Starting 5 (5 Standouts from games covered in the time span)
6’8 2024 David Ellis Wilson Prep
When looking for a guy who plays to his strengths and will do anything to help his team win, look no further than David Ellis. In a game between two of the favorites in their conference (North Edgecombe), Ellis had a quiet night offensively (6pts) while dominating on the glass (20rebs) and adding 3 assists and 3 blocks. Quietly one of the top forwards in the 252 area code.
6’7 2024 Leslie Minter Wilson Prep
When looking at last year’s Wilson Prep roster if you had to choose a player that would have a breakout year a lot of people would have chosen Leslie Minter. Standing somewhere between 6’6-7 the lanky wing fills up the box score in a plethora of ways, evident in the rivalry game mentioned above against North Edgecombe. Minter finished with 22 points (2 3pts) 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, including an exclamation mark slam with under a minute to go in the 4th. From a prospect standpoint, he checks the boxes long, athletic, and shooter.
6’ 2025 Tyell Saunders Northeastern
Tyell Saunders appears to be back to regularly scheduled programming after a nice performance against rival John A. Holmes. The sophomore guard finished with 21 points, leading the charge for the Eagles, after missing a game and finishing with 6 points in another. Saunders is a sturdy-built attacking guard who gets to his spots with ease and has even added a nice midrange pullup to his arsenal. Tyell is certainly one to track and has already scored roughly 400 points in his young career.
6’ Shamel Baker 2024 & 6’1 Charles Matheka East Carteret
In most parts of the state, numerous teams fail to score 72 points in a night, the Down East Duo combined for that in one of the wildest offensive performances I’ve seen this year. Charles finished the contest with 41 points to go along with 6 assists, while Shamel rallied off 32 points and 5 assists. When looking for guards that can accomplish the goal of scoring the ball while getting teammates involved at a nice rate look no further than the East Carteret backcourt. Baker currently averages 25.8 and Matheka 23 points per night respectively.
5’11 Le’Shaun Jackson 2023 Washington County
In a blowout win over North East Carolina Prep, you could have chosen any one person from Washington County, to be considered a standout. In a game that was at a 40 point margin by half, I chose the stout guard play of senior Jackson who led the pack with 10 assists and 13 points. Athletically gifted with a strong frame, defensive prowess, and the unique ability to get everyone involved he’s one to keep an eye on.
Other Notes
–Bertie High School has the making of a team that could be a contender in the 1A East. Good guard play, size on the inside, and consistent shooting will keep them in most matchups. Sleeper Alert!!!
-I had a chance to check out the Jaguars of Farmville Central for a second time this past week. The Jaguars jumped all over 4A Wake Forest High School, in a game without senior point guard Jayden Pitt. Jah Short led the way with 20 points, but I was impressed by junior Chris Rhodes in the spot start.
-Last Year’s east regional runner up West Carteret looks a lot different. Senior laden might not be the word I’m looking for when describing a team that 8 of its top 9 scorers are all 4th-year guys with experience in the loss to Seventy First last year. 6-2 through their first 8 while having 4 different leading scorers in those contests. I
-New addition to the NCISAA 2A Greenfield school has looked on par with how they have for most of coach Rob Salter’s coaching tenure, GOOD. The make of this team is a lot different than what we are accustomed to from the green and white from Wilson but they play very well together and have good scrappy guard play.
Congrats to Coach Salt on 600 wins!!