In the Smoky Mountain Conference, Cherokee High School and Hayesville High School as of late, and then the rest of the conference. Both teams finished at 11-1 in conference last season. 1. Cherokee High School graduated PG Jason McMillan, who…
In the Smoky Mountain Conference, Cherokee High School and Hayesville High School as of late, and then the rest of the conference. Both teams finished at 11-1 in conference last season.
1. Cherokee High School graduated PG Jason McMillan, who signed with Western Carolina University. The Braves set a NCHSAA record for 3-pointers (330) in a season last year. Last week, Cherokee High School hired Sonita Warren-Dixon who was the boy’s coach at Asheville High School for the last five years and had a 64-54 record. She led the Asheville High girl’s team to three straight NCHSAA 3-A state championships from 2003-2005. The Braves return 6-foot-1 guard Tye Mintz who averaged 13.3 points and 6 rebounds.
All-Conference selection Justus Day of Cherokee
Also returning is 2018 All-Conference selection Justus Day who averaged 20 points per game.
2. Hayesville High School lost a lot of their roster to graduation, including, Appalachian State signee Zach Cottrell who was the Smoky Mountain Conference Player of the Year all four years of his career. The only returning starter is Josh Cotrell, (younger brother of Zach Cottrell and head coach Michael Cottrell).
3. Rosman High School finished third last year in the Smoky Mountain Conference but lose a high scoring guard. They will rely a lot on Harper Reece, a 6-foot-2 point guard who is a speedster in the open floor and has had the starting job at since his sophomore year. This past season Reece averaged 13.8 points, 5.8 assists and nearly 7 rebounds per game. He helped Rosman to a 17-10 overall record including a 8-4 Smoky Mountain Conference record. He is a long point guard that can attack the basket and can find the open man. He has the length to guard multiple positions on the floor and is best in the open floor. He can consistently make shots out to the 3-point line. “The most important parts of my game are my abilities to create for my teammates, score from outside or attacking the rim, rebounding from the guard position, and off ball defense
4. Swain High School– returns almost all of the core from last year’s team that finished 15-12 overall and 5-7 in the Smoky Mountain Conference. The Maroon Devils lose one senior, Angel Bowers, who averaged nearly 5 points and 3 rebounds. The top returning statistical leader is Grant Shuler, a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 15 points and almost 7 rebounds per game. Phinehas Little, a 6-foot-1 guard averaged right at 15 points and 4 rebounds for the Maroon Devils. Floor general Evan Bradley averaged almost 5 assists this past season along with 12 points.
5. Highlands High School- With the loss of nearly all of their scoring from last season, it will be a rebuilding year for Highlands. The return of freshman guard Jake Billingsley, who averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds will be a help. Other returning players who could help are 5-foot-9 sophomore Jose Jimenez who averaged 5.6 points and 4.5 rebounds.