Mailbag: Could HS ball be played at Bojangles Coliseum? Best teams of past 10 years?
On Tuesday, I wrote that the N.C. High School Athletic Association should move its regional semifinals and regional finals — or state quarterfinals and semifinals — back to neutral venues. Perhaps, as one example, Bojangles Coliseum — an 8,600-seat venue — could offer participants a big-time atmosphere while allowing more fans to attend.
Several readers asked if such a move is even possible. The location of postseason basketball games and more are addressed in this week’s mailbag.
Q: Do you really think they would be able to hold high school basketball games at Bojangles Coliseum or Spectrum Center?
Absolutely. Not that many years ago, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools regularly held all three of its conference basketball tournaments there. The old Bojangles Shootout Christmas tournament was also held there. Also high school events have been at UNC Charlotte and Spectrum Center.
NC High School Athletic Association commissioner Que Tucker told me the association would be amendable to discussions about hosting regional tournaments at Bojangles’ or any large venue in town, and given that many of the high school regional semifinals were sold out before lunch Tuesday, we need bigger venues. For CMS, hosting all three conference tournament championships at a Bojangles makes a lot of sense, too.
I reached out Karen Brand, who is director of communications for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the folks who are in charge of the arena, and she pointed out that CMS already uses that coliseum for its graduations.
“We already have a really good relationship established,” Brand said. “Based on availability — noting that the coliseum’s primary tenant, the Charlotte Checkers are in season at this time — we would be open to exploring the opportunity with CMS.”
So there you have it. There are lots of options.
Q. What has changed the most since you started covering high school athletics?
A lot has changed, but I think the bigger things are these:
A. When I started, coaches — at least the football and basketball coaches — stayed around much longer than today. You graduated college, you could go back and see your coach. It’s hard to keep up now as there’s so much change.
B. There’s so many schools, too. There were 10 public high schools in Charlotte and maybe 16 total when I started back in ‘88. Now there’s double the public schools and 51 overall in Mecklenburg County alone (In our coverage area, there’s 162). You would think that would dilute the talent, but the county population has grown so much that we have not seen that at the level you might expect.
C. Players are specializing way more. The three-sport athlete is a dying breed. Players are also moving from school-to-school, sometimes leaving the state. I remember when basketball stars like Junior Burrough and Jeff McInnis left West Charlotte for Oak Hill in Virginia. It was unheard of and front-page news. Now, there are dozens of “Oak Hills” and top players leaving doesn’t even raise an eyebrow anymore.
Q. Why did you chose this path and this profession?
Told this story many times. In college, at UNC, we had to write a paper in an English class and have a classmate grade it. The young lady who graded mine told me I was good writer. I had no idea. She said, “You should try out for the student newspaper.”
I did and the Daily Tar Heel’s editor who hired me was Scott Fowler, my colleague now at the Observer. I fell in love with writing about sports, and here I am six presidents later. And a few of them were two-term.
Q. Which coach has been the most insightful and had the ability to blend athletics and life together?
Hard to top Charlotte Latin’s Jerry Faulkner. The man won more than 900 games and was more meticulously detailed than any coach, at any level, I’ve been around. He patterned his program after former UNC coach Dean Smith and kept up with his players like Dean Smith did. He used basketball to teach life lessons as many coaches do, but Faulkner — who recently had the Charlotte Latin court named after him — just did it better than just about anybody I’ve been around.
Q. Who are the best high school football and basketball teams in Charlotte for the past decade?
That’s a very tough question. Let’s start with hoops. 2013 Olympic was 30-0 and unbeaten. No Mecklenburg County public school had gone unbeaten since 1986 West Charlotte. 2016 Providence Day and 2014 Northside Christian won private school state titles and played in what was then called the DICK’S National Championships.
Football? Tough to top that 2013 Mallard Creek team. Went 16-0. Beat Wake Forest 59-21 in the final after leading by 52 points. The 2015 Creek team wasn’t bad. It finished 14-2 and beat Greensboro Page 49-6 in the ‘ship. The other one that comes to mind is 2018 Charlotte Christian. Finished 11-0 and won The Observer’s Sweet 16 championship, something only one private school — Charlotte Latin in 2007 — had done.
Christian, that year, outscored opponents by an average 44-6 and its defense posted six shutouts. It started the season shutting out a Charlotte Catholic team that was coming off a state championship in the public school playoffs and had a 16-game win streak. Catholic was shut out for the first time in 17 years.
What are some of the top performances in the Observer’s coverage area this year?
A few come to mind. At December’s prestigious Chick-fil-A Tournament in Columbia, South Carolina, Charlotte Christian’s John Lash — just a sophomore — had 50 points and 14 rebounds against Augusta (GA) Christian. It was the second-highest scoring performance in the event’s history. Who’s first? Zion Williamson (53).
Others? North Meck’s Isaiah Evans had 45 points and the game-winning shot in a monster game at Chambers; North Iredell’s Beckham Tharpe had 50 in a game this season; and Olympic’s Devin Long had a school-record 48 points earlier this year, a top-10 performance all-time among area girls.
Who is the top defender in Charlotte?
Assuming we’re talking basketball, right? Chambers High’s Marcus Brown, a 6-foot-4 senior, has caught my eye all season. He’s gone against some of the top players in the state and won his share of battles. And, the reason why Carmel Christian was nationally ranked most of the season was the Cougars’ defense, particularly from 6-foot-6 wings Bryce Cash and Jaeden Mustaf. Bonus, Myers Park’s Bishop Boswell can get after you, too.
What’s the best AAU program and best AAU coach?
“Program” is hard because there’s so many different levels for different levels of players. If you’re a top talent, all of the “shoe” programs like Team Charlotte and Team Curry/Pro Skills (Under Armour) and Team United and CP3 (Nike) are good. For the next tier down, there’s also tons of good programs in the Charlotte area like Anthony Morrow Elite, Carolina Riptide, Rod Howard Select, Charlotte Dragons, Charlotte ACES and CC Elite. You’re going to get me in trouble with this one!
Coach is easier. I think Jeff McInnis is a college head coach-level talent who can take a team of average players and beat teams of stars. He’s got a special gift for teaching defense and toughness. He’s also a heckuva trainer.
Best dunker this year?
Have you seen Butler High’s Zion McDuffie? Google him. Man.
Top lacrosse players and teams?
Cannon School has one of the nation’s best boys teams. Goalie Brayson Wilson was an All-American last year. Girls? Charlotte Catholic could win the state title behind Delaware commit Molly Baumgratz, who had an amazing 61 goals last season.
Best overall sports team you’ve seen covering high school sports in NC (I want to omit the Chris Leak Independence teams, but the game is the game)?
The Chris Leak Independence football teams, particularly the 2001 squad.
Best basketball player you’ve seen come out of this state?
That I’ve seen play personally? Well, I’ve covered John Wall, Steph Curry and Chris Paul. ... Bam Adebayo, Antawn Jamison, Tracy McGrady and, well, I could go on. There’s been a lot. There’s a reason we call North Carolina, “The Hoop State.”
Best basketball player you saw from this state that never played in the NBA?
West Charlotte High’s Jason Parker, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound man-child, had 38 points and 13 rebounds in the 1999 state championship game, when he was ranked the No. 3 amateur in the world. He was All-SEC as a Kentucky freshman and then blew his knee out while playing with teammates in the locker room and missed his sophomore season. He never found his level again.
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This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 5:50 PM.
