Dublin Boys Win Macon County Christmas Tourney

Irish Beat Peach County 69 to 49
The Dublin Fighting Irish won their first round game of the Macon County Holiday Classic Tournament against the Peach County Trojans in commanding fashion.

The Irish were led by Ramahd Thomas with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assist. He was followed closely by Tawaski King who scored 18 points with 12 rebounds, 2 assist and 3 steals. Cedric O'neal stayed in the chase as he recorded 17 points, 4 rebounds, an assist and 4 steals.

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Irish Beat Americus-Sumter 59 to 42
The Dublin Fighting Irish won the Macon County Holiday Classic with a 59 to 42 win over Americus-Sumter.

The Irish were led by Ramahd Thomas with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assist and 3 steals. Tawaski King added 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Cedric O'neal continued his superb play by contributing 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assist and 2 steals in the win.

The Irish will play this weekend in the Wilkinson County Holiday Tip-Off Invitational. The Irish will face North Atlanta on Saturday, Dec 26th at 5:30 pm at the Palace in Irwinton.

Dublin boys 3-1 in th first 4 games

Warner Robins @ Dublin 72-57 Win

Dublin @ Warner Robins 67-42 Win

West Laurens @ Dublin 67-44 Win

Dublin @ Vidalia 66-72 Loss

Irish may only be reloading in their title defense

By MICHAEL A. LOUGH - mlough@macon.com



DUBLIN — Why is Marvin Latham smiling so much?
Sure, basketball season is here, and there’s still that GHSA Class AA trophy to sneak a peak at every so often, and the memories of Dublin’s 31-1 season in 2008-9 will never die.
But Rashard Smith, the calm and complete point guard who was the All-Middle Georgia Boys Player of the Year and one of the top athletes in the state? Gone.
Chris Smith, the smooth guard with the inside-outside game? Gone.
Sherrard Brantley, the sharpshooting second-team All-Middle Georgia selection? Gone.
Power forward Trent Barnes, guard Ladale Thompkins and forward Jermaine Devoe, all key players off the bench? Gone, gone, gone.
The new point guard stands all of 5-foot-5 and is only a sophomore. There are but three seniors on the roster.
So no, Dublin isn’t anywhere near as loaded as this time a year ago. But if anyone thinks the Irish have no bullets in the chamber, that suits them fine.
They are pretty sure they’ll be able to prove otherwise.
“People think we’re totally empty,” Latham said. “We have a lot of kids back that played a lot of minutes for us last year. People just don’t understand. They didn’t get to play because we had some kids in front of them that were pretty doggone special.
“We had kids on the bench that would be playing for other people, without a doubt.”
Dublin does have a focal point returning in Tawaski King, an athletic 6-8 senior who is a veteran of the Irish’s running game and is represented more than once or twice on Internet videos for his on-court exploits.
But the Western Carolina signee doesn’t feel the spotlight.
“A lot of people want to put it on me, but it’s not on me,” he said. “It’s a team effort. We have some raw talent. We still have to work on some things.”
Ramahd Thomas, a 6-2, 185-pound junior, is the other returning starter, and King said he’s a player to watch.
“People are going to be really surprised at what he’s going to do this year,” King said. “His whole game (all) around, the way he’s going to lead.”
Trey Rozier is the sophomore point guard, and Ricky Brown and Tyrus Miller are the only seniors other than King.
The program may be to the point of reloading rather than rebuilding. The success started under former head coach Clinton Thomas has become the bar, and this group doesn’t have any worries about lowering it.
So while Dublin may not have as much starting experience back as a year ago, it has as much desire.
“The kids are really hungry,” Latham said. “After last year, the kids want that taste again. They loved it. I’ve just been surprised how hard they’ve been working.”
Dublin scrimmaged Class AAAA Butler recently and won by 16 points.
“I was a little surprised we went down there and played Butler, a AAAA school and handled business pretty good,” Latham said of the team coached by former Southwest head coach Emmett Rouse. “I was pleased.”
What Dublin lacks in experience, it makes up for in confidence. The Irish know the system, know the tradition and have already seen — against Butler and in a 24-1 summer ball season — what they’re capable of.
“We’re a young team,” Thomas said. “But we run more, a whole lot more. People think we’re not going to be anything. We’ve got another thing coming for them.”
And practicing against the starters will improve a skill set.
“The competition we were getting in practice a lot of days,” Latham said, “was better than what we were getting in games
King and Latham rave about Rozier, who will be running the show in place of Rashard Smith.
“He is going to be pretty doggone special,” Latham said, repeating the prediction. “He handled business against Butler. I think he’s going to be something special.
“He’s got ball-handling skills and he can shoot the 3 deep. By the time I get done with him, I think a few schools are going to come and look at him.”
Latham said the names on the back of the jersey may change, but it’ll still be Dublin basketball this season.
“The skill set is the same,” he said. “We’re still going to push the ball up and down the court. We’re going to play pressure man to man, get our pressure out and pressure people.
“Are we going to go 31-1? I doubt it, just being honest. I think we’ve got a shot to be in the mix. I think when it gets down to it, you’re going to hear Dublin’s name in the mix.”
King is more succinct, expecting a trip to Macon in March for the Final Four.
“I expect to get back to the Coliseum,” he said. “I really do.”

