Observer-area 4A Basketball Preview
4A Basketball Preview
Five Boys Teams To Watch
Team | Cl. | ’14-’15 | Comment |
N. Mecklenburg | 4A | 23-4 | 9 seniors back along with major college recruits Davion Mintz, Jaylen McManus |
Butler | 4A | 23-4 | Butler won 17 in a row at one point last season; returns four starters |
Berry | 4A | 15-11 | Senior G Jael Scott and sophomore Jamarius Burton lead deep team with all starters back |
West Charlotte | 4A | 24-4 | Young but very athletic and deep, led by 6-5 senior Kobie Williams |
Ardrey Kell | 4A | 28-2 | State finalists graduated all starters; 6-foot-7 junior Wes Morgan, a college target, leads this team |
Five Girls Teams To Watch
Team | Cl. | ’14-’15 | Comment |
Myers Park | 4A | 29-1 | Mustangs graduated one dynamic duo; are Chanin Scott and McKenna Haire another? |
Ardrey Kell | 4A | 25-3 | Knights have lots of size and good guard play, led by 5-foot-7 senior Chase Muhammad |
Rocky River | 4A | 22-5 | 6-foot-5 junior Cianie Jallah joins deep team |
Hopewell | 4A | 23-4 | Ineesha Hankerson leads balanced team that starts as MECKA conference favorites |
Mallard Creek | 4A | 18-8 | Five starters back plus returning college recruit Chantel Williams from injury |
Five Boys Players To Watch
Name | School | Cl. | Ht. | Pos. | Comment |
Davion Mintz | N. Mecklenburg | Sr | 6-foot-3 | PG | Creighton commit will lead deep, experienced unit |
Riley Jones | Lake Norman | Sr. | 6-foot-11 | C | Could be poised for big year, hopes to lead team to repeat league title |
Raequan Scott | Butler | Sr. | 5-foot-8 | G | One of the area’s premier scorers; averaged 21 ppg last season |
Rayshawn Neal | Garinger | Jr. | 5-foot-11 | G | Great scorer (20 ppg) on a team that was 4-19 last season |
Justyn Hamilton | Independence | Jr. | 6-foot-10 | C | Fast rising national recruit looks to have breakout season |
Five Girls Players To Watch
Name | School | Cl. | Ht. | Pos. | Comment |
Jasmine Sanders | Garinger | Jr | 6-feet | G | Big guard averaged 20 ppg last season |
Chantel Williams | Mallard Creek | Sr. | 5-foot-10 | G/F | Missed last season with ACL; averaged 15 ppg, 7.1 rpg as a soph |
Chanin Scott | Myers Park | Sr. | 5-foot-11 | F | Athletic wing signed with Kentucky Friday, will lead young team |
Dynasty Heyward | N. Mecklenburg | Jr. | 5-foot-6 | G | One of 5 starters back, Heyward (15.6 ppg) made all-conf last season |
Ariana Nance | Rocky River | Jr. | 5-foot-8 | G | All-conference guard (16 ppg) helped school to record 22 wins |
Notes
▪ West Meck first-year girls coach Jarvis Davis has three senior starters back from a 12-12 team: Tayzha Allen, Melia Paige and Latasia Warner. Add some strong young talent and you have a darkhorse in the SoMeck 8. ... Former Rocky River boys coach Jason Buzzard is new coach for Hough’s girls, who were 17-7 last season and return star guard Alex Denny plus three other starters.
▪ Another SoMeck 8 girls team, Charlotte Catholic, returns all five starters, led by senior Carrie Eberle (12.5 pg, 9 rpg), and will challenge Ardrey Kell for the title. ... East Meck’s girls won four games last season, but coach Dwight Miller returns five starers, including 5-foot-11 star Miya Bull, as the Eagles hope to return to form.
▪ Vance was 3-20 last season, but girls coach Tim Fields hopes to make a big jump led by national recruit Ahlana Smith, a sophomore, and several other college recruits. ... AL Brown’s boys will try to dent a tough MECKA conference led by guards Jaylon Neal (15 ppg) and Damon Johnson (11.2), the football quarterback.
▪ A lot of young talent in the 4A class, including Hough 6-foot-5 sophomore Q’on Murphy and Charlotte Catholic 6-foot-7 freshman B.J. Mack, both of whom have major Division I offers. Murphy made all-conference in the MECKA as a freshman.
This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Observer-area 4A Basketball Preview."