
Harrells’ Antonio McKoy goes for the layup against Cape Fear Academy earlier this season.
File photo
A sports analysis
While I voice my opinion in my weekly columns, and I do so fairly loudly, I stay away from making my opinion about local sports goings-on known for a myriad of reasons — most notably so it doesn’t seem like I’m favoring one school, sport, or athlete over another. While all of that is true, I still think it’s fun to breakdown statistics and film, and from that, comes this once-in-a-while article, giving you my honest opinions.
The biggest caveat here is that I do not want this to be interpreted as me showing favoritism towards anyone. In any bit of competition, there are going to be winners and losers, and thus the natural pecking order of things plays out. Someone has to be the best and someone has to be the worst — this isn’t a personal vendetta of mine or anyone else. This is just an untalented fan of the game of basketball reviewing the tape unbiased and ranking every program in the county.
This first installment will be about the boys, while tomorrow’s will cover the girls.
1. Harrells
The toughest call to make in either boys’ or girls’ basketball was who was number one for the boys. There are two programs in the county above everyone else, so the number one and number two spot should be seen more as 1A and 1B.
Antonio and Dashaun McKoy and their Crusader teammates are an absolute wrecking ball on the court, causing chaos everywhere they go. Combined, the two McKoys average 39.9 points per contest, with Antonio shooting 59 percent from the field, while Dashaun is knocking down 57 percent of his shots. Teammate Zicareian McNeil is hitting 54 percent of his field goals for 14 points per game. Amir Moore, their lengthy and powerful forward — listed at 6-8, 240 — helps with rebounds and blocks, although the McKoys both lead the team in boards and blocks.
Clayton Hall’s Crusaders have scored 1,437 points and have allowed 1,123 points in their 20 contests so far, giving them an average of over 71 points a game on their way to an 18-2 record. MaxPreps has the squad listed as the No. 19 program in the state and No. 2 in the Raleigh area.
2. Lakewood
Head coach Brandon Powell has the Leopards cruising to their 7-1 record, which I think should be an unbeaten 8-0. Due to the success of their football team — of which 10 of their 12 basketball players are members of — Lakewood got off to a late start for basketball. With just two practices before their first game, they lost their opening contest to Midway, 62-56 on Dec. 12.
Since then, though, they haven’t lost. They got revenge on Midway on Jan. 3, winning 54-47 at home. Just three days later they also toppled Clinton in a blowout, 69-35. They are running through bigger schools at record pace, and schools of the same size are little competition as well.
People often say you can’t teach size, and that is surely the case with Lakewood. Home to the county’s other 6-8 young front court star, Xavier Hall is putting in work on the glass both offensively and defensively. He finds himself in foul trouble more often that Lakewood would like, though, but those are growing pains that the freshman is working through.
On Lakewood’s side, though, is more size advantage, as senior Cameron Williams is billed at 6’2”, but in my opinion plays more like 6’4”. A physical specimen deep in the paint, Williams can — and will — bully opponents near the rim. Leopard opponents be warned, though, this big man can shoot. Don’t leave him unguarded in any spot on the floor.
3. Midway
The 9-2 Raiders out of Spivey’s Corner demand a lot of respect, as they have an impressive record exactly halfway through their season. I won’t say their early win over Lakewood was a fluke, but they also did have more time to prepare for it than the Leopards, and since they’re a bigger school, they have a deeper talent pool.
Nonetheless, they have a formidable squad for the blue and white. While they don’t have stats listed on MaxPreps, I have seen them in action. They shouldn’t be taken lightly by any of their opponents. They started the season with an immaculate 8-0 record, running through county opponents Lakewood and Union once and Hobbton twice. They also beat up on Princeton in back-to-back games, and even took out Spring Creek in a close game in early December, plus James Kenan a couple days later. They’ve gone 1-2 since then, falling to the Leopards in the first game of the new year before beating Clinton and finally falling to Fairmont last week.
Anthony Graham is the big man for the Raiders who gave Lakewood’s front court issues. He can tussle with the best of them, even with his relatively smaller stature. With help from teammates Ke’Mari McNeil, Travis Gist, and Tanner Williams, Midway shouldn’t be overlooked, nor should they be counted out from anything.
