On Monday, the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association announced their annual all-district teams. Across the twelve districts (and 180 total players), only six freshmen were chosen. It’s a tremendous honor for these young men to be appropriately recognized as some of the top players throughout the state—despite their age. Among the selections, you’ll notice that the three freshmen who earned first-team honors each belong to the same district. Not only is this incredibly rare, but it speaks to how much talent is flowing through the area. Let’s take a brief look at the six…
District 1
6’6 Jayden Sawyer (Columbia)
Standing out as the lone representative for the eastern part of the state, Jayden Sawyer is probably more under-the-radar than his listed peers. At 6-foot-6, he’s already an excellent rim-protector and overall double-double machine. This season, he posted nightly averages of 13.6 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG, and 6.4 BPG. He’s a long, athletic big man who should only continue to progress. Between Sawyer and Columbia’s other rising freshmen, it seems like the Wildcats could position themselves to compete for titles over the foreseeable future.
District 6
6’6 Cole Cloer (Orange)
After seemingly dominating for the last six months, it comes as no surprise to see Cole Cloer representing the top players in North Carolina. Although the next pair of entries would disagree, it’s simply rare to see a freshman seamlessly transition into a leader as soon as they enter high school. However, Cloer did exactly that. He averaged 19.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.6 SPG, and 1.5 BPG with 47/38/77 shooting splits, eight double-doubles, and a triple-double while leading Orange to its best record since 2016-17. It’s difficult to say anything other than positives about his overall identity. His talent has been obvious for a while, so it’s impressive to see Cloer continuing to exceed expectations.
6’7 Kendre Harrison (Reidsville)
It’s unclear what more needs to be said about Kendre Harrison. He’s simply incredible (regardless of age/class) and is basically unstoppable for a vast majority of opponents within North Carolina. Harrison possesses the blend of size, feel, strength, and athleticism to visibly destroy basically everyone in his path. This season, he averaged 21.9 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and 4.4 BPG while shooting 69% from the floor. Harrison truly makes the game look effortless, as evidenced both by the eye test and his raw numbers. Already potentially the best rebounder in the state, he reached a double-double in every contest this season.
5’9 Dionte Neal (Reidsville)
The other half of Reidsville’s buzzsaw, Dione Neal, is easily one of the most exciting and electric players in the state. His gaudy per-game averages of 22.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 11.5 APG, and 5.6 SPG with insane 59/47/79 shooting splits easily make him one of the most productive players across all classes. Neal is so smart, polished, and dynamic, which really allows him to get wherever he wants on the court, make the right play, and apply pressure in various ways. He’s able to get legitimately any shot he pleases and, by the numbers, should continue to have the permanent green light with the Rams. Between Neal and his teammate above, it’s easy to see why Reidsville is headed to compete for a state championship.
District 8
5’10 Max Van Weerdhuizen (Oak Grove)
There’s a lot to be said about the way Max Van Weerdhuizen entered Oak Grove as a freshman, produced at a notable level, and led them to their best season in school history. Although still somewhat new as a program, it’s easy to see the effect the floor general had upon taking over as a focal point. This season, he averaged 16.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.0 SPG with 45/37/69 shooting splits. For a player that doesn’t necessarily possess elite size or athleticism, it speaks to the nature of Weerdhuizen’s advanced identity at a young age. He’s smart, smooth, and able to offer great offensive balance as a point guard, which puts this program in great hands over the foreseeable future.
District 10
6’4 Bradley Floyd (Kings Mountain)
It seems like there is a constant revolving door of guys emerging as highly productive players from Kings Mountain, and Bradley Floyd appears to be next in line. He’s a long, wiry wing with great size and overall balance between skill and athleticism. This season, Floyd posted per-game averages of 15.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.8 SPG while being the clear leader on a young, developing roster. He’s already able to do a lot of useful things with the ball in his hands, but can also play without the ball and impact the game defensively. It’ll be interesting to see how Floyd evolves, especially given everything he showed over the last six months.