Northwestern, Clover among area schools that make high school basketball preseason list
Editor’s clarification: A previous version did not include a senior who made the 4A girls’ top senior list. The name has since been added.
The South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association (SCBCA) released its preseason top-10 teams, top-5 seniors and “Elite Players” ahead of its media day in Columbia on Thursday — and a few teams and players from Chester County, Lancaster County and York County are mentioned.
Boys’ high school basketball
Northwestern High School senior guard Mason Grigg was selected as a top-5 senior in the 5A classification. The 6-foot-2, three-year varsity player averaged 17.3 points, three assists, four rebounds and two steals a game last year, per a release provided by Northwestern head coach John Bramlett.
“Mason is an extremely gifted athlete who has improved in all phases of his game, and we expect another big year from him,” Bramlett said in a statement. “What I am most proud about him and our other players are their high achievements in the classroom.”
Grigg is expected to lead the Trojans this season, a team slated No. 10 in the SCBCA’s top-10 preseason ranking.
In 4A, Lancaster was named as a top-10 preseason team at No. 9. In 3A, Chester came in at No. 3, and Indian Land’s Destin Clark was named as a top-5 senior.
In 2A, Andrew Jackson was voted the preseason No. 2 team in the state, and Demetric Hardin of Lewisville — who just finished up his prolific high school football career last week — made the top-5 senior list.
In 1A, Great Falls is the No. 1 team, even with the announcement of the departure of previous head coach Jimmy Duncan. The Red Devils’ Kelton Talford made the top-5 senior list.
Girls’ high school basketball
Clover’s Aylesha Wade was the only player from the area to make the SCBCA Elite list.
Wade averaged 16 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.6 assists per game — and, last year, was named Region 3-5A player of the year and made the 5A All-State team for the second season in a row.
Clover also is No. 8 in the preseason 5A top-10 teams, and also in 5A, Nation Ford’s Kelci Adams made the top-5 senior list.
In 4A, after making it to the state championship game last season, South Pointe is ranked No. 2 in the preseason top-10 list. South Pointe senior Jamia Blake made the top seniors list in 4A as well.
And in 2A, Andrew Jackson is No. 9.
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 12:54 PM.
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