Abernathy’s freshman season, the Lions reached the state semifinals.

“I’ll always remember that year for sure,” Abernathy. “It was coach Watkins who instilled that confidence in my my freshman year.”

After four years at Christian Heritage — in which the Lions won 86 of their total 106 games — Abernathy is bound for Trevecca Nazarene University, an NCAA Division II program in Nashville, Tennessee.

“I think I can go there my freshman year and either start or come off the bench and play a lot,” Abernathy said.

In his preparation for a jump to the college level, Abernathy said he has several elements he wants to work on.

“It’s a more physical game in college. I want to get stronger,” Abernathy said. “I probably won’t have the ball in my hands as much as I did in high school. I want to work on coming off of screens and shooting.”

Ridley led the charge for Dalton’s deep playoff run in her senior season

Ridley led a Dalton Lady Catamount team that had its best postseason run in more than a decade, reaching the Class 5A Final Four for the first time since a state runner-up finish in 2011. Ridley scored 16.5 points per game, grabbed 14 rebounds per game, swiped 3.5 steals per game and dished 3.1 assists per game. The senior was named Region 7-5A Player of the Year.

After missing a few games early on in the season, Ridley returned and led Dalton to a Region 7-5A championship. The Lady Cats got into the playoffs and kept winning, reaching the Class 5A Final Four.

Dalton led early in the fourth quarter, but its best postseason run since 2011 ended with a 73-63 semifinal loss to Midtown at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.

“Obviously our expectations were high and we wanted to accomplish a lot,” Ridley said. “I’m really proud of what I was able to accomplish at Dalton High School.”

One of those accomplishments was helping lead a similar run for the volleyball team. Dalton also reached the state semis in volleyball during Ridley’s senior season. Ridley is also a two-time winner of the Daily Citizen’s All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year award to go along with her three awards for basketball.

“It gave me a little bit of a perspective on what to expect,” Ridley said of the volleyball team’s run and its effect on basketball season. “The stakes were high, and my coaches prepared us for everything we faced.”

Ridley will play basketball collegiately too. She signed with the University of North Georgia before the season.

“A lot of my coaches also played in college, so they’ve been a great resource to tell me ‘this works in high school, but you’ve also got to make sure it works for you in college too,’” Ridley said.

Ridley credited both Dalton coach Hannah Harris and Brandon Clay, who coaches her travel team.

“Even just from high school ball to travel, I can tell that the speed of the game is different, and my travel coaches tell me that in college it’s even faster,” Ridley said.

Ridley said that she used the few weeks after basketball season to enjoy the rest of her senior year at Dalton. She heads to North Georgia in July.

“This has been my first break in probably 14 years, so I haven’t been doing a lot so far,” Ridley joked. “I’m just making sure that I am ready for college ball.”