NCHSAA Favorites: 2A Preview

<p>The NCHSAA season is finally underway as a new week in January approaches. Here’s a look at some early favorites to win it all in 2A play.</p> <h5>1. Farmville Central Jaguars (2-0)</h5> <p>The Farmville Central Jaguars are out to a 2-0 start following a 95-83 victory over South Granville in a rematch of last year’s region final. [player_tooltip player_id="574409" first="Terquavion" last="Smith"] put up 33 points and three assists and [player_tooltip player_id="838031" first="Leontae" last="Moye"] finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. It was a breakout game for [player_tooltip player_id="854911" first="Jayden" last="Pitt"] who put up 15 points, three rebounds and three steals in the victory. [player_tooltip player_id="854917" first="Jah" last="Short"] also had eight points, six rebounds and two assists. They’re the team to beat in 2A play.</p> <h5>2. Reidsville Rams (2-0)</h5> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="838018" first="Breon" last="Pass"] (<em><strong>NC State commit</strong></em>) is off to quite the start already averaging 39.0 ppg, 14.5 rpg, 8.5 apg, 4.0 spg and 3.5 on the season. He’s one of the top prospects in the state for a reason and has shown it through the first two games. He’s got 44 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and three steals against Shining Light and 34 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, five steals and two blocks against Graham. Look for him to continue the stellar production with a state title on his mind.</p> <h5>3. South Granville Vikings (0-1)</h5> <p>The South Granville Vikings are down but not out after the opening game of the 2020-21 season. [player_tooltip player_id="838016" first="Bobby" last="Pettiford"] was his usual self with 28 points, five assists and five rebounds. [player_tooltip player_id="848089" first="Collin" last="Tanner"] stepped up in a big way with 26 points, nine rebounds and four assists as well. Newcome [player_tooltip player_id="1032839" first="Kaleb" last="Hedgepeth"] will be the difference maker. He had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists against Farmville Central.</p> <h5>4. Shelby Golden Lions (2-0)</h5> <p><strong>Tyler Arrington, Jack Hollifield</strong> (<em><strong>Virginia Tech football commit</strong></em>) and <strong>Elijah Borders</strong> lead a group that was set to face Farmville Central in the 2A NCHSAA State Title game before things were cut short in 2020. They went 26-3 overall and 12-0 in conference action in 2019-20 with Hollifield putting up 7.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg as a junior. Look for them to make some waves in 2020-21.</p> <h5>5. North Davidson Black Knights (2-0)</h5> <p>The North Davidson Black Knights have one of the top backcourts in the 2021 class in Tedrick Jenkins and [player_tooltip player_id="574478" first="Jamarien" last="Dalton"]. Dalton put up 25 points in their win over South Stokes on Jan. 7. They went 25-5 last season and 16-2 in the Central Carolina Conference before going all the way to the fourth round of the NCHSAA State Playoffs in 2019-20. <strong>Travarius Moore</strong> is also one to keep an eye on.</p> <h5>6. Mount Pleasant Tigers (2-0)</h5> <p>Junior trio [player_tooltip player_id="1113681" first="Brady" last="Duke"], [player_tooltip player_id="1113682" first="Jadon" last="Carnes"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1113683" first="Jack" last="Pruitt"] have been a terror for opponents through the first two games of the season. Duke is posting 23.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg. Carnes is putting up 18.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.0 bpg. Pruitt is putting up 9.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 3.5 apg. They’re a solid group that plays as a team after going 10-15 this past season, don’t sleep in 2020-21.</p> <h5>7. Atkins Camels (2-0)</h5> <p>The Atkins Camels went 21-7 in 2019-20 and 12-2 in the Western Piedmont Conference before falling to North Davidson in the second round of the NCHSAA State Playoffs. They return seniors <strong>Charlie Walker, Jalante Edwards </strong>and <strong>Michael Conrad III </strong>looking to go further in 2020-21. </p> <h5>8. Hertford County Bears (1-0)</h5> <p>The Hertford County Bears opened their season with a 73-65 victory over JH Rose behind a strong overall team performance. Daylen Askew and Isreal Powell chipped in with 20 points apiece while Ashton Lassiter posted 16 points and [player_tooltip player_id="577880" first="Keondre" last="Rodgers"] had 15 points in the win. Askew also had 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Rodgers had five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Powell and Lassiter had seven rebounds apiece. The Bears are a well-rounded group that should surprise some teams this season.</p>