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Who Are Your Top Ten 1-A Guys Teams?

Evaluator1

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2004
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Here are my Top Ten 1-A Guys Teams.

1. East Carteret - Trevor Willis, Sam Johnson, and Jacque Brown return to lead this speedy and talented team. Their discipline, their skill-set, and their dynamic defense could take them all the way to the title!

2. Winston Salem Prep - Hollingsworth and Harrison return to lead this perennial power back into the title hunt!

3. Pamlico County - Cameron Moore and company should have this team making the EAST Regionals!

4. Cherryville - Rhyer Davis, Grant Henderson will return after football season, to have this team ready...come playoff time! Yung Sherrill and other talented players will have Cherryville in contention!

5. Mt. Airy - This is my guys "sleeper" team! You may think this is a stretch, but this team has the speed, the skill, and the size to rise to the top! Caleb Horton, Khaileel Dailey, Carson and Clay Mounce, Gallimore, Simmons, etc., will be hungry and ready to show what they can do!

6. Alleghany - Sprinkle, Santos, and McKnight are solid. Their 6' 6" football star is also poised to be a factor this season!

7. Albemarle - They only lost two players from a solid team! Look for them to make some noise!

8. Wallace Rose-Hill Canady and company have the talent to put up a fight in the East!

9. Avery County - Waldroop and Stewart are talented and are pound-for-pound tough as nails! Jackson and the supporting cast will also bring desire and effort, each and every night!

10. Neuse Charter - The best team that you've never, ever heard of. They may not get to Regionals, but they DO have some talent! Devante and Darrius Stevens, are very good, and Sanders is solid also. If you have to face them...be ready to play!

Comments: There are SO MANY very good guys teams, that you probably could come with 10 entirely different teams, for your top ten!!!

These are my pre-season choices. What are Yours?
 
Mount Airy no longer has Daily, he transferred to North Surry. I think Bishop will needs to be considered in the top 10, and probably ahead of Mount Airy. They picked up a couple of transfers from what I heard.
 
I agree with your #1 and your statement that there are a lot of good teams this year, but you left a few teams off that would have made my top 10.

Hayesville has two brothers who already have D-1 offers...they also return almost their whole team and have an undefeated JV coming up, so I would probably have them somewhere in the top 10.

Also, I can't see how Pinetown Northside won't be a top level team with Bam Bam Adebayo in the middle. I don't know a lot about his supporting cast, but it shouldn't matter...a 6-8 kid that has ACC coaches drooling can win a 1A team a lot of games by himself.

And Robbinsville brings back almost their entire team after going 22-5 and making the 3rd round last year, including a kid who averaged over 20 ppg, so I would put them into consideration.

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The Coastal Plains should be one of the better conferences this year. East Carteret.Pamlico and Northside will provide some great games.
 
I watched the two boys teams play before Albemarle played Prep and those two teams do not beat Albemarle. Albemarle boys is higher than a 7. They are better this year than last year.
 
I think Starmount will be making some noise with a lot of their players backs.
 
North Stanley has to beat some good teams to join this conversation. They have the coaches son but what else does North Stanly have?
 
After watching WS Prep play against Mount Tabor (win) and Reynolds (lost), I can tell you that they will not repeat as state champions. They are very small and lack a lot of skill. They are very aggressive on defense and out of control on offense. I think they are looking at a 3rd place finish in the NW 1A.
 
I think that's a bit of a stretch, but yes, as has been discussed elsewhere on this board, Prep is nowhere near what they were from 10-13. The usual suspects predictably whined when they brought in a few transfers to cover for some of their losses, but you can't just replace D1 kids with D1 kids like they grow on trees.

They're still going to beat 9 out of every 10 teams in the 1A on sheer athleticism, but the more skilled teams in the 1A (Bishop, MA, EC, etc) are going to give them fits because they can't overwhelm those teams with defensive pressure.

In fact, it was a problem that showed it self last year at times. They were a mediocre offensive team if you could force them into a slower game, but they had just enough high level skill guys to be able to compensate. The fact that the 1A sucked out loud last year was their saving grace. They only had to beat one really quality team to win the title.

This year, sans those D1 players to bail them out, they'll have a much harder time.
 
1A Posters keep missing the point until rural teams kids start taking basketball more serious 365 there will be a huge talent gap. When it comes to basketball you have to train individually in the offseason. Get up shots work on your ball handle and skill set. Most rural area teams do well in baseball and football and country club sports. The kids are not playing rec ball or aau or even showcase ball for one of the big shoe clubs. Thats were Bishop Mcguiness and Winston Salem Prep have advantage there coaches and kids are at camps and clinics or doing things with basketball year around no break. Then they aren't afraid to schedule out of state opponents to get there kids and schools exposure. So people keep on complaining until programs look in the mirror and change how things are there will be the same results. Also i would add this had there not been a bishop Mcguiness or winston salem prep over last three years east carete or however you spell that school name would have won consecutive state titles then what would you guys be crying about then?
 
