Over the holiday break, popular vacation destinations included the mountains, Grandma’s, and Wheeler High School.

The North Atlanta High School varsity boys’ basketball team participated in the Tournament of Champions, arguably the best high school basketball tournament, held annually at Wheeler High School from December 27 to 29. High schools from across the country compete in the tournament, including Lincoln High School from New York, Scotlandville High School from Louisiana, and Oak Ridge High School from Florida, as well as many high schools from the Greater Atlanta area and Georgia.

The Warriors played against the Columbia Eagles, the New Manchester Jaguars, and the Johnson Atomsmashers. All three teams were from the Georgia, making the games that much more meaningful. The Warriors fell to the Eagles 47-54 and to the Jaguars 58-73. However, the Warriors stepped it up in their final game against the Atomsmashers in a nail biter, topping them 54-52. Although a losing record in a tournament might seem disappointing, Coach Kerry Sarden was very happy with the results. “Every team in the tournament was nationally ranked,” said Sarden. “Johnson, the team we did beat, was the state champion last year. That’s a huge morale booster and the team will really benefit from our participation in the tournament.”

Jadin Knight, a senior guard star and one of the team’s leading scorers, had his own view on the Warrior performance. “We weren’t playing Warrior basketball in our first two games. We had to find ourselves,” said Knight. “We entered just for experience, but really came together in the final game. It helped us gain confidence that we will use in our quest to win region and reach state.”

The Warriors outperformed expectations at the 2016 Tournament of Champions. Defeating the defending state champions is a heck of a feat and one to be proud of. The Warriors will be fueled with this hunger to win and will, without a doubt, transfer the hunger to 2017. Now, the question is whether or not that will turn into results. The region title and a spot in state is the goal. 2017 is the year for the North Atlanta Warriors basketball team.