How No. 1 NC high school basketball recruit keeps level head amid ACC interest

High school junior Cole Cloer is honored that the 247sports.com recruiting website has him currently ranked as the No. 1 college basketball prospect in his class in North Carolina.

But Cloer is also quick to point out that rankings won’t win any basketball games.

“It’s special because people recognize all the hard work I’ve put in,” Cloer said. “But rankings only do so much because it’s people’s opinion. Everybody else feels they’re No. 1 in the state. So every time I step on the floor, I feel like I have to prove that.”

The target of virtually every ACC school — most notably Big Four schools Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest — Cloer’s talents were on full display as his Winston-Salem-based CP3 AAU basketball team rolled to 98-80 win over Drifty Elite last Saturday at the Rock Hill Sports & Events Center in one of the most-watched contests of the Phenom Hoops Grassroots Tip-Off Classic.

Drifty Elite had five of the state’s top 10 players in the 2025 class — including N.C. Mr. Basketball (and N.C. State recruit) Zymicah Wilkins and North Carolina recruit Isaiah Denis of Davidson Day.

And Cloer’s more youthful CP3 team had four of the top 10 Class of 2026 players — No. 1 Cloer, No. 3 Kendre Harrison of Reidsville, No. 4 Kohl Rosario of Hudson Moravian Prep, and No. 9 Dionte Neal of Reidsville.

Rosario had 24 points, Cloer 20, Neal 14 and Harrison 13 as CP3 pulled away in the second half and led by as many as 28 points before taking the comfortable 18-point victory.

“Cole has gotten better and better every year,” said CP3 coach Jon Adams, a former Belmont Abbey College guard who has coached for CP3 since the program began in 2006. “When you get that bullseye on your back, you’ve got to be ready every time you step on the court.

“He understands that and he keeps working and working. It’s the same for our team.”

A 6-foot-5, 180-pound small forward, Cloer in February played a key role in Caldwell Academy of Greensboro winning the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 2A state championship. On a team that also featured incoming Charlotte 49ers’ recruit Jaylen Cross, Cloer was the leading scorer at 18.9 points per game and second in rebounding (7.2 average) and assists (3.8).

“That was the goal ever since last June when I decided to go there,” said Cloer, who played his first two seasons at Hillsborough’s Orange County High School before transferring to Caldwell. “We got it done and I think we’re ready to run it back this year.”

As the state’s No. 1 recruit and as a defending state champion, Cloer is the target of many colleges.

“I’m still taking it day by day,” Cloer said. “I definitely will narrow it down this summer. All the ACC schools — Wake, N.C. State, Carolina, Duke and Louisville for sure — and Alabama, Florida, Michigan and some others have in touch.

“I will take a couple of official visits in the spring and the rest in the fall. I haven’t set dates for them yet.”

This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.