At East Lincoln, Jackson Fanning ready to lead Mustangs after heavy senior losses
Last season, Jackson Fannon put up some solid numbers for a senior-laden East Lincoln boys’ basketball team that posted its fifth 20-win season in the past six years.
But with those seniors graduating, Fannon now finds himself taking on a new role with the Mustangs — as one of the team’s leaders.
“I feel ready for it,” said Fannon, a 6-foot-6 junior forward. “Last year, I had some of the leadership qualities I had to go through, but as a sophomore nobody really says, ‘Hey, this is the guy who’s the leader.’ But this year, in every single scenario, I feel like I’m ready to be the leader.”
After coming off the bench as a freshman, Fannon became a starter at East Lincoln his second year. He responded by becoming the Mustangs’ leading scorer (15.1 points per game) and finishing as one of the team’s two Western Foothills 3A all-conference selections.
That East Lincoln squad was also heavily laden with upperclassmen, including five seniors — four of those playing major roles.
Keandre Walker (now playing football at Virginia) was the team’s No. 2 scorer (11.8 points) and rebounder (6.4 per game); Palmer Crichton, the Mustangs’ other all-conference pick, was the No. 3 scorer (10.3 per game); Tyler Mizzell (now playing football at Wake Forest) was the backup point guard; and 6-8 center Mason Simmons was the leading rebounder (7.3) and rim protector (1.1 blocks per game).
“All of those guys played a lot,” Mustangs head coach Jon Hancock said. “But Jackson’s now got to be one of the leaders.”
Fannon is one of two returning starters for East Lincoln, which finished 20-7 and tied for second in the league standings (10-4) with North Lincoln. The other is senior point guard Houston Hartsell, who averaged 7.3 points and 5.8 assists last season.
Fannon and Hartsell, along with junior guard Davis Hill (7.3 points and 2.3 assists per game last season), will now take over the leadership role that had been held by Crichton, Simmons and Walker.
“The first couple years, I was always second guessing decisions,” Fannon said. “We’ve got a pretty good system (at East Lincoln) that players have to get used to.
“But my two years of practicing every day and getting used to everything, and knowing what the right thing is to do, I know I can really go out, make sure everything is okay and just lead.”
That’s what Hancock likes hearing from Fannon, one of North Carolina’s best 3-point shooters (75 of 172, 43.6%) last season.
“Jackson’s a lot better player right now than he was at anytime last year,” he said. “He’s already an elite shooter, but his overall game has gotten a lot better.
“Like he said, he understands stuff a lot better. … He’s worked really, really hard — he’s stronger and more physical — and way more skilled than anytime last year. We’re expecting him to have a big year.”
