One of the better scorers around the Raleigh area, 2016 rising senior point guard Peyton Pappas is starting to get the recognition he has been waiting for.
Pappas’ is a 5’11 point guard from Cedar Ridge who has been picking up attention of colleges by the numbers he put up the last few years and what he has been able to do this offseason.
Last season, he led the Big Eight conference in scoring, averaging 26.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.8 steals per game, but this young man has been determined to show that his name should be up there with some of the other top scorers in North Carolina.
This offseason, Pappas has been putting in the work, while competing on the AAU circuit with Mid-State Magic, in hopes to impress college coaches and earn his first offer.
“It’s been going great,” Pappas told Phenom Hoops Report. “I do not play a spring sport, so I go in early before school and get ball handling and shots up. Then, after school, I workout with my school coach or my brother. AAU has been going well also.”
Pappas has been impressive, earning him interest from schools like Citadel, Emory and Henry, and Guilford College. Furthermore, he has been invited to Citadel’s Elite Camp, showing that the Bulldogs really have strong interest in the talented scorer. “Citadel said they really like my game and the two other schools have talked to my AAU coach only. They (Citadel) invited me to their elite camp.”
When not competing on the AAU circuit or looking to compete at the Elite Camps, Pappas has been focusing on certain parts of his game before he enters his final year at Cedar Ridge. “I have been trying to get stronger and faster,” Pappas said. “Ball handling and defense. I feel that it only makes me want to work harder so I can keep that target on my back. I just know that the hard I work, the easier my games will be.”
Last year, Pappas became the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge, surpassing the 1,000 point mark for his school. But after going 13-13 last season, he is determined to make his mark on his senior year in a crowded 3A Big Eight conference. “I am hoping for our team to grow from our first game to our last game and get a lot better, making the playoffs and making a run. For myself though, it is to do whatever my team needs me to do to win games.”
The Fighting Red Wolves will be losing a few key seniors but will also have several rising seniors returning possibly for next season, in hopes to make a final run.
Either way, the target will be on Pappas this offseason and in his final year at Cedar Ridge. But the hard work he has put in has prepared him not only for his senior year in hopes to make a final run. But also in possibly landing his first offer to compete at the next level after high school.