What to expect from the four days of GHSA basketball final championship games

Caption

The Southwest High School boys basketball team is among several across multiple classifications playing for the state championship this week at the Macon Coliseum.

Credit: Jason Vorhees / The Melody

The 2025 Georgia High School Association's basketball finals begin this week at the Macon Coliseum starting Wednesday through Saturday.

GPB will broadcasts the matchups on GPB-TV, GPB.org/Sports, the GPB Sports App, Facebook, YouTube and Twitch.

GPB Sports' Jon Nelson explains the important storylines to look out for ahead of the championship games.

TRANSCRIPT

Orlando Montoya: This is All Things Considered. I'm Orlando Montoya. The Georgia High School Association's basketball finals begin tomorrow at the Macon Coliseum. After four days of competition, we'll find out if any dynasties fall, if Cinderella slippers fit on any teams, and who finally reigns supreme. With a lot riding on the outcome for players and coaches, joining me now to talk high school hoops is GPB Sports' Jon Nelson. Hi there, Jon.

Jon Nelson: Good to be with you my friend. It is going to be a fun four days when it comes to hoops down in Macon. It's going to be a blast.

Orlando Montoya: And we have the possibility of back-to-back championships in several divisions. Let's talk favorites.

Jon Nelson: Sure, I'll give you one off the top of my head — Baldwin, and it's back-to-back, but it's a little different. They would be winning a championship in a different classification. It would be different "A"s attached to a place like Baldwin. And then you have, you know, perennial powers like Hebron Christian on the girls side, and they're going up against Holy Innocents' and there's some back story there with those two coaches and their time together all the way from Central Georgia in private schools, all the way up to private schools in the Atlanta area, with Jan Azar and Nichole Dixon. You've got, let's say, perennial power in Wheeler, who has won like 38 bazillion championships in their time in the past. And so, you got a lot of — a lot of big names, a lot of the powerhouses that are there, but there's also some really cool stories on the flip side, too.

Orlando Montoya: We have the possibility for Cinderella stories, too — underdogs without recent appearances in the finals to look out for as well. Who are they?

Jon Nelson: Oh boy. We got a lot of them. Trying to flash really quickly. Okay. AA you have Butler, and Butler is chasing after their first title since 1966 with Chaz Clark. On the flip side of that same bracket, they're playing Union County. Union County is chasing after their first-ever title. They have not been in the finals since 1971. You've got Savannah chasing after their first title since 1998 on the boys side. And I'll give you one on the girls side: Washington Wilkes. First winning season since the 2008 team. First time out of the first round of the playoffs. First-ever region championship. Lost their first six games. They've won 14 out of 16. They have 10 underclassmen on their team — eight freshmen on the roster.

Orlando Montoya: I mentioned pressure to win. What kind of college prospects are in the mix here?

Jon Nelson: A lot. Looking on the boys side of things, you look at Eric Chatfield [Jr.], a point guard out of Pace Academy. You have Maki Joyner out of Savannah who's shooting guard you need to be paying attention to. On the girls side, you're looking at Aubry Beckham and Hailee Swain, two point guards, Hebron Christian, Holy Innocents'. Oh boy. I'm trying to, like, buzz through them really quickly. to see if I find — Let's start there and just say, watch 'em all. How about that?

Orlando Montoya: And watch 'em all on GPB. We've got a lot of ways for people to watch. We cover high school sports like no other broadcaster. How and when can people tune in?

Jon Nelson: Let's see 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and we go all the way through until the games are done. Four games each day, plus some really good competitions in between Game 2 and Game 3, whether it's wheelchair, 3-point or slam dunk. 11 a.m. is the start on Thursday. GPB, GPB.org, the GPB sports app, all the GPB Sports social media, it's going to be there, and you can watch over the air if you just want to park in front of your couch. We're going to be there for that four-day period. We ain't leaving. They shouldn't either.

Orlando Montoya: All right, John, it's always a pleasure having you on.

Jon Nelson: I'mma catch my breath. I'll see you on the other side.

Orlando Montoya: See you later.

For the GHSA basketball championship schedule, read here.