EC will win 1A. I worked in that program for eight years and I know what's being put into that program on a daily basis. Not just from Nov-March. It's 365 days a year. Some of you may say I'm being biased, but that's fine. I'm a straight shooter. EC is one of the hardest working programs in the state. Brown, Johnson, Willis, and Simmons have put in a lot work the past 4 years. Those four guys could have easily already won two consecutive state championships. (Prep Schools another subject for later) They've played together for years. They're hungry and humble to win it all. Don't forget who's coaching them. Coach Anderson is building a powerhouse out on the coast. He's finally starting to get the recognition he deserves. Finally, when this group of seniors complete their mission, don't think that you've heard the last of EC. Another good young group of players are on the way.
 
I will agree the coach there has run a tight ship and has done a good job and I just think people need to stop making excuses and get results when every season starts each team is even 0-0 but what happens in the off season and preseason dictates what happens when the lights come on and they roll the balls out. I do believe EC would have won at least two back to back title if not for schools like Prep. They would be up there with schools like Kinston in terms of consistent success. It is sad though if that had come to play these 1A posters would still be upset and trying to find a reason to discredit what there program is doing. Misery loves company and not everybody can win. That's why you have a winner and a loser. I coached at Olympic High School in Charlotte for 4 years and we had a amazing run going 111-7 over four years and winning the state title in 2013 going 30-0 nationally ranked. I have been blessed to be apart of good basketball. I know what it takes to be successful and it starts with developing young talent and making the best out of what you got. There is a NC program Trinity the coach does a good job he doesn't always have the biggest guys but he develops his players. He always has some good shooters that will light it up. My brother Reggie Price who won a state title at Lake Norman his senior year played against Trinity his junior year when they were still 3A and they had a kid who could shoot the three ball and put 20pts up easy.
 
XMAN you make an argument against those non boundary schools without meaning to. In real traditional 1A schools, an athlete has to be an athlete year round and play multiple sports. Kids do not have the luxury of just focusing on 1 sport 365 days per year. If you are able to run a program that does not have boundaries then you can go get whatever kids you want. We cant do that. We have in the low 400's in terms of ADM and that is every kid in the county. Don't get me wrong, our kids work on their basketball in the offseason, but rural schools will never have the opportunity to have kids specialize and have athletic programs. That is after-all what real 1A athletics is supposed to be. Alleghany will probably have 10 players on their basketball team this season and one of them is not playing football. Did we play this summer absolutely. Did we go to camp this summer absolutely. Then football season starts and they become football players and in our case continue to be football players, and you know what that is how it is supposed to be.

The world you talk about is urban 3A and 4A athletics. That is how it works in those larger systems, but not in real 1A athletics.

Everyone, even you, are entitled to an opinion, but when you get on here and try to spin an uneven playing field into the kids and coaches are not working hard enough. That is simply incorrect. They are doing what they have to do to make their schools athletic programs successful.
 
The whole argument that "other 1A schools need to step it up" is pretty condescending and misinformed. SMC players and other "traditional 1A" players play plenty of travel ball, go to clinics, spend all summer at open gym and team camps, etc. Hayesville boys' best player has played with several of the better travel clubs in the southeast, including a few years with the CP3 program that a lot of WSP players play with. Another of their better players on a mountains-based team that won the 15U AAU state title two summers ago. But the complaint comes from the perception that no matter how hard they work to develop their players, they have to play the hand they're dealt while nontraditional schools just reload with transfers or freshman coming from all over a wide region every year. I have nothing against their kids, I'm sure they work extremely hard at practice just like kids at boundary schools do, but to make that "player development" argument, when open enrollment allows them to develop kids from multiple middle school programs spanning a vast geography, just smacks of being born on third base and thinking you hit a triple.
 
Ok I see your point of view.........but why not do like Monroe does most of there best players also play football and basketball and there head coach coaches both football and basketball. He never makes a excuse for how they do and he has won a state title under that format. It is possible to have success in a small community. You would think the kids all have known each other since they were younger and should have great chemistry that most teams don't get til later in the season. I am not sure what Winston salem prep attendance numbers are but they have the same rules as the other schools in Winston salem. Mount Tabor a basketball powerhouse has followed under the same set of rules but nobody complains about them getting talent. We had to beat them the year we wont states in the regional finals to advance we did complain about what they had or didn't have. We saw two good programs we did what we do. You can get side tracked worrying about what someone is doing and lose sight on what you have to do. All I am saying is the program isn't doing anything illegal they are doing what is allowed and they have no control over a family moving in and chosing to attend there program. Every high school get at least one new kid each year that moves in from out the area. Ask North Henderson coach how it felt to get a transfer kid in sophomore wing Austin Nelson from Charlotte who instantly made a impact and got all conference.
 
