Clarke Central High School boys varsity basketball players pose with CCHS head boys varsity basketball coach Dr. Stefan Smith at the ODYSSEY Media Group’s 2025 Winter Media Day in the CCHS Competition Gym on Nov. 9, 2025. This season, Smith has pushed the team to realize its goals. “I’m hard on them, but I’m hard on them because I don’t want them to fall off or not meet their expectations because I think they can be a good team,” Smith said. “I see the potential there, but (they) gotta be able to play up to (their) potential. That’s what I’m trying to get them to do.” Photo by Iliana Tejada
The CCHS varsity boys basketball team will play Winder-Barrow High School on Feb. 6 at 8:30 p.m. in the CCHS Competition Gym.
In their 10th Georgia High School Association Region 8-AAAAA matchup of the 2025-26 season, the Clarke Central High School varsity boys basketball team will face Winder-Barrow High School on Feb. 6 at 8:30 p.m. in the CCHS Competition Gym.
With a current overall record of 10-10 and a GHSA Region 8-AAAAA record of 3-6, the Gladiators are already beating their 2024-25 season record of 0-25. CCHS is fifth out of seven teams in the region.
Clarke Central High School varsity boys basketball team captain and combo guard TJ Gipson, a junior, prepares to take a free throw during the Gladiators’ game against Alcovy High School on Jan. 16 in the CCHS Competition Gym. After losing 56-60 to Winder-Barrow High School on the road on Jan. 13, Gipson is looking forward to playing the Bulldogs at home on Feb. 6. “(Being at home will change things) because everyone wants to have the home atmosphere and it plays a great role in having the advantage,” Gipson said. Photo by Dream Freeman
“We don’t have the record we want right now, but the season (is) going much better than last year,” CCHS varsity boys basketball team captain and combo guard TJ Gipson, a junior, said. “Everyone knows and plays to their strengths. We encourage each other when we’re down, or if someone is having a bad game, because we believe in each other.”
The Bulldogs are first in GHSA Region 8-AAAAA with a region record of 8-2. With four games left in 2025-26 regular season play, Smith is looking to break the Bulldogs’ four-game win streak and increase the Gladiators’ chances in the region playoffs.
“(A win against WBHS) would be tremendous. We haven’t beat them in a year, and they’ve got a win streak going on, so that would be big for our guys’ confidence,” Smith said. “That’s what we’re trying to build, is confidence.”
“We don’t have the record we want right now, but the season (is) going much better than last year. Everyone knows and plays to their strengths. We encourage each other when we’re down, or if someone is having a bad game, because we believe in each other.”
–TJ Gipson,
CCHS varsity boys basketball team captain and combo guard
The Gladiators lost 60-56 to WBHS in their last game against the Bulldogs on Jan. 13. According to CCHS head varsity boys basketball coach Dr. Stefan Smith, it was a close matchup that ended when the Bulldogs made two free throws at the close of the fourth quarter.
“It was a one-possession game that we ended up losing, but those are the games that we gotta try and be able to pull (off),” Smith said. “I think we did everything right. It was just a matter of us closing it out and doing what it takes to get over that hump.”
