Norcross Honors State Champions

It's been more than half a century since a Georgia high school had both its boys and girls basketball teams crowned state champions. Atlanta's Murphy High was the last, way back in 1958. So, when Norcross won its dual titles this year, Mayor Bucky Johnson decided the achievement deserved special recognition.

At a rauc0us awards banquet at the school last night, amidst ear-splitting cheers, long hugs and high fives, Johnson read a proclamation declaring 2011 the Year of the Blue Devils. He then handed the keys to the city of Norcross to girls head coach Angie Hembree and boys coach Jesse McMillan.

Both teams will visit Six Flags Over Georgia and be guests of honor at a banquet commemorating their achievement, compliments of the city of Norcross.

"This is amazing," Hembree said. "It just shows what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit." For the girls, it was their second straight state title and Hembree acknowledged the second one was a bit more challenging than the first.

"When you come into the season as defending champion, you have a bull's eye on your back and that makes it more difficult, especially at the AAAAA level," Hembree said.

But the degree of difficulty was eased considerably by the return of three starters from the previous season, seniors Alex DeMercy and Emeree Cobb and the Gwinnett County and Gatorade Player of the Year, sophomore Diamond DeShields, whose 21 points per game led all Gwinnett County players.

Norcross boys are accustomed to playing at an extremely high level. The Blue Devils have won the state championship four of the last seven years. But 2011 was the first one under McMillan.

"I was lucky enough to be part of the others as an assistant," McMillan said. "But to win one with this group is very special. This has been a very exciting time, having both teams to be involved at this level of competition. I'm very excited and very proud of our players."

McMillan said he knew when the season started his team could compete at a high level, but that you never go into a season expecting to win a state championship.

He credited the severe weather conditions in January for giving his players a badly needed rest.

"A turning point in the season was the snow that kept us out of the gym for a few days. Our players needed that break and when they came back to the gym, they came back hungry. That snow break gave us the extra push we needed."

But McMillan's team looked like they had run out of steam in the second half of the title game against defending state champion Milton. Trailing by 14 points late in the third quarter, the Blue Devils dug down deep and came storming back in the fourth quarter to win a 59-55 thriller.

The mark of a true champion.