10 story lines for 2018-19 Midlands high school basketball season
High school basketball gets going in full this week. Here are 10 story lines to watch for in the Midlands this season:
Encore performances
Last year was a banner year for high school basketball teams in the Midlands with Ridge View, Gray Collegiate, Newberry, Spring Valley winning S.C. High School League titles and the Hammond girls winning a SCISA championship.
There is a good chance the Midlands could have another big title haul this year with Ridge View and Gray Collegiate boys and Spring Valley and Newberry girls starting the season as preseason No. 1 their classifications, according to the S.C. Basketball Coaches Polls.
Ridge View returns all five starters and has added Javon Benson and South Aiken transfer Cincere Scott to the rotation.
Spring Valley returns four of its five starters and added Richland Northeast transfer Taylor Britt, who signed with Air Force. The Vikings have three other college signees: Ashley Williamson (William & Mary), Taylor Lewis (Middle Tennessee), Destiny Coleman (Wingate) in their starting lineup to go along with junior Lauryn Taylor.
Gray Collegiate replacing Juwan Gary
Gray Collegiate will try and repeat without Juwan Gary, one of the top prospects in the state. The Alabama signee is playing his senior season at Liberty Heights in North Carolina.
Gary averaged 20.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals and was named the Class 2A Player of the Year. War Eagle coach Dion Bethea said Jalil Robinson and transfer Jaden Deloach will look to fill the spots left by Gary.
The War Eagles return seniors Tommy Bruner, Khalil Robinson and Dallaz Corbitt, a Central Florida signee for football.
Realignment changes playoff path for Midlands teams
Some Midlands teams’ roads to state championships will be a little different this year because of realignment.
If Spring Valley girls were to repeat as 5A champions, the Vikings would have to go through the Upper State because the top two finishers from Region 4-5A will be in the Upper State for the playoffs.
That also means if Blythewood or Irmo boys finish in the top two, they will be in the Upper State with two-time defending champion Dorman. Blythewood and Irmo played each other last season in the Lower State championship. The third-place team from region will be in the Lower State.
Sumter also is in Region 5-5A with the Bengals and Yellow Jackets. All three teams are ranked in Class 5A boys preseason poll. The Gamecock girls are a preseason No. 10 team.
A.C. Flora, Lower Richland and Dreher might have different roads, coming from Region 4-4A. The top two teams from the region will be in the Upper State. A.C. Flora boys played in the Lower State championship last year and Lower Richland girls the year before.
The new-look region also includes Lakewood, Crestwood and Orangeburg-Wilkinson. Lakewood boys and O-W girls are in the Class 4A preseason poll.
In Class 2A, Gray Collegiate will be in the Lower State after being in the Upper State the last two years.
Keenan moving up to Class 3A
Those wanting to see the third installment of Keenan and Gray Collegiate boys’ rivalry in the 2A Upper State title game or Keenan girls repeating as 2A champs won’t be able to because of realignment.
The Raiders moved to Class 3A and in the same region with Camden, Fairfield Central, Chester and Indian Land. Keenan boys return most of the its starters from last year’s 2A Upper State runner-up including Dillon Jones, Q’Darius Sanders, Latrell Taylor and Raekwon Horton.
Keenan also added Asanti Price, who played last year at Eau Claire and was at Combine Academy in Charlotte, NC in the fall.
The Keenan girls lost three starters to graduation but return talented eighth-grader Milaysia Fulwiley.
Gamecock great back in high school coaching
English coached Sumter to its first state title in 30 years when the Gamecocks won the Class 4A title in 2015. After that he was an assistant at Catawba College.
English looks to turn around a Cavs program, which is coming off a 1-18 season and has its third coach in the past three seasons.
Big seasons in store for Westwood hoops
Both Westwood programs begin the year with state title hopes and are ranked in the top three in Class 4A preseason polls.
The second-ranked Redhawk girls made their first trip to 4A Upper State championship before losing to North Augusta. Westwood wouldn’t face the Yellow Jackets this year until the state championship because North Augusta is in the Lower State this year.
Westwood returns three starters from last year’s team including ESPN Top 100 prospect Unique Drake, who just signed with St. John’s. She is joined by UNC Asheville signee Maliyah Lockett and Division I prospect Nyah Leveretter.
Anderson signee Essence Marshall is back at Westwood after playing at Ridge View last season.
The Redhawks return their starting lineup, which includes Winthrop signee and Region 3-4A Player of Year Russell Jones.
Will Watkins dunk in game this year?
Over the summer, Cardinal Newman Ashlyn Watkins got some national attention with her ability to dunk in AAU games. Now, the freshman will see if she can dunk in a game for the Cardinals.
As an eighth-grader a year ago, Watkins averaged 14.8 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks a game.
High expectations for River Bluff boys
Coming off its winningest season in school history, there are high expectations for the River Bluff boys’ basketball team.
The Gators went 17-9 last season and lost in the first round of the 5A playoffs to Conway. River Bluff, ranked No. 9 in preseason Class 5A poll, returns its top two scorers in Jeremiah Reeves and Terrill Windom.
B-C to open up new arena
Brookland-Cayce basketball programs will have new digs to play their games this season.
The Bearcat Arena is set to open sometime in January and should be one of the top gyms in the area. The $10.5 million arena, with seating for 1,500, also will include a weight room, locker rooms, training room and a multi-use space with a hall of fame wall and instruction area.
Final inspection for the building is set for sometime in December.
McNeal looks to close out career with title
Swansea senior and Clemson signee Danae McNeal is one of the top players in the state and looks to close her career out with a state title.
McNeal, ranked No. 47 in ESPN’s Top 100, has scored 2,131 points in her career. She averaged 24.2 points a game last year in helping the Tigers to the Class 3A Lower State title. Swansea returns most of its squad from last year’s 19-9 team.