After winning the 2010-11 Class AAAAA boys basketball state championship, the Norcross boys faced a bit of roster turnover due to graduation and a big transfer. A slow 0-4 start to the 2011-12 season dropped the Blue Devils from many polls, but Norcross is making its way back to the spotlight with a dominating 7-1 start to region play.

Score caught up with head coach Jesse McMillan, who will be a busy man this weekend with the 2012 Hilton Invitational coming to Norcross High School. The Blue Devils had to replace nearly its entire starting lineup from one year ago, but a few of the holdovers from the title rotation have served as ambassadors to the newcomers. “We have six underclassmen (five sophomores, one freshman) that are on varsity and in our rotation,” said McMillan. “Anytime you have that much youth there are going to be times you struggle.” Read more >

After defeating Milton 59-55 in last season’s state championship game, Norcross comes into this season with a new-look squad. The Blue Devils lost forwards E. Victor Nickerson, Josiah Moore and Alonzo Nelson-Odada, who will be playing Division I ball at Charlotte, Nebraska and Richmond respectively. With the loss of the three big men and senior guard Chris Bolden, who transferred to North Gwinnett over the summer and recently committed to Georgia Tech, Norcross will seek great play from starters Derrick Herbert and Jason Croom and sixth man Nate Sims.

“I feel really confident with the players that we have and will be able to continue the success that we have had over the past couple of years,” said head coach Jesse McMillan. Read more >

The Atlanta Falcons are pleased to announce the winner of the 2011 NFL High School Coach of the Week presented by Russell Athletic for the Week of September 5. Keith Maloof of Norcross High School located in Norcross, Ga. has been selected as this week’s NFL High School Coach of the Week presented by Russell Athletic. Read more >

Today, Norcross sidearmer Chris Raasch signed to play baseball at Vanderbilt over other offers from Columbus State, Mercer and Austin Peay. This past season, Raasch was named Georgia Dugout Player of the Week, a Georgia Top 100 player and named to the Gwinnett All-County Team and First Team All-Region.

“The opportunity to get that great of an education and play for that great of a program really set them apart from the others,” remarked Raasch. “I do respect all of the other programs and I am happy that they would want me but you just can’t go wrong with Vanderbilt.” Raasch began his Norcross career as an over the top hurler but quickly fizzled out and became noncompetitive, so Coach Smith, the pitching coach at the time, and manager Andy Collins converted him to a sidearmer prior to his sophomore season. Read more >

CHICAGO (March 10, 2011) — In its 26th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Diamond DeShields of Norcross High School as its 2010-11 Gatorade Georgia Girls Basketball Player of the Year. DeShields is the first Gatorade Georgia Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Norcross High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes DeShields as Georgia’s best high school girls basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award announced in March, DeShields joins an elite alumni association of past state girls basketball award-winners. Read more >