WHO'S HOT: Lincoln County girls basketball. Coach Roderick Hilton has produced in his first year with the team. The Lady Devils (12-3) are 6-0 in sub-region play and have won 10 in a row.

WHO'S NOT: T.W. Josey girls basketball. Coach Lynn Brantley is not one to use the term "rebuilding" lightly. But she was accurate assessing the growing pains her young squad would be facing earlier this season.

Josey (12-10) graduated every starter and 13 players from last season's team. Still, a nip-and-tuck 58-57 loss to Laney (19-2) last Saturday shows the team is still capable of big things.

BEST WINS LAST WEEK: Evans 54, Greenbrier 53 (2 OT) and Hephzibah 58, Burke County 53 (2 OT): The heartbeats of all those fans have probably now just settled down.

TOP AREA GAMES THIS WEEK:

1. Glenn Hills (19-3) at Washington County (16-5), 7:30, tonight: A rematch of an upset at Glenn Hills of a few weeks ago. The Spartans will have one of their best players in Chris Reynolds back. He missed the first meeting.

2. Josey (17-3) at Swainsboro (19-2), 7:30, tonight: The story here is similar: Tigers point guard Neil David missed the earlier meeting between the two teams, a 56-54 Josey win, because he was suspended for a game for breaking a team rule.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Lucious Stewart, SG, Jr., Washington-Wilkes. If there's another player in the area who's 6-foot-5 and can hold down either guard spot, he's yet to see the court. Stewart is also shooting 52 percent from the field while averaging 22.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.

TEAM TO WATCH: The Josey boys have put last season's miseries behind them. The Eagles have surged to a 17-3 record after posting several wins in a row and a 70-56 triumph against Laney last Saturday. The Eagles are 11-1 in region play.

COMPARISON: South Aiken fans know all about the way Carlos Hope led their team the past few years. Washington County's supporters are seeing his merits as a coach up-close during his first season in Sandersville.

Hope has his guard-strong team surging.

"That last team I had at South Aiken was one where we all grew real close and became a team over three years," Hope said. "But this one at Washington County is the best team I've ever had. We have more talent and overall depth here. Put it this way: If this team was playing in that region in South Carolina, we'd be pretty tough. I know Aiken High had and still has and a great, great team. But we'd do pretty well in Carolina."

That underscored a point he made about the differences between the states in basketball.

"There's more overall talent in Georgia than South Carolina," Hope said.

"I don't think there is better talent, but I do think there is more talent here in Georgia than South Carolina."