West Charlotte welcomes shot at nationally ranked Oak Hill Thursday at JC Smith
West Charlotte High boys basketball coach Jacoby Davis said his Lions are looking forward to facing nationally ranked Oak Hill (VA) in the Own The Game Invitational at J.C. Smith Thursday night.
The Invitational, put on the Jordan Brand, is a one night only event. Doors open Thursday at 5:45 p.m.
“I think this is one of the toughest schedules we have played in a long time,” Davis said, “and playing a nationally ranked team like this, at this point of the season, should get us ready for the playoffs. But also just the atmosphere and the exposure that our kids are getting, man, that’s even better.”
At 6:30 p.m., Concord Cox Mill (22-1), ranked No. 1 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, will play The Patrick School (10-9) out of New Jersey. Cox Mill is ranked No. 9 in USA Today’s latest national rankings and features Duke signee and McDonald’s All-American Wendell Moore. Moore is averaging 26 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game.
At 8:30, West Charlotte (17-5) will play Oak Hill (26-3). West Charlotte is No. 3 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 and has won six straight games. Oak Hill, always loaded with a bevy of high school stars, features point guard Cole Anthony, the top player at his position nationally, as well as 6-10 center Kofi Cockburn and 6-3 shooting guard Cam Thomas.
247 Sports ranks Thomas the No. 23 player in the class of 2020. He has offers from more than a dozen schools, including Wake Forest and N.C. State.
Cockburn, an Illinois recruit, is the No. 41 ranked player in the class of 2019 by 247 Sports. And Anthony is the No. 4 overall player in the class of 2019 by 247 Sports. Anthony’s final six schools are Georgetown, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon and Wake Forest.
Thursday’s game will also be a homecoming for two more Oak Hill players. Forward Christian Brown is a Columbia, S.C. native and a four-star national recruit. 247 ranks him No. 61 nationally. And former Charlotte Catholic and Charlotte Christian star B.J. Mack, a 6-8 forward, has signed with South Florida.
West Charlotte star Patrick Williams, a Florida State recruit, is a top 40 player in the class of 2019 himself, but the Lions don’t have the depth of talent that Oak Hill does.
And that’s fine with Davis, the Lions coach.
“They have the No. 1 point guard in the country (Anthony), and one the best big men in the country (Cockburn),” Davis said, “and they’ve got one of the best shooters in the country (Thomas). So it’s going to be a tough challenge, but I feel we’re up for the challenge. We’re trying to jell at the right time, and I’m thinking we’re going to do that and step up to this challenge Thursday night.”
