The 2024 N.C. High School Athletic Association basketball season begins today for the majority of the membership. Schools that play football were allowed to conduct tryouts starting this afternoon.

This season will mark the end of a public school high school basketball era in North Carolina.

For over 60 years, the NCHSAA has conducted four basketball state championships.

Next year, the NCHSAA will double its classifications from four to eight, essentially doubling the number of state championships in every sport.

Public school basketball in North Carolina is famously competitive, perhaps partly because the state championships weren’t overly watered down. Some surrounding states have played more than four basketball state championships for a while.

But for this year, our competitive four-classification system will remain in place. And we’re expecting some fierce competition on the hardwood this winter.

Let’s recap last year:

• 4A boys champion: North Mecklenburg
  • 4A boys runner-up: New Hanover
• 3A boys champion: Central Cabarrus
  • 3A boys runner-up: Seventy-First
• 2A boys champion: Reidsville
  • 2A boys runner-up: Farmville Central
• 1A boys champion: Wilson Prep
  • 1A boys runner-up: Corvian Community
• 4A girls champion: Rolesville
  • 4A girls runner-up: Charlotte Catholic
• 3A girls champion: West Rowan
  • 3A girls runner-up: Terry Sanford
• 2A girls champion: North Pitt
  • 2A girls runner-up: East Burke
• 1A girls champion: Cherokee
  • 1A girls runner-up: East Columbus

Now, here are some of the biggest storylines that we’ll be watching for this winter.

Powerhouse Programs With New Coaches

Jim Baker departed Central Cabarrus boys basketball, the back-to-back 3A state champion, for the head coach job at Cannon School. The Cougars, of the NCISAA 4A classification, won a couple of state championships under previous coach Che Roth. Baker might be gone, but Central Cabarrus still owns a 65-game winning streak. The Vikings brought back Gerald Smith, a Central Cabarrus guy and brother of Viking legend/NBA player Ish Smith, to take over the program.

Myers Park had to replace head boys basketball coach Scott Taylor after Taylor left for a new private school called Ambassador Christian. The Mustangs won the 2023 4A state championship and made it to the fourth round last year. Myers Park hired a young but successful coach Andrew Glover to take over the program. Glover won South Carolina state championships as an assistant at Gray Collegiate and turned a brand new high school named Lucy Beckham into a consistent winner.

Charlotte Catholic girls basketball, a 4A power that just finished as the state runner-up, had to make a hire after longtime coach Bobby Conrad retired. Kristal Mainsah was chosen to lead the program. Mainsah is a former three-year varsity player at Catholic and has been serving as an assistant under Conrad. Catholic could be in for a rebuilding year after graduating star seniors Blanca Thomas and Gracynn Gough.

Robert Duck left as the head girls basketball coach at South Central, a dominant 3A program. Duck led South Central to seven 20-win seasons since taking over in 2011. Duck took the head boys basketball coach at J.H. Rose High in Greenville, a county rival of South Central’s. In turn, South Central hired Elton Coffield II from J.H. Rose. Coffield, a member of the Mount Olive University Hall of Fame, was an assistant basketball coach and assistant athletic director at J.H. Rose for six years.

Southern Guilford boys basketball, which has been a threat lately in the 3A West, hired Adrian Lee to replace former head coach Will Perry. Southern Guilford won 29 games last year and 24 games the year before.

Who are the Boys Basketball Favorites in Each Classification?

New Hanover boys basketball, which fell in the 2024 4A state championship to North Mecklenburg, brings back all of its star players from last year’s 32-1 team and has added reinforcements. Lake Norman is a team to monitor in the 4A West. The Wildcats fell to North Mecklenburg in the west regional final in a hotly contested game. Defending 4A champ North Mecklenburg is sure to be a factor, but the Vikings could take a small step back after 5-star Isaiah Evans graduated and moved on to Duke. They do return key players in Ashton Pierce and Chadlyn Traylor. Chambers, from North Mecklenburg’s Queen City Conference, is going to be a tough out. Two of their top three players from last year’s 22-win team were 4-star sophomores.

Green Level, Clayton, Holly Springs, Jordan, and Garner and the main teams from the Triangle area that are expected to compete with New Hanover in the 4A East.

On the 3A side of things, Hickory, Crest, North Lincoln, Ben L. Smith, Dudley, and Central Cabarrus are expected to be big players out of the West. In the East, Seventy-First is hoping to make another run after falling in last year’s state championship game, but they could face resistance from Swansboro, Southern Durham, and Northern Nash.

Basketball fans across North Carolina are hoping and bracing for another clash between Reidsville and Farmville Central in the 2A state championship. In what has become a unique rivalry, Farmville defeated Reidsville in the title two years ago and Reidsville got payback with an overtime win last year. The Jaguars have more to replace than Reidsville, but they have been able to consistently reload. It’s one of the best rivalries in North Carolina right now, in any sport. Other contenders in 2A could include Northwood, West Bladen, and Martin County out east along with Lincolnton in the west.

