Jamie Shaw
Cape Fear Academy at Durham Academy
Rating: 9.3/10
This one was pretty electric, despite the pace of play on the floor. Certainly things were boosted when Coach K walked in with Zion Williamson, Jack White and Joey Baker (Coach K’s grandson Michael Savarino plays for Durham Academy). The student section had a Christmas theme and they stretched from the floor to the top row of the bleachers. Another thing I really liked here was a pit band, complete with drums, guitars, a horn section, etc…The students and band carried this one and it was a pretty great atmosphere as they really got into it and kept things loud. Oh yeah, and anytime you get Zion in the building, things immediately become electric.

 

Jeff Bendel
High Point Christian at Greensboro Day
Rating 10/10

The Greensboro Day v. High Point Christian game brought a lot of excitement and anticipation, which was to be expected, but due to the public school cancellation in Guilford County,'everyone decided to attend this game. It was a sold out crowd at standing room only with phenomenal energy from both squads. Greensboro Day won the game and definitely brought the majority of fans, including the student section.

 

Keion Robinson
Central Virginia Homeschool at Trinity Episcopal (Girls)
Rating: 2/10

Only a few parents and students showed up at the game. Very quiet atmosphere but I nonetheless found the Trinity Episcopal girls team highly exciting to watch play on the court.

Potomac High School at James Monroe High School
Rating: 8/10

A pack-filled home crowd that had great energy, especially in the second half. No student section or anything however

Highland School Holiday Showcase
Rating:7.5/10

With four games occurring all afternoon, the gym became more packed as each game went on. Some spurts of excitement happened but no creativity from the student section. Mainly complaints toward the referees took up most of the day.

 

Miles Masercola
Jay M Robinson at Mount Pleasant
Rating: 8.6/10

The crowd was live for a rivalry matchup that ended in disappointment against a feisty Jay M Robinson team, but the energy in the building was electric throughout with a student section that was significantly larger than my previous visit.' Luckily I feel like this group will have a lot to cheer about in years to come.' Not too much of a change-up in antics from my previous visit but the energy was magnified in a significant way.

Freedom Christian Vs. Word of God
Rating: 4.1/10

Word of God is known as Southeast Raleigh’s epicenter of hoops and they still possess a lot of talent but the energy in the building is just not quite the same.' A lot of empty seats and quiet stretch’s are the main reason behind the score, I feel like the Holy Rams could’ve used some extra spark with some energy from the crowd in their loss to Freedom Christian.' I’ll hold out judgement completely until after I see what the Holy Rams bring to the table from a fan perspective in The John Wall Holiday Invitational.

Wakefield at Millbrook
Rating: 9.4/10

Frankly Millbrook might have the best home crowd advantage of any team I’ve seen this year.' A ton of energy in the building to go with a loud, boisterous student section leading chants and getting loud, possibly swinging the result of this close game with a really good Wakefield team.' Millbrook is always one of the best teams in the 919 and the fan support is always right there with it.' The only reason the score is lower is because the student section rushed the court even though they were favored and they didn’t win on a buzzer-beater.

Louisburg Vs. South Granville:
Rating: 5.2/10

The South Granville crowd has no reason to not be packed out every single night with a guy like Bobby Pettiford on your team.' There were a lot of people in attendance, but there was no energy in the building from the students.' They had a full student section that was SITTING DOWN… how can you pack the gym but not bring any energy to the table'' It was honestly one of the more surprising things I’ve seen all year.' I hope you guys cherish the time with Bobby Pettiford and Wy’Kise Allen by bringing them some energy to make that duo even more intimidating in their home gym.

Holly Springs at Apex Friendship
Rating: 7.5/10

The Patriot faithful brought a ton of energy for arguably their biggest home game of the year against Holly Springs.' They were chanting, screaming, and just acting a fool throughout the contest but the only reason their score is a 7.5 is that the support outside of the students is fairly weak.' A lot of empty seats for a huge Friday Night matchup against one of the best teams in the state.' Holly Springs also brought an awesome student section and eventually Holly Springs got the comeback victory.' The student section was excellent, the rest of the bunch not so much.

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