2025 Class 6A State Championship Is Larry Thompson’s 4th in 8 Seasons as Head Coach
Not many high school boys basketball teams play a more treacherous regular season schedule than the Wheeler Wildcats from Marietta, Georgia.
For Wheeler boys basketball head coach Larry Thompson, it’s been a successful blueprint for developing his teams through the first half of the season and preparing them for the rigors of what it takes to make a state championship run.
So far it’s worked out quite well. The Wildcats recently claimed their 10th overall boys basketball state championship with a 61-56 win over rival Newton. That 2025 state title is Thompson’s fourth at Wheeler.
Thompson said this year’s schedule was one of the most daunting he has put his team through in recent years.
“We played another really tough national circuit this season,” Thompson said. “I mean, we played against some really good teams.”
Thompson took me through the early part of the season, when the run to the championship began.
“We played Cedar Grove to start the season, and they were a state finalist,” Thompson said.
Cedar Grove finished the season 28-4 and played for the Class 3A state title, falling by a point to eventual champion Sandy Creek.
“Then we played a solid Gainesville team after that,” Thompson said.
Wheeler won both games.
Wheeler then traveled to Utah, where they took part in the 5 for the Fight National Hoopfest, a three-day tournament held on Nov. 25-27 that featured some of the top high school talent in the country.
“We played Tempview, who is one of the best teams in Utah,” Thompson said. “Then we played Prolific Prep, who is probably one of the top four teams in the country.”
Prolific Prep has lived up to that designation, having just captured its third straight Grind Session World Championship. The Grind Session is a circuit of basketball tournaments played over the winter that features the top high school basketball teams from Canada and the United States.
Wheeler defeated both Prolific Prep and Tempview.
“That was a good start for us, going 4-0 to start the season,” Thompson said.
Wheeler suffered its first loss of the season to the Columbus Explorers from Miami, Florida. The Explorers won the Florida Class 7A state championship this season and are ranked as the top team in the country by both the ESPN Top 25 and the MaxPreps national high school boys basketball poll.
Prior to Christmas of 2024, Wheeler once again headed west, traveling to Hawaii to take part in a Nike Elite sponsored tournament.
“We went out to Hawaii and played in the ‘Iolani Classic,” Thompson said. “That’s a Nike event, and we are a Nike Elite team, and it’s a big showcase event they host out there every year.”
He said that only eight teams from the U.S. mainland are invited to play in the event each year, and it was yet another testing ground to see how his Wildcats stacked up against the best of the best in high school basketball.
“We try to take a trip like that every year at the start of the season because we want to test ourselves and see where we are,” Thompson said. “But this year we were fortunate to take two trips, so we got a really good test early in the season.”
Like in the 5 for the Fight National Hoopfest in Utah, Wheeler faced some of the nation’s top teams in the ‘Iolani Prep Classic.
In addition to local Leilehua High School, Wheeler faced national powerhouses Imhotep Institute Charter High School from Pennsylvania; St. Paul VI Catholic High School from Virginia; and Brewster Academy, New Hampshire’s top ranked team.
Wheeler won three of the four games, falling only to Brewster.
“There were some heavy hitters we played early on, and it was a great test for us,” Thompson said.
Thompson acknowledged that heading into the season he knew he had the personnel to handle such a demanding schedule.
“I don’t put together a schedule as tough as this one every year, but if I think our talent level dictates that we can compete, then I’ll do it,” Thompson said. “We had a great mixture of talent this year. We had two seniors that started, plus a third senior that came off the bench and played a big role for us.”
Seniors Mansur McClain and Tylis Jordan were two of the starting five this season, while the “sixth man” was senior Jacob Taylor. Those will be the only losses to graduation for Thompson and Wheeler.
Leading the starters returning to the Wheeler boys basketball team next year will be point guard Kevin Savage, who is currently a sophomore.
The current juniors who will return for their senior seasons include this year’s leading scorer, power forward Colben Landrew; shooting guard Kota Suttle; guard Lamarrion Lewis; and wing Amare James.
“We definitely have some depth and experience returning for us next year,” Thompson said.
Speaking of the 2025-26 season, does Thompson feel like he’s got the team to win a second straight championship?
“Well, all those guys will go through AAU basketball and other offseason stuff over the spring and the first half of the summer,” Thompson said. “Then, we’ll get back together in June, and I’ll see how they have matured. Then, we’ll see if we can put the pieces together to make another run.”