There could be another state championship rematch at the 1A boys’ level. Wilson Prep outdueled Corvian Community in a thriller last March. Both charter schools have most of their key players back from those state finalist teams. Queen’s Grant, Bishop McGuinness, and South Stokes have a chance to ruin Corvian’s bid to return to the state final out west. In the east, challenger Bertie lost most of its rotation but does return its best overall player Zymiere Dempsey from last year’s 26-win team. Southern Wake Academy could take the next step after finishing 23-10.

Who are the Girls Basketball Favorites in Each Classification?

Rolesville should be considered a strong 4A favorite after winning the state championship last year. In many ways, that Rolesville team was a year early. Four of their top five scorers are set to return and new faces could make a big impact. As far as other 4A East teams that could challenge Rolesville, Hoggard, Willow Spring, Apex Friendship, Wakefield, and Richmond Senior come to mind.

Watauga, Mallard Creek, Lake Norman, and North Mecklenburg are teams out of the 4A West that bring back their best players from strong teams last year. Lake Norman, in particular, will have some of the best team shooting of any girls basketball team in North Carolina. Watauga’s 4-star Virginia Tech commit Kate Sears (23.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg), has an argument for best overall player in 4A.

East Lincoln’s girls basketball team finished 29-2 last year with three sophomores and a junior leading the Mustangs in scoring. Stuart Cramer could be a force. The Storm has its four best players back, including Oshauna Holland, who averaged 27.3 points and 9.4 rebounds as a sophomore. A.C. Reynolds’ girls team is another favorite in the 3A West. The Harvey girls – Peyton and Tait – are back after leading the Rockets in scoring during their 27-2 campaign last season. Defending state champ West Rowan will have something to say, but the graduation of seniors like Lauren Arnold and Emma Clarke is something to overcome. Hibriten made noise last year with 19 wins while having just six seniors. In the East, South Central is expected to be a force despite replacing head coach Robert Duck, but Terry Sanford should be favored to make it back to the state title as the Bulldogs return all four of their top scorers.

In 2A, East Burke and Seaforth could be set up to make big runs again. East Burke finished as the state runner-up and Seaforth finished as the 2A East regional runner-up, both to North Pitt. The Panthers lost their two biggest stars, so things are up for grabs in the east beyond Seaforth. The Hawks of Seaforth bring back 4-star Virginia commit Gabby White, a top 100 prospect in the country. East Burke returns superstar point guard Braelyn Stilwell, who averaged 23 points, seven assists, and seven steals last year. East Rutherford, 27-3 last year, graduated its top two scorers but is bringing the rest of the team back. The six next-best scorers for East Rutherford were sophomores. 2A West runner-up Lincoln Charter will take another crack at it with three of its top four players back. Fairmont, Northwood, St. Pauls, and second-year Southeast Alamance could have a role to play in the 2A East fight.

For 1A girls, defending state champ Cherokee should be considered a heavy favorite as the Braves return all five of their best players. Bishop McGuinness is a consistent contender in the 1A West and still has 4-star NC State commit Adelaide Jernigan. Albemarle brings back a huge percentage of its production from last year’s 25-win team, including 26 ppg scorer Amari Baldwin. East Columbus, the defending 1A runner-up, could be a factor again as their two best players Maliah Graham and Malayah Hines return. But East Bladen, a regular foe of East Columbus, returns all five of its top scorers from last year’s 25-win team. Perquimans brings back its 10 top scorers from last year’s 24-win team that was ousted in the fourth round. The team that knocked off Perquimans, Pamlico County, was led by three freshmen. Gates County is another team to watch as the Red Barons bring back all six of their top scorers from a team that won 22 games last year.

Who are the Top Public School Recruits to Catch?

Senior Jackson Keith, who is ranked as high as the No. 87 prospect in the country, is a 6-foot-5 star for Southern Durham. Keith is committed to Butler University.

Lake Norman’s 6-foot-10 senior Trent Steinour is a top 200 prospect who is committed to Clemson. Steinour briefly left Lake Norman this offseason for a different program but make a heroic return after

6-foot-8 3-star prospect Isaac Ericksen of Green Level High is an Illinois State commit.

Will James Jr., a 3-star shooting guard at Holly Springs, is a Toledo commit.

Chambers High School has two 4-star juniors who are consensus top-100 prospects: Tarris Bouie, a small forward, and Markus Kerr, a shooting guard. Conference foe North Mecklenburg has a 3-star prospect in combo guard Ashton Pierce.

Reidsville’s superstar power forward/tight end Kendre Harrison is a consensus top 50 basketball prospect in the class of 2026.

Rivers Knight, a 6-foot-8 forward from Jordan High, is considered a top 200 prospect in the class of 2026.

North Carolina’s class of 2027 is shaping up to be incredible. Northern Nash’s 6-foot-9 power forward C.J. Rosser has been ranked as the No.1 prospect in the country by Rivals and No. 2 prospect in the country by ESPN. Jordan Page, a shooting guard at Broughton, is ranked No. 8 nationally by ESPN and No. 13 by Rivals. Lincolnton guard LJ Smith is ranked as the No. 25 prospect in 2027 by ESPN and the No. 68 national prospect by On3.

On the girls side of things, the NCHSAA is home to three of ESPN’s top 100 class of 2025 recruits in the country: Bishop McGuinness’ Adelaide Jernigan, Watauga’s Kate Sears, and Seaforth’s Gabby White.

Source: highschoolot.com