Enloe senior's scoring grabs attention

Enloe senior Shala Hodges scored 50 points last week in an 81-71 girls basketball loss to Southeast Raleigh.

Her total is believed to be an Enloe girls basketball record.

"I knew she was in a zone, but I had no idea she had nearly that many points," Enloe coach Pina Baker said.

"I had to ask my scorekeeper if that total was right. I was caught up in the game more than how many points she had."

Hodges made 15 of 20 shots from the field, including three of five 3-pointers. She also made 11 of 17 free throws.

The 5-foot-8 senior also had two rebounds, one assist and three steals.

Baker said Hodges has received a lot of recruiting mail, especially from Campbell, East Carolina, Kansas State and UNC-Greensboro.

Hodges had 30 points in a 61-49 victory over Southeast Raleigh earlier this year and added 12 points in a 52-30 win over Durham Riverside and 17 points in a 63-61 loss to Durham Jordan.

She is averaging 27.3 points a game.

"She has always been able to score, but my goal for her this year is to become a great defensive player," Baker said.

"So far, her defensive play this year has been outstanding."

BULL CITY CLASSIC: The 12th annual Bull City Classic is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Durham Hillside and Durham Mount Zion.

There are 16 boys and eight girls teams in the field this year.

The teams are divided into six four-team brackets.

Mount Zion has three different boys teams entered in the tournament.

The Warriors are led by 6-foot-7 Oklahoma State recruit Karron Johnson.

The pairings and playing times are at: www.bullcityclassic.com.

TOP PLAYERS UNDECIDED: Three of the top five players on the scout.com senior basketball prospects list did not sign during the early signing period that ended last week.

Top-ranked Derrick Favors of South Atlanta, No. 2-ranked John Wall of Raleigh Word of God and No. 5 Renaldo Sidney of Los Angeles still are uncommitted.

Xavier Henry, a 6-6 shooting guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., who is No. 4, committed and signed with Memphis last week.

North Carolina signed No. 3 6-10 John Henson of Tampa, Fla.

WALL SHOOTING: Word of God's John Wall has worked on his shooting in the offseason.

Wall is the No. 1 point guard prospect in the country by most analysts, but his perimeter shooting was not considered a strength.

"John has been in here most days and plenty of late nights working on his shot," Word of God coach Levi Beckwith said.

Wall has made nine of 12 3-pointers in Word of God's three scrimmages, Beckwith said.

Wall recently visited Memphis and had visited Kansas earlier. He plans to make an official visit to Baylor and also is considering visits to Oregon and Miami.

Duke and N.C. State also are on his list but may not get official visits. Kentucky is calling, and Wall attended Kentucky's game against North Carolina last week.

Word of God was 30-3 last year and won the N.C. Independent School Athletic Association 1-A title.

The goal this year is to win every game.

"We're going to take them one at a time, but we want to win them all," Beckwith said.

The Rams are playing in two major tournaments -- the GlaxoSmithKline in Raleigh after Christmas and the Bank of America City of Palms in Fort Myers, Fla.

In Florida, the field includes Santa Ana (Cal.) Mater Dei (6-10 North Carolina recruits David and Travis Wear), Memphis Briarcrest (UNC recruit Leslie McDonald), Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick (UNC recruit Dexter Strickland) and Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler (Wake Forest recruit Ari Stewart and N.C. State recruit Richard Howell).

At the Glaxo, Word of God opens with Rocky Mount and will play either North Mecklenburg or Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond on the second day.

Word of God's bracket also includes Asheville Christ School (6-11 Duke recruit Mason Plumlee), Kinston (6-6 UNC junior recruit Reggie Bullock) and Middle Creek (6-5 Miami recruit Garrius Adams).