The Next Play: What’s on deck this week in Triangle sports
The presents have been opened, the egg nog (mostly) consumed and the belts loosened a notch or two.
One thing that didn’t pause this week (at least not yet) is the sporting world. While it may be true that the professional leagues are taking a pause around the holiday, and some of them a longer pause to try and expel COVID-19 from their ranks, there is no rest for the sports scene in the Triangle this week. Here are some things to look out for as we turn our eyes toward the new year:
High school basketball is center stage
After a year away while the sports world dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, the John Wall Holiday Invitational basketball tournament has returned to Raleigh late in 2021, and the action promises to bring some of the top talent in the country right here to the City of Oaks.
Top teams in North Carolina, like Word of God Christian our of Raleigh, Combine Academy of Lincolnton, Chambers of Charlotte and Moravian Prep of Hudson will take the floor alongside — and in some cases against — some of the top teams in the country, like Brewster Academy of New Hampshire, Southern California Academy of Los Angeles, and Columbus High of Miami.
And beyond the quality of the teams as a whole, there are some high-flying individuals with serious Division I offers on the table.
▪ Virginia Episcopal, which won state championships in 2011 and 2016 and features 6-9 forward Efe Sekeroglu, who played for the U18 Turkish National Team.
▪ Archbishop Spalding (MD) features 6-6 wing Cam Whitmore, a five-star senior ranked among the nation’s top 25 players. He’s signed with Villanova.
▪ Southern California Academy features 6-3 point guard Amaree Abram, ranked among the nation’s top 30 at his position by 247; and 6-9 senior power forward Jaxon Kohler, a Michigan State signee ranked among the nation’s top 70 players
▪ Also in the field is 7-time national champ Brewster Academy, which has produced 12 NBA draft picks. One of the team’s stars this year is 6-9 junior wing Matas Buzelis, who has offers from Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest, among others. Buzelis’ teammate, 6-9 small forward Taylor Bowen, is ranked No. 21 in the class of 2023. Bowen also sports a Duke offer.
ACC action in earnest
The top teams in ACC basketball have, for the most part, not played against one another yet this season, choosing, as they do each year, to start the season outside of the conference, But this week, bring on the ACC play. On Wednesday, Duke will travel to Clemson, UNC will host Virginia Tech and N.C. State will head to Miami in a Triangle tripleheader. The women have their turn the following day, with UNC hosting Syracuse, Duke traveling to Virginia Tech and N.C. State headed to Clemson.
Pro sports resume — we hope
The NHL took an unexpected pause last week as COVID-19 diagnoses ran rampant through more than half the league’s 32 teams, so the league paused the season a few days earlier than planned, and sent all of the players home for Christmas early.
On Monday, if the league and its medical staff has determined they’ve sufficiently pushed back against the outbreak, the Carolina Hurricanes will begin their post-Christmas, mid-season push. The Canes are currently the top team in the NHL with 43 points through 29 games, and they have an astounding plus-33 goal differential as a team.
Monday, the Canes are slated to host the Florida Panthers, and then Thursday they are supposed to welcome in the Montreal Canadiens.
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 6:00 AM.