Towns County’s Aidan Berrong played the role of hero for the Indians, and earned BLITZ Player of the Week honors. BLITZ then named Banks’ Carl Cleveland, Lumpkin’s Isabel Davenport, and Habersham’s Malachi Dooley as Co-POWs. The quartet become the first Players of the Week in calendar year 2020. The public vote tallied 18,640, with Berrong securing 6,291, which bested 2nd-place vote-getter Dasha Cannon (3,208).

AIDAN BERRONG (FAN VOTE)

Towns County junior Aidan Berrong came up as a hero in the 26th Annual Battle of the States Tournament in Hiawassee. He guided his Indians to their first-ever win of their host event, and in the 3 games, he averaged 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 steals. He shot 61% from the field including 50% from 3-point distance.

During the semifinals of the BOTS, Berrong hit a huge 3-pointer late against Hayesville, and gave Towns the go-ahead lead with a 4-point play to secure a spot in the championship game. The Indians beat arch-rivals Union County. For the season, Berrong is averaging 17.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.9 steals per contest. This is his second POW award (one baseball award in ’19).

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CARL CLEVELAND (BLITZ PICK)

Senior guard/forward Carl Cleveland earns his second POW award in 2019-20, and 6th of his career. The Young Harris commit averaged 28 points, 10 boards, and 5.7 assists per game in a Christmas tournament last week in Florida.

That included 29 points in the opening game. The #3-ranked Leopards advanced to the championship game of the Marlin Tournament, and faced, of all teams, Buford. Cleveland also earlier in the week notched his 2,000th career point, putting him in elite company to reach the milestone. He became the first-ever in Banks County to accomplish the feat.

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ISABEL DAVENPORT (BLITZ PICK)

Junior standout guard for Lumpkin County, Isabel Davenport, earns her second POW award of her career after averaging 21.7 points, 4.3 assists, 4.3 steals, and 3.7 rebounds per game over the past week. She has led the Lady Indians to a top-10 ranking this season.

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MALACHI DOOLEY (BLITZ PICK)

Habersham’s Malachi Dooley has been wowing us lately, and last week averaged 22.4 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game over 3 contests. He also averaged 1.2 steals, and as a sophomore, has emerged as a great talent for the Raiders.

Malachi Dooley photo by Daniel Purcell

Feature Photo by Penny Ledford