1. Hoke County High School– Quame Patterson is one of the best coaches in the state and Hoke County finished at 19-8 overall last season including a 7-3 mark in conference and advanced to the second round of the NCHSAA…
1. Hoke County High School– Quame Patterson is one of the best coaches in the state and Hoke County finished at 19-8 overall last season including a 7-3 mark in conference and advanced to the second round of the NCHSAA 4-A state playoffs. The Bucks return 6-foot-6 junior wing Silas Love who averaged 13 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks per game this past season. 6-foot guard D’Coda Cummings returns after averaging 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and 6-foot-3 guard Rovel Ray who averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds last season.
2. Pinecrest High School– Finished 20-7 Advanced to Round of 32 in NCHSAA playoffs last season and graduated 6 players. It will be a new season for Pinecrest High School with a bunch of new faces. Seniors (Donnie Haith, Fred Goins, Cam Flowers, and Phillip Russell) and their leadership will be very important. “I like the pieces we have as it will take some time to develop. The conference will be very good this year so it should be a great challenge for our team,” said head coach Ben Snyder. Donnie Haith : Very good point guard who is a three year varsity player. He averaged 14 ppg 4rpg 3apg as a junior. He will be the lone starter returning this season. He is looking to have a great senior year, Jayson Jones : Can play all 5 positions and has a very high IQ. He is very good defensively, Kenston Gillespie: Good shooter, Tyrell Almond: Athlete that can play multiple positions, Fred Goins: Post Player that can shoot the 3 and a good leader.
3. Richmond High School– Finished 18-9 overall last season and 7-3 in conference. Return senior Jaylan Terry who averaged 18.9 points per game, 6-foot guard Leon Ziegler who put up 16.8 points per game and senior Antonio Diggs who averaged nearly 10 points per game.
T4. Lumberton High School – Finished 5-5 in conference last season and 10-14 overall. Return 6-foot-3 wing Tyreik McCallum who averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists this past season. 6-foot-1 junior guard Stephon Lloyd also returns after averaging 8 points and 2.5 assists.
Scotland County junior Niem Ratliffe
T4. Scotland County High School– A toss up here as it should be neck and neck with Lumberton High School. The Fighting Scots lose the bulk of their scoring from last year. They do return their main scorer, 5-foot-10 guard Niem Ratliffe. Ratliffe averaged 14 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds per game.
5. Purnell-Swett High School– It was a tough year for The Rams last season as they finished 3-18 and 0-10 in conference. They have some good pieces, but not enough. The top returning player is Lucas Oxendine, a 6-foot 2017 guard who averaged around 12 points per game.