The All-Observer boys’ basketball All-Decade Team
Who are the high school Players of the Decade from the Charlotte Observer’s coverage area?
It’s a tough thing to do, to pull out the best of the previous 10 All-Observer teams (2010-19). But we put together a panel to try to pick All-Decade girls’ and boys’ basketball teams and one for football.
We began with girls’ basketball. Now, we look at boys’ basketball. To qualify, players had to have made the All-Observer team and played the majority of their career in the area, particularly their senior seasons. Multiple appearances on All-Observer teams increased a player’s chances to make the All-Decade list, and making the team was much more about a player did in high school than what he or she did after. All selected players made first-team All-Observer at least once.
▪ The boys’ basketball Player of the Decade is Providence Day’s Grant Williams. Williams won Charlotte Observer Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016, when he led Providence Day to a N.C. Independent Schools state championship, a top-20 national ranking an appearance at the DICKS’ (now GEICO) national championship in New York.
Williams, who averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds as a senior in high school, later became a two-time SEC Player of the Year at Tennessee. Last June, he was a first-round NBA draft pick by the Boston Celtics.
▪ The Coach of the Decade is Byron Dinkins of Northside Christian and Carmel Christian.
Dinkins was 165-20 in six seasons at Northside Christian before leaving for Carmel Christian before the 2016-17 season. At Northside, Dinkins’ teams made six consecutive state finals appearances and won three championships.
In two seasons at Carmel, Dinkins’ teams were 45-10 with two more championship appearances. Carmel Christian won the school’s first state championship in 2018, which turned out to be Dinkins’ final game. He left a few months later for a job with the Charlotte 49ers, where he was once a star player.
Lavar Batts, Concord Robinson, 6-3, G, Class of 2017: MVP of the N.C. 3A state title game as a junior. Was No. 1 recruit in the state as a senior and ended his career with 2,174 points. Two-time All-Observer pick and 2017 Mr. N.C. Basketball played at N.C. State before transferring to UNC-Asheville, where he’s a junior and third-leading scorer (13.1 ppg) on the team.
DeMon Brooks, Hopewell, 6-8, F, Class of 2010: “Bootz” was I-MECK 4A Player of the Year as a senior when he averaged 17.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and had 15 double-doubles. He led Hopewell to a 52-4 record and two conference championships in his last two years. Brooks later became Southern Conference Player of the Year at Davidson and now plays professionally overseas.
Gabe DeVoe, Shelby, 6-4, G, Class of 2014: All-Observer Player of the Year in 2014 when he averaged 34 points, 10 rebounds. DeVoe was named N.C. Associated Press Player of the Year. Two-time first team All-Observer pick played four years at Clemson, where he was a three-time ACC All-Academic team member and made the All-Conference team.
Devon Dotson, Providence Day, 6-1, PG, Class of 2018: Three-time All-Observer pick and twice first team, Dotson was an Esmark and McDonald’s All-American. He averaged 28.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.2 steals as a senior. Three-time All-State pick, now a starter at Kansas, is Providence Day’s all-time leading scorer (2,607 points).
Jarell Eddie, Cannon School, 6-7, F, Class of 2010: Eddie was a top-100 national recruit who averaged 24 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals as a senior. He was a three-time All-State pick in high school, where he set a Cabarrus County scoring record (2,602 points). In four years at Virginia Tech, Eddie made two All-Academic ACC teams and became the 44th player in school history to score 1,000 points. Eddie later played in the NBA and professionally overseas.
Matthew Fisher-Davis, Charlotte Christian/Butler, 6-5, G, Class of 2014: Top-100 national recruit signed to Vanderbilt after averaging 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists as a senior at Butler. As a junior, he averaged 17.4 points at Christian and became a national recruit that summer playing for the Charlotte Nets. Said national recruiting analyst Evan Daniels: “He went from an unranked guy to national top-100 guy. I mean, he wasn’t even a big name in his state. It’s amazing how high his stock rose.”
Anthony Gill, Charlotte Christian, 6-8, C, Class of 2011: Two-time All-Observer pick averaged 19.3 points, 8.8 rebounds his senior season. Was a four-time All-Conference and two-time All-State pick. Later became an All-ACC talent at Virginia.
Donovan Gregory, Carmel Christian, 6-4, F, Class of 2019: two-time state champion was three-time All-State pick. Gregory averaged 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals, as a senior, he shot 61 percent from the field. Now a freshman at Appalachian State.
Jairus Hamilton, Cannon, 6-8, F, Class of 2018: 2017 Observer Player of the Year was All-Observer three times and first-team twice. Now a sophomore at Boston College, Hamilton averaged 28.3 points, 13.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals his senior season. No. 2 scorer in school history.
