Who's the best basketball player in the state? Ask that question around.
The two most popular answers might be Wenonah's Justin Coleman and super sophomore Joshua Langford at Madison Academy. Coleman, an Alabama signee, is the No. 1 player on 2014 AL.com's A-List of senior prospects this season.
Langford was already rated No. 66 in the nation by at least one service this year. He's just a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard prospect, but FoxSports placed him among its Top 100 schoolboy players in the nation this fall.
Those stars are set to collide at 5:30 PM Saturday evening at Madison Academy. The two elite prospects will meet this weekend and at least one other time this year during the regular season on Martin Luther King Day at Wenonah.
Coleman said that he and Langford are close friends. They've been talking about the game all week. They've never faced one another on the court before in their careers. They are both looking forward to great competition.
"He is a really great all-around player," Coleman said. "He is a good rebounder and he can score at will. He kind of reminds me of Lebron (James) with everything he has in his game."
Wenonah's Justin Coleman works against the pressure of Paul Bryant's Dexter Hood during an AHSAA Final 48 Class 5A semifinal high school basketball game at the BJCC in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)
The two standouts can also face off at some point in next week's first Steel City Invitational which will be held on the campus of Samford University.
Coleman comes into the game averaging 35 points per game while shooting 52 percent from three-point territory. The three-time defending Class 5A champions are ranked No. 1 again this season and have won their first seven games.
The Mustangs might have an edge considering that Wenonah will come off a grueling test with city rival Parker on Friday night in a key area game that's always chocked with emotion.
"I don't think really anything can compare with the Parker and Wenonah rivalry out there," Coleman said.
That back-to-back might prove tough. Especially for a Dragons team so reliant on guard play and its shooting ability and speed with a tough test on consecutive days against one of the state's top teams.
"I think we can handle it," Coleman said. "I think its real good competition for our team. We can't get better as a team unless we play teams that are better than us or a team that is just matches up equally with us."
Langford already holds offers from several big names including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Louisville, Memphis, Missouri, Vanderbilt and UAB. He's projected to be a five-star recruit and among the Top 10 players in anybody's book for the Class of 2016.
He had 21 points and six assists in less than 15 minutes of action earlier this week.
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