Kerrion Moore of Hunter Huss runs the offense against Antonio Blalock of Ashbrook
By Marcus Shockley
Scouting notes from the North Carolina High School basketball 3-A regional matchups, March 6, 2013:
Hunter Huss HS
Kerrion Moore (PG, 5’9″, 2014) Although Moore is a football player, he’s a dynamic basketball player as well. Quick, calm and always under control, Moore is lightning-in-a-bottle. He can find open teammates with precision passes, score after contact and shoot from deep. He has a low crossover dribble that he uses going left or right, has great body control and always plays eyes-up. Moore looks so calm and collected that it looks like the game is going at half-speed for him. He has several offers to play football, but could no doubt play collegiate basketball as well. The knock on him as a basketball player would be his height, but in this game he was lights-out. Finished with 20 pts, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Jaelan Kennedy (SG/SF, 6’4″, 2013) A solid wing player, Kennedy has great elevation on his shot and a high release; spots mismatches and immediately attacks on offense, elevating over smaller defenders. Has an ability to stop and pop, squaring up for a good shot. Solid free throw shooter, loves to run in transition, handle is good enough to play the 2 or 3 offensively. Effective half court player but really likes to get out and run in transition. Scored 18 points and dished out 8 assists. Tracking as a very solid Division II prospect with interest from multiple schools.
Jerimiah Hunter (SF, 6’4″, 2013) Active and has a solid build. A small forward but because of his physical frame he can bang in the paint some and absorb contact. Good rebounding SF, he finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Hunter is also a good shot blocker and uses the correct hand to block depending on which side of the paint he’s on. Currently tracking as a NAIA level player.
Chadrickus Mackins (PF, 6’4″, 2014) Mackins is an undersized post player but works his tail off on both ends of the floor. Sets screens effectively and bangs in the paint. Mackins is a junior playing with a lot of seniors, but he gets a lot of minutes and does a lot of little things that will make him a player to continue to watch.
Ashbrook HS
Antonio Blalock (G, 5’11”, 2013) Has good speed and ability to shoot from the mid range on the move. Has a good high release and can play either on or off of the ball. Undersized but a decent scorer. Finished with 18 points. Tracking as an NAIA/2 or Division III prospect.
Trey Dillinger (PG, 5’9″, 2014) Undersized, but has an elite handle. A pass-first pure point guard who can weave through multiple defenders with shifty ballhandling. Does work to find teammates and run the offense. Issue is size, overall athleticism. His handle and passing are very solid.
Grant Stafford (SF, 6’2″, 2013) Stafford has a good release, poise and the ability to stop and pop on the move. Undersized at the forward spot, he did most of his work inside, racking up 10 points and a couple of blocks.
Statesville HS
Marquis Willis (PG, 5’9″, 2013) Quick guard who can go either right or left with ease. Undersized but a really solid passer, both in transition and in the halfcourt. Very good in transition. Finished with 15 points and 4 assists. I haven’t seen Willis enough to make a collegiate projection, but definitely a player to track as he takes on Kerrion Moore and Huss in the Western Regional Championships on May 9.
Jaqwuan Warren (G, 6’1″, 2013) Athletic and quick, which is a theme for this year’s Statesville team. Warren moves really well without the ball and likes to jump the passing lanes by anticipating. Grabbed 3 steals and led all scorers with 17. Needs to improve handle under pressure, particularly left hand. Does have an explosive ability, had a monster dunk in transition over a trailing player.
Breon Borders (G, 6’1″, 2013) Another quick, active senior guard for Statesville. High energy – all of Statesville’s guards are – and moves to make himself an option. Grabbed 7 boards against a big Harding team as a guard, scored 8 points.
Josh Gaither (SG/SF, 6’2″, 2013) I’ve seen Gaither play before and he’s extremely consistent; rarely makes mistakes and does a lot of things that make the team better. Grabbed 12 rebounds and scored 9 points, playing more minutes than any other player in this game. Could be more aggressive offensively; passed up mismatches a couple of times.
Austin St. John (SG, 6′, 2013) Came in off of the bench and was a spark for the team, showed very solid shooting touch and was very productive in limited minutes. Scored 9 points, dished out an assist, a rebound and a steal in 11 minutes of action, which is production that any coach has to like. Note – I am not 100% sure the minutes are right on that due to a comment from the statkeeper, but St. John’s productivity in limited action was still evident.
Justin Daniels (PF, 6’2″, 2013) Daniels is a small post player but outworked the much bigger Borrough in this game, scoring 8 points and grabbing 6 rebounds against a much bigger opponent. Fronted the post extremely well and boxed out the bigger Harding players repeatedly.
Harding HS
Aaron Linton (PG, 5’4″, 2013) Linton is a sure handed, pure point guard who was the best option for Harding in this game, leading all scorers with 15 and handing out 5 assists and grabbing 4 steals. His size is an issue, but he can score from deep and understands how to penetrate and score against taller players. Very fast.
Emmanual Patton (SF, 6’5″, 2013) Patton is a player who has continued to improve as a perimeter player over the past year; he’s a solid slashing SF now, which he also showed over the summer in AAU. He has good quickness from the wing and a soft touch around the basket. Did not shoot from outside in this game. Has good length. Patton is tracking as a Division II prospect but I’ve seen games where he looked like a Division I possibility.
Steven Burrough (C, 6’9″, 2013) I like Burrough’s game and I’ve seen him have monster games in the past. Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of his better games. He did snag 7 rebounds but allowed himself to be fronted far too often and was boxed out of the rebounding action. Burrough is a Division I prospect based on games I’ve seen in the past, and he has the size and build. He would be a solid get for a Division II program but I still expect a LM will land him.
Statesville High School head coach Sonny Schofield and his players address the media following their win over Harding High School
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