Luke Maye, Hough, 6-8, PF, Class of 2015: Three times named first team All-Observer, Maye averaged 21 points, 15.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as a senior. He had 1,923 career points and 1,369 career rebounds. He was a four-time All-District pick. In college, Maye hit one of the most famous shots in UNC history, a 3 to beat Kentucky en route to the 2017 NCAA championship. Maye is currently playing in the G League for Wisconsin.
Kennedy Meeks, West Charlotte, 6-9, C, Class of 2011: MVP of the state championship game as a sophomore, Meeks made three All-Observer teams, including Player of the Year in 2013. He was a three-time All-State pick and became a McDonald’s All-American. Meeks averaged 19 points, 16 rebounds as a senior and went onto win a national championship at North Carolina. He now plays professionally overseas.
Ian Miller, United Faith, 6-2, PG, Class of 2010: Three-time All-Observer pick was twice named Player of the Year, including his senior season when led the Falcons to a repeat state title. Averaged 22 points, six rebounds, six assists as a senior. Top-40 national recruit and Parade All-American played at Florida State and now is a European pro.
Davion MIntz, North Mecklenburg, 6-4, G, Class of 2016: MECKA 4A and District 9 Player of the Year as a senior, Mintz averaged 20.7 points, 6.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds. Four-year starter at North Meck who scored more than 1,000 points, Mintz, first team All-State by the N.C. Coaches Association as a senior, played four years at Creighton.
Wendell Moore, Cox Mill, 6-6, F, Class of 2019: Four-time All-Observer pick made first team three times and was Player of the Year twice. Named Mr. Basketball, Gatorade N.C. Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American as a senior, Moore is a freshman at Duke. As a high school senior, Moore averaged 25.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals. He finished with nearly 3,000 career points.
Braxton Ogbueze, United Faith, 6-1, G, Class of 2012: Two-time, first-team All-Observer pick was a top-50 national recruit and No. 5 point guard nationally. He averaged 22 points, three assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals as a senior. Started his college career at Florida before transferring to Charlotte, where he scored 1,089 points to become a top 25 scorer in school history.
Steven Santa Ana, Ardrey Kell, 6-3, G, Class of 2015: 44-point state-final performance in his last game is the best in school history. He left Ardrey Kell owning 11 of 27 school records and was SoMeck conference and co-All-Observer Player of the Year as a senior. Led his team to a 75-15 his last three years. Santa Ana played four years at Elon is now playing professionally overseas.
Sage Surratt, East Lincoln/Lincolnton, 6-3, G, Class of 2017: MaxPreps Junior All-American was a two-time, first-team All-Observer pick. As a senior was one of the nation’s leading scorers, averaging 35 points, 12 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Currently a wide receiver on Wake Forest’s football team, Surratt’s 2,951 career points is second-most ever by a public school N.C. player.
Hunter Tyson, Piedmont, 6-8, F Class of 2018: Ended his career as Union County all-time leading scorer (2,131 points). Averaged 27 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a senior. Now a sophomore at Clemson.
Nas Tyson, Forest Hills, 6-1, G, Class of 2019: Broke Tyson’s Union County scoring record. N.C. Basketball Coaches Association All-State pick as a senior, Tyson led his team to a N.C. 2A state title as a junior and a finals appearance as a senior. Lenoir-Rhyne freshman finished high school career with 2,169 points, 451 assists and 306 steals.
Trey Wertz, Providence Day, 6-5, G, Class of 2018: As sophomore, led Providence Day to first state title in 17 years. Three-time All-Observer pick, twice on first team, Wertz was a two-time All-State selection and an Esmark All-American his senior year, when he ended his career as his school’s No. 3 all-time leading scorer (1,903 points). Now a sophomore starter at Santa Clara.
Terry Whisnant, Cherryville, 6-3, G, Class of 2011: Averaged 32 points, eight rebounds, 5.2 assists and three steals as a senior, when he was first team All-Observer. He had 61 dunks that season with a school-record 124 3-point shots. He scored 40 or more points in three straight games. Scored 2,561 career points.
Grant Williams, Providence Day, 6-8, F, Class of 2016
Patrick Williams, West Charlotte, 6-8, F, Class of 2019: Jordan Brand All-American averaged 22.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.8 blocks and two steals his senior season, when he led the Lions to the N.C. 4A state final. Now a freshman at Florida State, Williams scored 1,786 career points in high school.
Keyshawn Woods, Northside Christian, 6-4, G, Class of 2014: Named N.C. Gatorade Player of the Year in 2014, Woods averaged 17.1 points, 4.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds. As a senior, he helped lead Northside to a state championship and appearance at DICKS’ (now GEICO) national championship in New York. Later played at Charlotte, Wake Forest and Ohio State.
This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 9:54 PM with the headline "The All-Observer boys’ basketball All-Decade Team."
