Top boys in private schools

There has been a quiet revolution in North Carolina high school basketball.

This year and next year, and maybe forever, the best high school players in the state aren't at public high schools.

It is be-coming rare for players like Shavlik Randolph of Broughton and Eric Williams of Wake Forest-Rolesville to enter their local North Carolina public high school and eventually earn McDonald's All American honors.

The more likely scenario is for the high school elite to begin their careers in public school and later transfer to a private school or to begin in private school to start with.

The trend is fairly new to North Carolina, but has been the model in major cities for years.

The best players in New York City, for example, usually play for teams like All Hallows, Christ the King, Rice and Bishop Molloy.

Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha, Arlington (Va.) O'Connell, Gonzaga and St. John's annually have many of the best players in the Washington, D.C., area.

But this year, for the first time, the top six high school players in North Carolina, according to recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons, all are private-school players.

The group is led by Raleigh Word of God point guard John Wall, who is ranked as the No. 1 or No. 2 prospect in the country by most recruiting services.

Wall played two years at Garner before transferring to Broughton and on to Word of God in 2005-2008.

He emerged as one of the nation's best last season.

Joining Wall in Gibbons' list of top North Carolina players are Ravenscroft's 6-foot-10 Ryan Kelly (a Duke recruit), Asheville Christ School's 6-11 Mason Plumlee (Duke), Charlotte Latin's 6-8 David Chadwick (Washington State), Christ School's 6-5 Lakeem Jackson (South Carolina) and Charlotte Christian's 6-6 Willis Hall (uncommitted).

And Gibbons omitted players from boarding schools such as Lenoir Patterson School and Durham Mount Zion.

If those boarding schools are included only one -- 6-5 guard Garrius Adams of Middle Creek (Miami) -- of the top 10 players in the state are at N.C. High School Athletic Association programs.

According to the scout.com recruiting site, 20 of the top 30 players in the state are in private schools.

The trend is not as pronounced in girls basketball yet, but one list of the top 10 has five private school players.

"I think this is a growing trend," said Charlie Adams, executive director of the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

"I've seen it in other states, and you'll probably see it here."

Gibbons said the rise of summer club teams is a factor in players switching from public to private schools.

Gibbons believes summer coaches often have informal ties to private schools and encourage players to enroll.

Academic concerns and the promise of smaller classes with more personal attention also figure in as well, Gibbons said.

Private schools also often have the luxury of welcoming proven players.

Junior C.J. Leslie already had committed to N.C. State before enrolling at Word of God.

Another advantage for private schools in North Carolina is that they have different eligibility rules.

NCHSAA players are eligible for eight semesters after they enter the ninth grade.

The NCISAA does not have a four-year or eight-semester rule, but uses an age limit instead.

Wall, for example, would not be eligible at an NCHSAA school because he is in his fifth year of high school.

"I think you'll see more and more of the top players entering the private schools," Gibbons said.

"Some parent is going to see this story and think they need to get their son into a private school because that's where the best players are."

And those players are going to bring more publicity for the private schools.

Don't be surprised if a game this season between Word of God and Ravenscroft ends up on national televison.