The NC high school basketball season is just beginning, so here’s a little preview
December is always an exciting times for high school hoops. The majority of teams are playing non-conference games and tuning up for the regular season. Teams have played a minimum of five games and given us a sample size of things to come for the upcoming season.
For the most part, public and private school teams have enjoyed nice-sized crowds, as people are eager to see games in person and also to support their local team.
Looking at the NCHSAA, our early favorites in the 4A West, we pegged Chambers, Myers Park, North Mecklenburg, and Weddington as the teams to beat. One team that also needs to be mentioned is Ardrey Kell, coached by Mike Craft. Last season, Ardrey Kell went 10-1 losing a heartbreaking 67-65 game in overtime for the NCHSAA 4A state championship. Coach Craft lost his three top scorers in Knoah Carver (16.2 PPG), Elijah Gray (15.6 PPG) and Peyton Gerald (13.7 PPG) He returned two starters in Evan Smith and Brandon Nelson. This season, Ardrey Kell is off to a strong start with a 6-1 record, losing only to Weddington.
The Mike Craft factor
Year in, year out, Adrey Kell is always considered one of the top teams in the ultra-competitive NCHSAA 4A Western Regional. Coach Craft teams play excellent team basketball and is evident by the fact that four players are averaging in double digits for Ardrey Kell. Leading the way is Evan Smith 6-4 senior (17 PPG), Brock Rose 6-6 junior, Delani Hammons 5-10 sophomore, and Brandon Nelson 6-3 junior (11.1 PPG) Not too far behind is Toni Akinyelu 6-7 senior with 8.1 PPG. Look for Ardrey Kell to once again compete for a conference championship is the new and tough 4A Conference 49 featuring Olympic, South Mecklenburg, Harding, Myers Park and Phillip O’Berry.
Watch out for Weddington
Last year, Weddington won its first ever state championship going 18-0 winning the NCHSAA 3A classification. Weddington moved up to the 4A this season and while we had him in our teams to watch, look for Weddington to be a title contender for the 4A classification. On paper, Weddington may not have the overall depth and talent as Chambers or North Mecklenburg, Weddington is a veteran team. While Weddington lost Brock Bowen 6-0 to graduation, they returned a nucleus of Chase Lowe 6-5 senior, AJ Cook 5-11senior, Kyle Frazier 6-3 senior, Evan Morton 6-1 junior. All four players are averaging in double digit scoring this season with Lowe leading the way at 17.8 PPG, Cook 17.2 PPG, Frazier 14.6 PPG, and Morton at 10.4 PPG. More importantly, Weddington has played a tough non-conference and has recorded wins over Ardrey Kell 72-65, Myers Park 75-41 and Cox Mill 68-48. What makes Weddington so special? First of all, they are well coached by Gary Ellington and, in an age of players moving around and transferring, Weddington has kept its core group together. As a matter of fact, the majority of them have played together for years in travel ball under CC Elite. In addition, one cannot overstate the importance of team chemistry. This team has excellent chemistry and know each other’s moves and intentions on the court. They play together, share the ball and are happy for each other’s success. They are the true definition of a team.
Chambers is the heavy favorite
While Chambers has lost three early season games to national level teams (Combine and Dream City) and just recently on the road to Northside Christian. Coach Brian Frasier understands that on paper, he has probably the best overall talent in the state at the public school level. That being said, he also understands championships and games are not won on paper. Leading the way is Jaylen Curry 6-2 junior PG, Maurio Hanson 6-7 sophomore, Nick Dorn 6-6 junior, Daniel Sanford 6-8 senior who recently signed with South Carolina, and Antoine Piper 6-4 senior. Chambers has a unique blend of seniors and underclassmen. In the past, Chambers has been the “hunter,” as they were chasing conference foe North Mecklenburg for conference supremacy. Now, the roles will be reversed as Chambers is one of the favorites to win it all come March. To get them ready for the championship run, coach Brian Frasier has accepted the challenge of playing one of the toughest if not the toughest non-conference schedule of any team in the NCHSAA. In addition to playing in one of the most competitive conferences in the state, Chambers will also be playing Cannon, The Burlington School, Word of God, and will be playing in the prestigious John Wall Tournament.