2009-2010 Dublin High School Basketball Schedule

Dec 01 Tue 6:00 PM Warner Robins (1-AAAAA) Home
Dec 04 Fri 6:00 PM Warner Robins (1-AAAAA) Away
Dec 05 Sat 5:00 PM West Laurens (3-AAA) Home
Dec 11 Fri 7:00 PM Vidalia (3B-AA)* Away
Jan 02 Sat 5:00 PM West Laurens (3-AAA) Away
Jan 05 Tue 6:00 PM East Laurens (3B-AA)* Away
Jan 08 Fri 7:00 PM Toombs County (3B-AA)* Home
Jan 09 Sat 5:00 PM Swainsboro (3A-AA) Away
Jan 12 Tue 6:00 PM Dodge County (3B-AA)* Home
Jan 15 Fri 7:00 PM Bleckley County (3B-AA)* Away
Jan 16 Sat 6:00 PM Southeast Bulloch (3A-AA) Home
Jan 19 Tue 6:00 PM Vidalia (3B-AA)* Home
Jan 22 Fri 7:00 PM East Laurens (3B-AA)* Home
Jan 23 Sat 5:00 PM Laney (3A-AA) Away
Jan 26 Tue 6:00 PM Jefferson County (3A-AA) Home
Jan 29 Fri 7:00 PM Dodge County (3B-AA)* Away
Jan 30 Sat 5:00 PM Screven County (3A-AA) Away
Feb 05 Fri 7:00 PM Montgomery County (3B-A) Home
Feb 09 Tue 6:00 PM Bleckley County (3B-AA)* Home

Tawaski King Signs To Western Carolina

The calls started coming immediately after Dublin won the Class AA boys basketball championship back in March. They continued through the start of the new school year and had college recruiters coming through the school's gym daily once preseason workouts started.

"Right after the championship game and then over the summer when I got back from AAU, people started blowing my phones up," said Tawaski King, a senior center for the Fighting Irish.

But King ended all of that Wednesday afternoon, three weeks before the start of his senior season, by signing a national letter of intent to play basketball next year at Western Carolina.

The six-feet eight-inch King committed to the Catamounts about a month ago, he said, and signed on the first day of the NCAA's early signing period in order to focus on the upcoming season. Dublin tips off Dec. 1 at home against Warner Robins.

"I didn't want to waste any time if I already knew where I wanted to go," King said. "I didn't want to waste my time. I didn't want to waste nobody else's time."

Dublin coach Marvin Latham said about 20 other schools were recruiting King up until Wednesday, and it would have continued throughout the season had he not already made up his mind.

"Every time we would work out, we would have two or three schools in here just watching him work out," Latham said. "He wanted to get that pressure off of him."

King said he selected Western Carolina, which recently was voted the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference's North Division, because of his relationship with the coaching staff and the on-campus atmosphere he experienced on a recent visit.

Latham added that King was the Catamounts' top recruiting target this year and that many other schools took notice of him during Dublin's run through the state tournament.

"Down the stretch, getting into the region tournament and the playoffs, his teammates started feeding him the ball and you started seeing him explode," Latham said.

"The potential's there. What we're seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg. That's a lot more they're going to get out of him at Western Carolina. I think two years down the line, you're going to see this guy do some special things at the next level."

King averaged 10.2 points per game on a team that featured three other double-figure scorers an led Dublin in rebounding with seven per game.

He is set to become the fourth player from Dublin's state championship team to reach the next level, joining three of last year's senior guards. Sherrard Brantley signed in the spring to play junior college ball in Florida, Chris Smith is a walk-on at Mercer and Rashard Smith is a freshman cornerback on the North Carolina State football team.

King is now one of two returning starters, along with junior Ramahd Thomas, set to lead this season's state title defense. He said he's settling into his new role as team leader.

"It's different, because you don't have all those other guys to pick up your slack," King said. "I feel like I'm a key to the season. If I don't show up doing what I'm supposed to do, how do I expect the team to do what they're supposed to do"?

ga.prepcountry.com, Georgia, Dublin, Boys Basketball, Team Schedule

ga.prepcountry.com, Georgia, Dublin, Boys Basketball, Team Schedule

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