PRIVATE SCHOOL RANKINGS

2006 NCISAA 1A Boys State Championship

Greenfield Academy (Wilson, NC) vs.
Statesville Christian School (Statesville, NC)

WINNER:

Greenfield Academy 69-64

Greenfield's Mike Flowers and Aaron Suggs were both deserving of their all-state selections. They both posted 22 points and combined for 13 rebounds and 7 assists against Word of God in the semifinal. Donovan Jones also made a huge impact, especially on the defensive end, and I was very impressed by his athleticism. Greenfield has won consecutive state titles and ended the season on a 22 game winning streak and finished 31-6.

Ironically, most of the prospects I was interested in long-term suited up for Statesville Christian. Obviously, Doneal Mack is the standout performer, and was selected to the all-state team as well. Mack is a big time scorer and I expect him to have a great career in Donovan's system at Florida.

It will be interesting to see how the three Lithuanians develop as well. Hofstra took a chance with 6'8 Mantas Leonaviscius and I am hearing that 6'11 Devidas Busma has some serious interest from mid-major D-I programs. I think 6'5 Rokas Niparviscius could be a great finesse player and I'm sure many colleges will ultimately have a place for him somewhere.

Statesville's 6'9 Matt Parker has a tough road ahead of him at James Madison. JMU freshman Juwann James is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, and first on the team in field goal percentage. He'll be a four year starter and junior Cavell Johnson is leading the team in scoring and rebounding will be back next year. Parker will learn a lot from these guys, but I don't see him being a major contributor in his first two years. However, let's not forget the EXCELLENT education that JMU will provide Parker, which is the greatest factor.

Statesville will return 6'0 sophomore Adam Raye (c/o 2008) along with 6'2 freshman Colby Lewis (c/o 2009) next year. Raye has all the intangibles to be an excellent prospect at the point and has the best court vision of any guard in the state right now. Lewis is known more as a shooter and he'll have to improve his strength and ball-handling to develop into a complete player. I think both of these young men have bright futures.

Greenfield coach Rob Salter said following the state championship tournament, "We talked about composure. You know these teams are going to make runs; these are the top teams in the state. You can't get down and you can't panic. I thought we didn't panic, and held our composure pretty well, and we battled."

2006 NCISAA 1A Boys All-State Basketball Team

Charles Baker - Word of God
Eladio Espinosa - Norlina Christian School
Mike Flowers - Greenfield School
John Henderson - Trinity Christian School
Doneal Mack - Statesville Christian Academy
Brandis Raley - Gaston Day School
Aaron Suggs - Greenfield School
Kendall Toney - Gaston Day School
Adam Wright - Wayne Country Day School

WORTH MENTIONING:

I am a big fan of Word of God Holy Rams' junior forward Chris Lightner. Lightner is a 6'5 high-flying slasher who can really score it. He scored 21 against Greenfield in the semifinal game while all-state performer Charles Baker struggled. Lightner was chosen as an All-American performer in 2005 at the NACA Division IA National Championships. If he can develop more awareness off the ball, this young man is going to be special.

2006 NCISAA 2A Boys State Championship

Cannon School (Concord, NC) vs.
Victory Christian Center School (Charlotte, NC)

WINNER:

Cannon School 62-60

Though Victory Christian was the favorite and had three players selected to the All-State team (Dijuan Harris, Jerry Hollis, Antonio Smith) it was Cannon School that walked away with the victory and the 2006 state championship for the NCISAA 2A division. Dominick Reid was the lone all-state selection for Cannon School, but was more than enough all season long. Reid was undersized, but showed more heart than anyone yesterday. Overall a back and forth game with VC making it interesting in the second half, but Cannon was able to hold off the VC run to preserve the win.

I think Hollis is a good looking prospect with size and Harris and Smith have the ability to play at a higher level as well. Reid needs to develop more of a point guard mentality at the next level to be successful. But then again, many coaches today prefer a scoring point.

Possibly the best prospect when speaking about potential was the youngest player on the court. There is something special about being an 8th grader on a state championship team, much less being a starter and a contributor. Something that even O.J. Mayo did not accomplish. But 6'6 Jarell Eddie really has the look of a player. He is only 14, and is a legit wing player with perimeter skills. Active on the boards and off the ball, I expect his offensive shooting touch and strength to come along nicely as well. This kid is definitely going to make some noise at the national level. Whatever team he is on, I know they will be very competitive. I won't add any more pressure to the kid by making further predictions, but I wish him the best of luck.

2006 NCISAA 2A Boys All-State Basketball Team

Darryl Evans - Spartanburg Day School
Dijuan Harris - Victory Christian
Jerry Hollis - Victory Christian
Brian House - First Assembly Christian School
Dominick Reid - Cannon School
Michael Reklis - Calvary Baptist HS
L.A. Sartor - Spartanburg Day
Antonio Smith - Victory Christian
Brian Wiese - Cape Fear Academy

2006 NCISAA 3A Boys State Championship

Greensboro Day School (Greensboro, NC) vs.
Charlotte Christian (Charlotte, NC)

WINNER:

Greensboro Day 61-53

I continue to be impressed by Greensboro Day School this year. I feel comfortable in saying they are the best team in the state regardless of being public or private, aside from Patterson and Laurinburg. The second best team may be Charlotte Christian, who Greensboro Day beat twice. The Bengals also revenged one of their losses in the semifinals to Durham Academy behind great scoring performances from Brandon Davis (16pts) and Josh Lanham (14pts). And then you have to mention Greensboro Day's all-state performers Alan Fox and Johnny Thomas.

Charlotte Christian also had two all-state players of their own in Stephen Curry and Omar Cook. Curry is going to have a great career at Davidson and reminds me of one of the Southern Conference's best players right now in UNCG's Ricky Hickman, who attended East Forsyth High School.

In addition, both teams have freshman prospects in Jay Lewis (GDS) and Willis Hall (CCS) who have a chance to be high-major recruits. Greensboro Day will return four starters next year (Fox is the only senior) and Lewis looks poised to step in at the point. In addition, the JV team at GDS finished 24-0, so look for them to be strong for the next few years.

2006 NCISAA 3A Boys All-State Basketball Team

Omar Carter - Charlotte Christian School
Malik Cooke - Christ School
Stephen Curry - Charlotte Christian School
Charles Dewhurst - Charlotte Latin School
Jake Engebretsen - Durham Academy
Alan Fox - Greensboro Day School
Jeremy Goode - Providence Day School
Johnny Thomas - Greensboro Day School