North Mecklenburg, the blue blood of the NCHSAA
North Mecklenburg is one of the premier teams in the state. They are in fact one of the “Blue Bloods” of high school basketball. Coming off a co-state championship in 2020, Coach Duane Lewis team was again the heavy favorite to repeat as state champions. They ran into a hot Adrey Kell and lost in the NCHSAA 4A Regionals by the score of 65-62. During the off season, Jeremy Gregory 6-7 senior transferred to national power Oak Hill Academy, however, no one reloads more at the high school level than Duane Lewis. North Mecklenburg is off to an amazing start once again. They are currently 6-0 and are averaging 87.5 PPG and a 33.1 average margin of victory game. North Meck returns a talented, experienced and veteran backcourt. Leading the way is Davion Cunningham 6-2 senior, Jordan Crawford 6-2 senior, and Maxwell Coles 6-0 senior. Tyree Bracey 6-7 senior and Christian Foy 6-6 sophomore have also contributed early, but the rising star at North Meck is super sophomore Isaiah Evans 6-6. Evans recently picked up a Texas A&M offer and had an impressive 42 point, 10 rebound effort against Charlotte Country Day.
Don’t sleep on Myers Park
Yes, Myers Park is only 3-4 currently, but four of those loses came at the hands of teams that could win a state championship. Myers Park lost to Chambers, Weddington, Dorman (SC), and just recently to The Burlington School. Myers Park has a very young team led by Elijah Strong 6-8 junior and Sir Mohammed 6-5 sophomore. Myers Park may be a year away, but one thing is crystal clear, Coach Scott Taylor is not afraid of the competition early on. He’s putting Myers Park to the test early and hopefully the team will continue to make strides to make a state playoff run.
Lake Norman, team on the rise
Lake Norman is currently 6-0 and head coach Grant Hodges has something special brewing on the lake and don’t be surprised if they don’t contend for the conference championship and make a playoff run. Lake Norman is fairly young and have two young freshmen stars of the future in Tre McKinnon and Trent Steinour. Cole Callaway 6-4 junior leads the team in scoring averaging 20.7 PPG, Tre McKinnon 6-5 freshman 13.8 PPG, Henderson Williams 6-4 junior 13.5 PPG, and Davis Wagner 6-5 senior 10.0 PPG. This team is fun to watch and has one of the best student sections in the state and could become the Cameron Craziers of the NCHSAA.
New-look Millbrook maintaining success
While most folks are discussing the aforementioned teams, Coach Chris Davis and Millbrook are quietly getting things done. After losing 88% of their scoring from last season, everyone was ready to dismiss the Wildcats—but they are currently 4-1 and still competing with any opponent in the state.
What’s been the recipe for this success after losing so many pieces? Well, their new senior trio of Jaylen Bowen 5-10, , CeeJay Jordan 6-5 , and Bailey Daniels 6-3 are leading the charge with notable Colt Langdon 6-7 super freshman. Bowen (24.2 PPG) is their primary offensive option and, after recovering from his previous injury, looks ready to further his game to the next level. Jordan and Daniels also have the makings of college prospects while Langdon is only going to get better from one game to the next. This team probably won’t replicate what they did last year, but don’t be surprised if they win a lot of games and make a run for the title.
Is South Central a sleeper?
Although it’s been a few years since their last dominant group, South Central hasn’t wavered in terms of status. Coach Chris Cherry has a strong reputation for his sheer consistency, regardless of personnel or overall talent structure, and this squad is no different. They lost a key piece, but replaced him with Neeko Taylor 6-1 guard—who is already off to a quality start for his senior campaign. Add in returning seniors like Joseph Thompson 6-3 and Omar Harris 6-4, and they really haven’t skipped a beat. Add in Jamir Wright 6-1 junior, and it’s easy to see why this group is currently 6-1. Coach Cherry runs a tight ship and tends to get the best out of his kids, so expect the Falcons to continue trending upward.
NCHSAA 3A
Central Cabarrus is for real
Central Cabarrus is the 2021-22 3A version of Weddington. They are still relatively young, but is a team that has great chemistry and plays well together and in our opinon could win the NCHSAA 3A state championship. Four of their top scorers are underclassmen led by Jaiden Thompson 6-0 junior who is averaging 19.5 PPG, Chase Daniel 6-0 sophomore 17.7 PPG, Carson Daniel 6-0 sophomore 13.7 PPG, Gavin Bullock 6-2 junior 9.5 PPG while Jak’won Diaz Cruz rounds out the scoring at 9.0 PPG. What’s even more impressive is the team is averaging 17.2 assists per game while the Daniel twins are averaging almost 10 steals per game. Coach Jim Baker definitely has something special and we believe Central Cabarrus will be one of the top teams in the NCHSAA 3A classification.
