Johnson High graduate Greg Mortimer had some specific goals in mind before his final season of basketball as an Atom Smasher, and he checked them off his list one by one in a season that culminated in a Class AAA state championship.
Today Mortimer will achieve another objective when he signs to play Division I basketball at South Carolina State University.
Mortimer, a 6-foot-3 guard, joins teammates Tim Quarterman (LSU) and Saadiq Muhammad (Savannah State), who also signed with Division I programs.
“I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old, so this is a great feeling to be able to play at the next level,” said Mortimer, who averaged 10.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season. “We had a goal with Tim (Quarterman) and Rico (Bonds) and I to leave our mark as the best backcourt in the state and to win a state championship. We were able to do that, and now I’m going play college ball and push myself to get better.”
Mortimer was an All-Savannah Morning News first-team selection, and All-Region 1-AAA pick and was named honorable mention all-state by the Georgia Sportswriters Association.
“Greg was our sleeper,” Johnson coach Utaff Gordon said. “People would key on Tim (Quarterman) or Saadiq (Muhammad), but Greg was the straight killer. He always came up big. He’s an understated player; there isn’t much chest pounding with Greg. But the dunk he made in transition on a guy from Carver-Columbus — that was the turning point in our season and it helped propel us to the championship.”
Mortimer said he is excited about playing in the MEAC — and getting the chance to play against his Atom Smasher teammate, Muhammad, when SCS faces Savannah State.
“Saadiq and I are really close, but when we meet on the court it’s going to be all business,” Mortimer said. “I’m ready to play college ball, but the work doesn’t end — I’m going to keep grinding to get better.”
Friday was a big day for Mortimer’s classmate Tajara Muhammad, a standout on the Atom Smasher girls basketball team who signed a letter of intent to play at Voorhees College, an NAIA program in South Carolina.
“Tajara was a force in the middle for us,” Johnson coach Brandon Lindsey said. “She is a defensive hawk; she’s the kind of player who loves to crash the boards. She never complains and those are the kind of things you just can’t coach.”
Muhammad, a 6-foot forward, averaged 5.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for an Atom Smasher squad that finished 15-8 last year.
“Coach Lindsey was always fussing over me, but he made me improve as a player,” Muhammad said. “I chose Voorhees because of the education I can get there as well as the athletic program. I think the coach is going to help me improve as a player so I can reach my goal and play professionally overseas.”
Muhammad plans to major in education and said she might someday like to coach.
“Tajara was a leader for us in the locker room, if something was going wrong she would correct it,” Lindsey said. “She kept the team’s morale up. She is a well-rounded kid, with a sweet spirit. She’s very personable and I think she’s going to do well in college.”