NCHSAA State Championships: Potential Breakout Players

As the lights get brighter, the real horses run and that's exactly whats going down in Winston-Salem starting tomorrow going through Saturday. We see guys emerge on this stage every single year, guys that play significant roles for their respective teams but find a way to truly breakout in the last game of the season, often shifting the narrative on the perception they have as a player with scouts and college coaches. Without further delay, let's take a look at a few potential breakout candidates in this weeks NCHSAA State Championship games.    Montgomery is a very talented backcourt prospect at Queens Grant that does a really good job blending his shotmaking and playmaking to provide consistent production for one of NC's most talented rosters. Over the course of the season, Montgomery is averaging 11.9 Points, 1.7 Rebounds, 2.7 Assists, and 1.4 Steals per game with 43/37/84 shooting splits. Montgomery is coming off of winning a 15u UA Rise title with Top Shot last year and has parlayed that success into even more winning with Queen's Grant this season. Montgomery has deep range off the bounce + he's lethal in the catch and shoot. I fully expect the size of Queen's Grant to get a lot of attention from the Warren County defense, leading to plenty of kick out opportunities for Montgomery to raise up and hit shots. The young PG from the 704 is ready to help his team bring home the grand prize.     Walkertown has had an incredible season with Junior Guard [player_tooltip player_id='3551307' first='Ricco' last='Daniels'] being a consistent contributor all season long. This season he's averaging 10.3 Points, 2.8 Rebounds, 4.6 Assists, and 2.3 Steals per game with 35/39/69 shooting splits. Daniels does a great job initiating the offense for his team, ensuring that the ball gets spread around properly to maintain the balance in the offense. Daniels also is an incredibly efficient shooter from the outside and finds a way to hit timely ones down the stretch of games. The Kinston backcourt will be a lot to deal with at both ends of the floor but Daniels appears to be ready for the challenge ahead with his steady two way play, outside shot making, and just general poise in big moments. Walkertown is having a truly historical season and a breakout game from Daniels in the Championship will be something special if he can pull it off. Expect Daniels to carry the success of this season into the spring and summer, regardless of the result later this week.     McGrath is a very smooth PG that has been sensational for Hoggard High School all season long. In what was a kind of choppy game offensively for his team in the final four, McGrath still made all of the necessary plays at both ends of the floor to help guide his team to a 51-33 victory. McGrath is averaging 16.2 Points, 3.1 Rebounds, 3.2 Assists, and 2.6 Steals all on 47/32/73 shooting splits. McGrath simply knows how to play, he makes the right read at a high rate of consistency with the ability to make shots from all over the floor and make any pass on the floor. McGrath can be aggressive when attacking the basket or in terms of looking to find get into his pull up game. He's really comfortable operating in ball screens and does an incredible job as a leader making sure everyone is in line. McGrath is a true bridge of the gap between the coaching staff and rest of the roster, that leadership and guidance will be needed if Hoggard can knock of West Charlotte in the 8A championship.     Greene has been one of North Carolina's most dominant big men all season long and has helped lead Fike to the 5A State Championship game later this week. As a Junior this season, Greene is averaging 15.7 Points, 12.0 Rebounds, 1.1 Assists, and 5.3 Blocks per game while shooting 72% from the floor and 59% from the line. Greene is known throughout the state as one of the best old school bigs in NC but a big performance in the State Championship game, especially with a win can help vault Greene's name into more recruiting discussions with a pivotal 17u summer on the horizon. Greene is showing more and more vertical pop in his game as he refines his body and that should come with more mobility and general confidence in his overall game. I fully expect Greene to do everything he can to impose his will in the interior in Fike's 5A state championship game Vs Hunter Huss.     [player_tooltip player_id='3551348' first='Blake' last='Smith'] had an incredible performance in the final four as he grabbed 17 rebounds in Salisbury's buzzer beater win over Central Davidson while also adding 8 Points and 2 Blocks. Smith has been one of NC's best rebounders all season while being a versatile contributor all over the court for Salisbury on their campaign to the State Championship. Smith is averaging 11.1 Points, 8.7 Rebounds, 0.9 Assists, 1.5 Steals, and 2.6 Blocks per game. Smith is a super explosive wing forward that uses that athleticism to control the glass. He's got nice touch around the rim, the ability to finish above it, and is more than capable of exploiting mismatches off the bounce. Smith has the chance to put up a monster stat line if he can control the glass like he did in this final four game. He's been an incredibly valuable piece to Salisbury this season and should start to get more recruiting attention after this season as we head into the spring/summer.

As the lights get brighter, the real horses run and that's exactly whats going down in Winston-Salem starting tomorrow going through Saturday. We see guys emerge on this stage every single year, guys that play significant roles for their respective teams but find a way to truly breakout in the last game of the season, often shifting the narrative on the perception they have as a player with scouts and college coaches. Without further delay, let's take a look at a few potential breakout candidates in this weeks NCHSAA State Championship games.