West Charlotte, getting everyone healthy
Sitting with a 5-2 record, Jacoby Davis still has to be excited about his team this season. He has an unique blend of veteran play and youth. Leading the way is Landon King 6-0 senior guard avergaging 18.4 PPG, Louisville football commit Chance Morrow 6-5 senior 17.3 PPG, Donovan Raymond 6-9 junior 9.8 PPG, but is avering 4.4 blocks per game and is considered one of the top shot blockers in the state. In addition, Raymond was named Mr. Defense at the prestigious NC Top 80 camp. Next in line is Ollie Alford 6-1 junior at 7.0 PPG but is dishing out 5.5 assists per game. And let’s not forget about Chadlyn Traylor 6-0 freshman guard who is considered one of the top players in the state for his class.
NCHSAA 2A
Hendersonville finished last season going 16-1 before losing the NCHSAA 2A state championship to Farmville Central 113-98. Coach Marvin Featherstone team is 7-0 and has two of their top players returning and one of the state’s top backcourt duo in Dwight Canady 6-1 senior and Keenan Wilkins 6-0 junior. Canady and Wilkins are averaging 26.8 PPG and 20.3 PPG respectively. Look for another Hendersonville vs. Farmville Central matchup in a repeat of the 2021 NCHSAA 2A state championshiop.
Farmville Central still rolling
After having the Gatorade POY in North Carolina and making yet another state championship run last season, surely Farmville Central is destined to take a step back—right? Wrong, the Jaguars have come out of the gate 6-0 and truly haven’t skipped a beat. They have a slew of talent with guys like Jah Short, 6-4, Jayden Pitt 5-11, Alex Moye 6-1 and Derrick Cox 6-1leading the way. Between their notable talent, depth, coaching, and nonstop success, Farmville Central has all the necessary pieces to continue making runs over the foreseeable future.
NCISAA
The NCISAA is as strong as ever before and many of the private school teams are making noise nationally and look for that trend to continue. In the NCISAA 4A, Greensboro Day, Carmel and Providence Day looked to be the early “cream of the crop,” however look at the amazing job of Coach Chris Berger at Charlotte Latin. Latin is currently 8-0 and pulled off a big upset win over Ardrey Kell on their home court. Covenant Day has pleasantly surprised especially since they lost nationally ranked point guard Aden Holloway. Then, over at Carmel Christian, Coach Joe Badgett is having another amazing season. Carmel is currently 10-0 and Coach Badgett is a magician at blending a talented roster into playing as one unit. The NCISAA 3A continues to be wide open and we still believe Asheville Christian and Concord Academy will be the top two teams come playoff time. Concord Academy has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the state and has a future star in Kany Tchanda 6-8 sophomore. Concord Academy has suffered loses to Asheville Christian, Wayne Country Day, Carmel, Liberty Heights, Northside Christian, Combine Academy, Gaston Day, and The Burlington School. Playing this type of competition will only help your team get better and prepare them come February. The Burlington School still looks like the team to bet in the NCISAA 2A. Standing with a 8-2 record with their lone losses coming to nationally ranked Southern Cal (Top 10 in most polls) and Moravian Prep at the Good Guys vs. Cancer Showcase.
In the NCISAA 1A United Faith and Greenfield looks like they are on a collision course for the 1A. United Faith is currently 7-2 while Greenfield is 8-2.
Non-Association Teams
Combine with back-to-back wins over Top 10 nationally ranked teams
Coming into the season, Combine had a returning nucleus of players that featured one of the premier point guards in the country in Robert Dillingham. They were a consensus preseason top 10 team and some publications had Combine in the top five. Weeks before the start of the season, Robert Dillingham, Omarion Bodrick, and Bryce Alfino shocked the Hoop State and transferred to Donta. Many people counted out Combine, but no one enjoys the “underdog” role more than coach Jeff McInnis. At the Tyler Lewis Hoopfest, Combine faced a hot shooting Moravian Prep and was defeated for their lone loss. Leaving no time to feel sorry for themselves, Combine traveled to Memphis to play in the Battle at the Bluff. On Friday night, Combine went up against Southern California Academy who was ranked fifth nationally and won by the score of 67-58.The next night, Combine did it again beating Hillcrest Prep who was ranked sixth nationally by the score of 79-69. Combine came away with the sweep and now has its sight set on the prestigious City of Psalms.