On the front steps of the Washington County High School in the afternoon hours of Tuesday, May 11, Washington County Senior basketball players Jarden Maze and Destinee Ellison respectively signed letters of intent to continue their basketball careers at the collegiate level.
In front of only immediate family, coaching staff, and Washington County Public Schools brass, Maze and Ellison declared their intentions to continue a proud legacy of WACO athletes competing in college athletics. While practicing social distancing and precautionary measures, as advised by the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Public Health, the soon to be high school alumni were also virtually joined by other family members and friends in a live stream of the signings.
This coming fall, Jarden Maze will attend Southern Union State Community College in Wadley, Alabama to play as a member of the Basketball Bison. He will be under the instruction of Head Coach Ron Radford, a former professional basketball player who has led the Bison since 1987 and has won 14 various ‘coach of the year” honors.
Maze departs the Washington County Golden Hawks basketball team, which is amid one of the more productive stretches in the program’s history and fresh off of a trip to the Elite 8 Round of the Georgia High School Association AA Basketball Tournament, where the Golden Hawks visited the defending State Champion Therrell Panthers and lost by 2 points. Jarden Maze led the high-powered offensive brigade of the Hawks and was widely recognized as one of the premier scorers in the GHSA AA classification. He was awarded the GHSA AA Region 3 Player of the Year award alongside his Head Coach Carlos Hope, who received Coach of the Year honors. Hope and Maze steered the Golden Hawks to a Region Championship in the 2019-2020 season, which was their 3rd title in Maze’s 4 high school years.
As for Destinee Ellison, she will remain in the state of Georgia and head for East Georgia State College in Swainsboro to play for the EGSC Lady Bobcats, who will depend on Ellison to provide an immediate impact on both ends of the court to find similar results of this past season. The Lady Bobcats advanced to the Final Four round in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament before falling to eventual champion South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets.
Like Maze, Destinee Ellison leaves a Washington County Lady Hawks program, which is enjoying the fruits of their labor in one of the more prolific times in the team’s history. Also, not unlike Maze and the Golden Hawks, Destinee and the Lady Hawks recently advanced to the Elite 8 Round of the GHSA Basketball Tournament. For the Washington County High School, it was the first time since 2013 that the girls and boys teams each advanced to the Quarterfinals Round during the same season. Again reminiscent of the Golden Hawks postseason journey, the Destinee Ellison led Lady Hawks, were also victorious in their pursuit of the GHSA AA Region 3 crown when they upset the #1 seeded Southwest Lady Patriots on their home court in Macon after dropping the two previous regular season match-ups. The victory, which netted Lady Hawks Head Coach Sug Parker the GHSA AA Region 3 Coach of the Year honors and became as the first Region title since the Lady Hawks’ five consecutive championships from 2009-2014, propelled the squad to a State Tournament run, which ended in a heartbreaking overtime loss to the defending State Champion Douglass, ATL Lady Astros in Atlanta.
The Golden Hawks and Lady Hawks are primed and poised to continue these stellar runs when basketball resumes this coming winter, as both squads return a palpable amount of talent, but Jarden Maze and Destinee Ellison leave enormous shoes and scoring responsibilities behind.
Maze averaged over 18 points per game during his 2019-2020 campaign. Jarden’s final high school season netted him First Team All-State honors in GHSA AA by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He was also named a GHSA AA South All-State player by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and ‘most improved in GHSA AA’ by Sandy’s Spiel website.
Ellison recorded over 14 points per game on average for her senior season. Destinee was deemed an honorable mention on the All-Area First Team by the Augusta Chronicle. She was recognized as a member of the GACA All-State AA South team. It’s Destinee’s destiny to play college basketball, as she had four aunts and a grandmother play collegiately, as well.
“If you watched these young adults play basketball this past season, and noticed the way they lead and the way they possess the drive to excel on both ends of the court, you well know what Jarden and Destinee bring to the table for their college teams,” said Taylor Everett, play by play broadcaster on WACO 100 of the Golden Hawks and Lady Hawks state tournaments runs. “The character that was showcased by Jarden and Destinee through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during this past season’s journey prove that they will succeed in more than just basketball. Now, it’s all about showin’ up, showin’ out, and representing WC Nation to the best of their abilities!”
Photo Credit: Washington County High School