NC 2021s Poised To Break Out (Part Two)

Last week I started a pre-season series of articles about some of the guys within the HoopState that have a major chance to breakout that can be read here. Here is part two of the series and the final featuring 2021s that should have huge sophomore seasons. Lets take a look at the young stars!

6’0 2021 Khalil Marshall: Pender High School

Marshall is a supremely talented young guard that grabbed a lot of attention as a freshman last year at Pender High School where he dazzled with his ability to run a team and score the basketball. He carried that momentum into the summer with WCBA where he played up an age group on the 16U team and not only belonged, he dominated the majority of his games over the summer, showing flashes of brilliance against a lot of kids that were often a year or two older than him. He has a new backcourt mate at Pender with Jajuan Carr and that should open a lot of things up of Marshall in a major way this season. Carr demands a lot of attention from the defense so Marshall shouldn’t have to face nearly as many double teams this season. Look for Khalil to build on his success as a sophomore, establishing himself as one of the top guards in the state regardless of class.

6’2 2021 Tharius Suggs: Middle Creek High School

Suggs is a two sport star at Middle Creek and is part of a young core along with Sam Perez, Quincy Pugh, and many others that should carry Middle Creek the next couple of seasons. Suggs might be the most talented and productive of the group due to his level of compete on every single possession. From watching this team in Summer ball it’s clear that Suggs has the keys and will be the feature guard for this young group. He’s an incredible athlete in every sense of the word, displaying strength and quickness that most kids his age would only dream of having, and he’s worked on his jumper in a major way which should translate to the court this season where he should see much improved efficiency now that he already has a season of varsity basketball under his belt. Look for this Middle Creek team to be dangerous by the holiday season when all of their football guys (including Suggs and Perez) get in basketball shape, ready to make noise.

6’6 2021 Redford Dunton: Heritage High School

Dunton played a major role on the 4A NCHSAA Runner-Up at Heritage last year on a team led by VCU Commit Jarren McCallister and ECU Freshman Jayden Gardner, showing flashes of brilliance on a team he was anywhere from the 3rd to 5th option at times. This year it looks like Dunton is the heart and soul of this team, and is looking to have a breakout season in which he asserts himself as a high major caliber player. Dunton possesses a modern day skillset that should have him ready to breakout this season. He’s an elite vertical athlete with deep range on his jumper and a savvy in between game where he seemingly always creates enough space for himself to get a shot he’s comfortable with. Now that Dunton’s “the man” at Heritage, expect him to garner some serious attention from college coaches throughout the season.

6’2 2021 Collin Mills: Asheville Christian

Collin Mills looks to be following similar footsteps as older brother Caleb with his natural scoring ability and just general ability to create his own shot off the bounce. With Caleb transferring to public school with the intention of enrolling at UH a semester early, Collin is know going to be asked to play a huge role for a very talented, yet slept on Asheville Christian team. The kid is simply a mid-range assassin, with an ability to get just about whatever shot he wants on the court at any given time. He’s vastly improved as a playmaker for others over the course of the last six months and he should have a breakout season for this Asheville Christian group, garnering some serious interest from coaches at the next level.

6’2 2021 Terrence Harcum: Granville Central

Harcum showed flashes of brilliance as a freshman last year at Granville Central and if he were in Raleigh, Charlotte, or the Triad he would likely be more highly regarded as a prospect simply due to the exposure of playing in one of those cities. Luckily Granville Central is starting to garner major attention due to both Harcum and his high flying teammate Kobe Jones. Harcum starred for Garner Road’s 15U team, showcasing his natural scoring ability, physical gifts, and leadership abilities. Look for Harcum and Granville Central to contend for a 1A title this year as one of the most exciting duos in that classification you can find. I fully expect Harcum to start getting some serious attention from college coaches as we go through the high school season, building momentum for what should be a huge summer with G-Road.

6’5 2021 Treyvon Byrd: Riverside High School

Treyvon Byrd had his fair share of highlight reel moments this summer, but there were times that he looked out of place and didn’t quite understand how to best utilize his very clear physical gifts. He showed flashes of possibly being one of the top 5 players in the 2021 class and as he gets older, figuring out how to best utilize his gifts I completely expect Byrd to become a star at Riverside this year. He’s clearly a freak athlete, but what a lot of people forget is that Byrd played point guard this summer with the NC Ice, and showcased excellent ball skills and an ability to hit jumpers with deep range. As that shot gets more consistent, and the motor gets revved up, expect Byrd to stake his claim among the best in the HoopState.