NCHSAA 3A State Playoffs: Teams and prospects to watch
The 3A division has a nice amount of talent and is a group that doesn’t necessarily have a clear cut favorite. There are quite a few teams in this group that have records of close to 20 wins and have…
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Continue ReadingThe 3A division has a nice amount of talent and is a group that doesn’t necessarily have a clear cut favorite. There are quite a few teams in this group that have records of close to 20 wins and have played some tough schedules.
#1 Hillside vs. #32 West Brunswick: Normally a matchup with these type of seeds is a game that will be overlooked but this is a game that could be interesting. Hillside has a nice squad with multiple players that contribute on a nightly basis such as Unsigned Senior Guard Traylen Warren, however so does West Brunswick with 2021 Guard Makoa Suriago & 2020 Jadyn Parker being just two of the college prospects on their team.
Terry Sanford comes in at the #16 seed so their road to a deep playoff run will be tough but this will be a great opportunity for the young team to get state playoff experience. They are coming off winning a conference championship and only have one senior on the roster so plenty of talent will be returning. 2020 Wing Yates Johnson is a player that can score and rebound, 2020 Guard Jay Hickman can run the show but also score the ball, 2020 Forward Kyron Kelly is a player that can rebound and finish above the rim and 2022 Wing Davis Molnar is an up and coming player who has a chance to be special.
Southern Lee comes into the state tournament with a solid seed, one player that we will be keeping a close eye on for their team is Senior Khalil Ridges. He brings the energy for his team on both ends of the floor, when he gets it going it makes them a dangerous squad.
Westover HS is always a program that you will see in the state playoffs due to the way they play defense on a consistent basis. Their combo of 2020 talent in Forward Traymond Willis-Shaw & Isaiah Bridges will be key for them as they advance deeper into the playoffs.
Southern Durham HS has been solid this year at 20-6 and feature one of the better unsigned seniors in the state in Guard Jayvis Harvey as he is dropping about 15 PPG. Harvey has taken some visits to various MM programs recently and will be a nice pickup for a program as he has plenty of upside.
#14 Northside-Jacksonville vs. #19 Western Alamance is one of the games that we are keeping an eye as we think it has a chance to be a good one. Northside-Jax features 2020 Forward Quincy Martin who is an up and coming prospect that college coaches should be keeping an eye on.
#3 Seed Eastern Alamance has been rolling this season with a record of 25-1 so far, they open up with a matchup against Cape Fear HS, a team that is well coached but has quite a bit of youth. EAHS Senior Big man Na’Zae Baltimore has been very productive for the squad with 14 points and 9 rebounds per game. Cape Fear HS features 2020 Guard Marquail James who can score the ball at a pretty high rate once he gets it going.