Decatur Heads To Deep South Tournament

The girls’ 47-42 victory over Greater Atlanta Christian remains just as incandescent as it was 12 days ago when the final buzzer sounded at GAC’s Long Forum.

That was a huge win for the Decatur girls. It was their first victory in 14 tries over GAC, which is ranked fourth in the state’s AA Coaches Poll.

But Wednesday afternoon the seventh-ranked Bulldogs (the poll’s been dormant for the last two weeks, and a new one won’t be released until next Tuesday),  get an icy splash of post-holiday reality.

Decatur (9-1) plays North Cobb at 3 p.m. in the first round of the three-day, eight-team Deep South Classic Tournament hosted by Brookwood High.

North Cobb is 7-3, ranked sixth in AAAAA, and features 5-11 sophomore forward Taylor Gordon, one of ESPN’s top 100 prep players.

Decatur’s boys, 4-6, also play North Cobb in in a 4:30 p.m. tip.

The eight teams include Brookwood (where all games will be played), Decatur, North Cobb, Collins Hill, Hillgrove, Northview, Chattahoochee and Providence Christian.

Besides North Cobb, Hillgrove is also ranked (fifth) in the girls AAAAA top 10. The Chattahoochee boys are third in AAAA.

“This tournament is a win-win for us,” said Decatur girls coach Bill Roberts. “Everybody here can play. It’s great if we can actually win every game, but even if we lose all three we’ll get a whole lot better in the process.”

Decatur’s led in scoring by Queen Alford’s 22 points per game and Jordan Dillard’s 17. Alford, , will likely check in Gordon in Wednesday’s game.

Meantime, the news is a whole lot better for Decatur’s boys with the return of 6-2 point guard Kurt Robinson and starting forward Cordele Jackson.

Jackson missed the final two games prior to the break. Robinson, a senior and Decatur’s best passer, scorer, defender and rebounder, sprained his ankle against Woodward back on Nov. 22, and the Bulldogs have gone 1-6 since.

He did play in Decatur’s 64-45 loss to GAC on Dec.16 and though his ankle appeared much stronger, he clearly wasn’t in game shape.

 “We’ve had 12 days off and I think Kurt’s close to 100 percent,” said boys coach Charlie Copp. “With three games in the next three days he ought to regain his conditioning. There’s no question he’s very important for our team to accomplish everything we want.”

Brookwood High is about 21 miles from Decatur. Daily tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students.