As someone associated with a non-traditional school, I tend to agree with the traditional school people in that I think many of the traditional schools do some of the same things as WSP or McGuinness or whoever as far as working hard and playing AAU or travel ball and doing things to get better. In some sports where one or two players can make a difference like basketball or golf or cross-country, I think there is an advantage for non-traditional schools. My only contention is that I think some traditional schools have had advantages over other traditional schools as far as boundaries. I think some 1A traditional schools have gotten and have had the ability to get more out of district transfers than other traditional 1A schools. Some non-traditional schools have advantages over others. Non-boarding parochials have cost deterrents that charters don't have, and magnets have an advantage over some charters. But I agree it is insulting to state that traditional schools don't work as hard as non-traditionals, and furthermore, it is more often than not untrue.
 
just look at Cardinal Gibbons they won 6 state championships in the fall and petitioned the nchsaa to move up to 4a cause they realize they have an advantage and want to play up. If these schools really outworked and out coached everyone why wouldn't their schools do the same instead of dominating the poor ole rural schools who don't work hard and have bad coaching. Seems logical
 
Monroe?????

Did this guy just compare Monroe to a 1a school? This is just a guess but they have around 1200 kids. They are 2aa and that is not far from 3a. Really?
 
and they just came out of 1a with out dominating it. This guy is living in a world where they have 1500 kids. try being like bk and Robbinsville. what do you guys have 300 kids that grew up there? I'm sure you have d1 kids who just aren't developed like he suggests.
 
To be correct the year they won the state title and had the 6'7 kid that went to duke they were 1A. If Monroe has moved up a class since then my bad. I used them as a example simply because they don't start there hoop season until football is done. Due to the fact that most of there best players play football and the head basketball coach is also the head football coach. I was saying if 1A programs have this issue they should be allowed to push back there basketball games until football season is over. West Rowan is another program that also has used this method before. Now you guys are 100% correct I have never even seen a school with just 300 kids. Hell my high school 2004 graduating class was 625 kids alone. You are right that you do not have the same talent pool to chose from but do any of you know exactly how many kids attend schools like Bishop & Winston Salem Prep and Queens Grant? The one thing you guys are missing is a kid who really loves the game of basketball will focus just on that one sport and hone his craft. If that is not that case at the 1A level then I see why things are as they are. I will be at Regionals this year like I am every year I will be following all 1A teams to see how they do and who comes out the pack on the east and west side of the state. I stand by statement development and having a system in place is the key should start at local middle school by the time they get to high school there already aware of what the high school coach expects. I train kids all the time as coaches that where you earn your worth any body can get a kid who was born with talent and say you had something to do with there success. To take a average joe and build him from the ground up is the true test and any informed media person or coach in NC can back that claim up. Its not as hard as it seems it takes kids willing to put the time in.
 
you are right about the pure numbers which is the biggest argument. Their 500 kids are selected or are able to come from an area of 1 mil people. The small schools are county schools or town schools that draw from 15000 people. I really feel like the reason 1a is so special, and I wish Polk was still small enough for 1a, is the kids that play football play basketball and play baseball and run track for a school and town they love. They can't be specialized every second of the year because their schools could not field competitive teams. For schools like Robbinsville , Cherokee and
Hayesville to make the runs they have made is very rare in such small schools. heck natahala just a few years ago went to the regionals and were very good for a couple of years and they have less than a 100 kids.
 
Even the year Monroe was in 1a they had 2aa numbers. The year you are talking about I think they had 1000 kids playing schools with 300 to 600 and even still they didnt have the advantage B.M. and others have.
 
Yikes that is a huge gap and difference. The state will have to do a better job with monitoring attendance lines and deciding which teams should be what classification. I don't ever want to see a 1A and 1AA state basketball champion but it is sounds like maybe one of the only way to solve the issue.
 
I don't think you need to subdivide in basketball. Monroe was a freak thing where their numbers dipped on a realignment year, then bounced back after that year, but NC only realigns every 4 yeas, so you basically had a large 2A school playing 1A sports for a few years.
 
I agree. Hayesville and Robbinsville both need to be thrown in there somewhere. Hayesville's Junior Cotrell and his little brother is a freshman if im not mistaking(possibly a sophomore but im not sure) definitely will be leaders on the team. Don't know about d-1 offers for the younger one yet but know for a fact the older has d-1 offers. Also Braxton Cox and the transfer from Union County will be huge assets to this team. Better watch out though both their big guys can bring the ball up the court and slam it on you to. As for Robbinsville, they beat Hayesville last year 2 times and didn't lose anyone from their starting squad. Also they have a decent JV team coming up as well. In my perspective, they will probably beat Hayesville again this year. Jesse Franks is their big guy. Very mobile for his size and an efficient shooter from 10 ft or so. Cole Husky very good scorer, averaged about 21 ppg last year. Nobody could stop him. He will score. Cruz is very strong and can take it to the hole with force. Overall both of these teams should be in the top 10 in my opinion.
 
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