Saluting The Outstanding Basketball State Champions In SC For The 2024-25 Season Moncks Corner—As we transition into Spring sports, by far the busiest period in high school athletics in South Carolin

Saluting The Outstanding Basketball State Champions In SC For The 2024-25 Season

Moncks Corner—As we transition into Spring sports, by far the busiest period in high school athletics in South Carolina, the HSSR would like to salute all the basketball state champions from both the SCISA and the SCHSL.

The HSSR was there for every championship game. In most cases, we observed first-hand the SCHSL lower and upper state championship games played in Florence at the Florence Center. We also took in numerous SCISA play-off games at Wilson Hall and the Sumter Civic Center as well.

Please enjoy of our in-depth coverage of all the state basketball games played on pages four through 13 of this issue! We happen to believe this was the most in-depth coverage of all the games by any one media source in Soth Carolina. 

The SCHSL boy’s champions were Ridge View in Div. I AAAAA, in Div. II AAAAA we salute champion Greenville High, while the AAAA boy’s title was won by Lancaster High. The Keenan boys became only the second SCHSL team to win 10 state titles with their AAA crown. Atlantic Collegiate Academy won the AA boy’s state title in just their second year as a program. In Class A boy’s competition, Denmark-Olar sent head coach Hercules Davis into retirement by winning the school’s first ever basketball state title.

In SCHSL girl’s action, we salute Div. I AAAAA champion Blythewood, Div. II AAAA state champion Berkeley along with AAAA champion North Augusta who won their sixth state title. In AAA, the Walhalla took gold. In AA, Andrew Jackson took top honors and Military Magnet won their third-Class A state title in four years at the Florence Center.

In SCISA state championship action, the HSSR salutes AAAA state champion Porter-Gaud. The Hilton Head Prep boy’s won their third straight AAA state title. Cathedral Academy won their third AA boy’s title in four years and newcomer Ragin Prep win the Class A boy’s state championship.

In SCISA girl’s championship action, the HSSR salutes AAAA winner Trinity Collegiate. Pee Dee Academy is saluted for winning the AAA state title while the Cross School took top honors in winning the AA girl’s state championship. We congratulate Curtis Baptist for winning the Class A SCISA girl’s championship.

One thing we particularly enjoy about attending SCISA basketball championships is witnessing the boy’s and girl’s state title winners, in each classification, cutting down the nets, at opposite ends of the court after their games. In the back ground the song expressing “We are The Champions” rings loud and proud as players and coaches take turns on the ladder cutting a portion of the net.

Often you can see SCISA head basketball coaches, like Blake Ferguson of Cathedral, actually wearing the net around his neck, as he was leaving the Sumter Civic Center after the championship win. The head coach is always the last member of a championship team to cut down, what is left of the net. This ceremony of victory adds a nice touch to the great accomplishment.

While numerous players got the attention of the HSSR during the championships, Tamia Watson, a 6-2 forward from Andrew Jackson has a bright future ahead of her. She is our choice for the 2024-25 Miss basketball in the state of South Carolina.

All we can say is that Elon College better enjoy her freshman year on their team. We strongly predict, Watkins, and her 6-2 frame, will likely be in the transfer portal at the conclusion of her freshman year. How a major college like Clemson passed up on signing her is a mystery to the HSSR.

The HSSR also predicts that Clemson will be one of her first offers should she enter the portal after her freshman year at Elon. Watkins can dribble with either hand, and she has equal dexterity even in her feet. She can play all five positions on a basketball court!

In her six- year career at Andrew Jackson she averaged 22.2 points a game, over 124 games, for a career points total of 2,752, ranking her the number 11 all-time scorer among girl basketball players in South Carolina! She also had 1,500 career rebounds, 496 steals, 260 blocked shots, and 310 assists during her career.

On the boy’s side, we are still debating the HSSR 2024-25 Mr. Basketball as we were going to press with this issue. The HSSR has never named  a sophomore as a Mr. Basketball in South Carolina, not even Zion Williamson.

We can say with confidence that the best-all-around boy player we saw at the Florence Center, over a week-long period of watching games was sophomore Josh Leonard (6-6,200) a big-man from Wilson High. Leonard possesses all the ball skills of a future NBA player.

Leonard averaged 21.7 points a game while shooting 56 per cent from the field. He also averaged 10 rebounds a game along with 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals a game. He is one confident looking super prospect on the hardwood for sure.

There is a great possibility that Leonard will join Zion Williamson, who was named the HSSR Mr. Basketball in both his junior and senior years, by winning Mr. Basketball honors over the next two years of his career at Wilson High.

We should have our 2024-25 HSSR all-state basketball teams posted at hssr.com in the very near future!

Now we are moving on to Spring Sports!