Carmel Christian starts at No. 1 in the Sweet 16 poll - with New York City dreams

At least in the basketball world, not too many people had heard of Carmel Christian before Byron Dinkins left Northside Christian to become the Cougars’ head basketball coach in 2016.

Dinkins built a power at Northside Christian, winning three straight N.C. Independent Schools state championships and making the finals six years in a row. And from the moment he arrived at the southeast Charlotte school, the Cougars were relevant.

Last season, Dinkins led Carmel Christian to a state championship. Shortly afterward, he left to take a job on the Charlotte 49ers’ basketball staff, leaving his good friend and longtime assistant coach Joe Badgett with a team that was returning four starters.

Until now, Carmel Christian hasn’t been ranked or eligible for the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, but after the newspaper changed its qualifying standards - schools now must belong to a recognized state association - the Cougars not only find themselves in the poll, they sit atop it.

“I think this can be the best team I’ve ever played on,” said Carmel star forward Donovan Gregory, who signed this week with Appalachian State. “If everything starts clicking, we can compete nationally.”

Gregory was in sixth grade at Northside Christian when the Knights qualified for the 2014 DICKS’ Nationals, the unofficial national high school championship. Every year, eight teams across the country are invited. The tournament is now called the GEICO Nationals and remains in New York City.

Since Northside went to the nationals, Greensboro Day has been twice (2015, 2017) and Providence Day went in 2016.

Gregory wants to make sure Carmel Christian is the next team to go from the Tar Heel state.

“This year, we play a lot more games and tougher competition than years before,” Gregory said. “If we win the games we are supposed to win, we can go to Geico.”

Unlike most teams that make that Elite 8 field, the Cougars don’t have big-name recruits on the roster, but they do have five college signees and nine players receiving Division I recruiting attention, including 6-7 freshman power forward Jeremy Gregory, Donovan’s brother, who is tracking to become a national recruit.

Besides Donovan Gregory, the Cougars’ signees include Charlotte Country Day transfer DeAngelo Epps (College of Charleston), Marten Maide (Liberty), Myles Pierre (Houston Baptist) and Jake Boggs (UNC Wilmington).

Three other players hold Division I offers: Jonathan Murphy (Hampton), Myles Hunter (Hampton) and point guard Ford Cooper (Tulane).

“We’re going to be pretty good,” Cooper said. “All five positions can score, so nobody’s going to be able to help off anybody. Our main goal is (Geico). But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’ve got the talent, but I feel we are still overlooked. There are some big teams out there. We’re still underdogs. You’ve got the Greensboro Days and Providence Days that have been historically good. We’re still new.”

But not for much longer.

Preseason Sweet 16 Poll