4. Mintz
While the Lions have a smaller sample size to showcase their abilities, they are another team that shouldn’t be overlooked. They boast a 4-1 overall record, while being 3-1 in their conference along the way.
With just three seniors on the roster, which also includes an eighth grader, Mintz is a small but mighty squad with little depth that can hang with the best of them. They don’t play any Sampson County teams this year, so we will never truly be able to tell where exactly they fall in the rankings of area teams.
The Lions’ only loss this season came at the hands of Christ the Cornerstone, a conference opponent who leads the Carolinas Christian at 4-0 in conference play so far. The Defenders are 7-1 overall, while both they and the Lions are 4-0 against common opponents.
Mintz is another school that doesn’t have their basketball stats uploaded, and I have yet to see them play in person, but I think they are a solid squad that would do serious damage to many teams in the county.
5. Hobbton
Sitting at 4-6, the Wildcats are one win shy of their win total from a season ago. At this point in their 2023-24 campaign, they were 1-9, with their first win coming on Dec. 1 and their second on Jan. 19 of last year. To say they have turned things around would be an understatement.
They have solid wins along the way, beating up Clinton once on the road in their second game of the season and Princeton twice. They’ve also handed Jones Senior a 63-33 loss in early December, but have also been on the receiving end of lashings from Midway and Southeastern Home School, as well as East Duplin, Pender, and Harnett Central.
Sophomore Amir Tate and freshman Richard Simpson are leading the team with 12.9 and 12.7 points per game, respectively. Tate has just two more points total on the season, so they are neck-and-neck for the top spot with the Wildcats. Simpson is listed at 6-5, 185 pounds, so the future is bright in Newton Grove for basketball.
The Wildcats are moving into conference play now, and with that will come opportunities for them to play spoiler and give teams a better look than they might expect out of the boys in Newton Grove. I don’t doubt that they will knock a couple Carolina 1A teams down a peg or two with their pressuring defense and an offense that can churn out quick points as needed. Don’t circle Hobbton as an automatic win.
6. Clinton
Being the biggest school in the county, Clinton is used to having a deeper talent pool than many other teams locally, so having one of the best area teams in nearly every sport is something they’ve had for many years.
Basketball hasn’t necessarily been the best showing for the Dark Horses as of late, and things are off to a rough start under first-year head coach Michael Boykin. But you shouldn’t write them off just yet.
The Horses fell to 0-7 before they found their giddy-up and mounted the comeback win over East Columbus in the second round of Chasity Melvin Holiday Tournament at Lakewood in late December, squeaking out the 56-53 triumph to mark Boykin’s first win at the helm of the program he once played for.
They doubled up with a win at home over Union on Jan. 3 to keep things rolling before running into Lakewood and Midway on back-to-back nights last week before hosting 14-1 West Bladen on Friday night. A three-game gauntlet faced Clinton last week, allowing few mistakes along the way.
I could see the Horses making a turnaround at this point in the season to give other teams trouble. Cohesive basketball just hasn’t been there for Boykin and company, as miscommunications at both ends of the court riddle each game. Fundamentals come first on the hardwood, so once those are squared away, we will see an entirely different story out of the program.
7. Union
The Spartans have grabbed three wins so far this season, which has tripled the combined wins from 2021 through 2023. This is another program that hasn’t enjoyed as much success as of late, but the optimist in me sees yet another bright future.
I don’t think this program gets turned around overnight. That’s very rare and even harder to do. However, I think foundations can be built in the latter stages of the season to allow for more winning seasons down the road, which is ultimately the goal of any program — long-term success.
Manny Adams, John Malahias, and Ayden Wrampe are names that commonly litter the box scores for the Spartans. Coincidentally, all three are six-foot or above, with Wrampe leading the pack at 6-5. They aren’t the only six-footers on the squad, but they seem to be the most impactful.
They are also moving into Carolina 1A play shortly, and we will see how they fare. I don’t think they’ll win the conference by any means, but I also see them making a bit more noise than in years’ past. If your favorite team has a tough go against the Spartans this year — especially a shocking loss — just know that your local sports editor called it here first.
Reach Brandt Young at (910) 247-9036, at byoung@clintonnc.com, or on the Sampson Independent Facebook page.