Burke County 2024-25 H.S. boys basketball preview capsules

Returning starters: D’Andre Moore, Connor Houston, Blair Cooper

Other key players: Kayden Lytle, Noah Chrisco, Marshall Brinkley

From the coach: “We will look to compete at the top of the conference again, hoping to rebound off last season’s struggles. We have some experienced guards to lead us, but at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to how well we can defend, redound, and mesh as a team once we are all together.” — Drew McGuire

Outlook: Draughn for a second consecutive season must replace key pieces in the post, as this time around 6-foot-6 plus presences Eli Tillery and Blake McElyea have departed. However, Moore is the county’s leading returning scorer for a second straight year as he averaged just over 23 points per game in an all-county and all-conference sophomore season. Coupled with the return of starters Houston (who led the county at 3.0 steals per game last year) and Cooper and the addition of Freedom transfer Lytle, the Wildcats figure to finish third or better for a fourth straight year in this league.

EAST BURKE CAVALIERS

Last year’s record: 6-18 (3-11 CVAC 2A, 7th)

Returning starters: Owen Hartmann, Barger Shook

Other key players: Luke Demiter, Dautry Ragle, Jay Dixon, Cannon Morrison

From the coach: “(This is a) brand new team. They’re growing every day but still have lots of room to grow.” — Jerome Ramsey

Outlook: This year’s Cavaliers will lean heavily on the 6-foot-5 third-year varsity player Shook in the post as well as fellow 2023-24 all-county selection Hartmann in the backcourt. Shook, who was also named All-CVAC honorable mention, averaged 11.4 points, 8.2 rebounds (second in county), and a team-high 1.1 blocks last season as EB improved its overall win total by two and climbed a spot in the conference, while Hartmann led the county at 3.7 assists per game and also averaged 7.5 points. Demiter, Ragle, Dixon, and Morrison all played varsity a season ago and will have larger roles after the exit of Sylas Coleman, a 6-5 wing who led last year’s Cavaliers in scoring in an all-county and all-conference season.

FREEDOM PATRIOTS

Last year’s record: 13-14 (5-5 NWC 3A/4A, 3rd); lost 2nd round 3A state playoffs

Returning players: Amore Connelly, Braxton King, Elijah Davidson, Kobe Johnson, Kris Creekmore, Jonah Griggs, King Johnson, Jaiveon Belin, Amare Williams, KeAndre Davis

Other key players: Kaden Davis, Ian Clark, Daivyon Feaster-Hicks, Julius Dominguez, DeAndre Caldwell

From the coach: “We’re in a good spot but a weird spot with football season extended and the seasons overlapping. We return a lot, have some guys who are back with the program, and have some guys up from a successful JV team. But we have a long way to go and a lot to get better at. We’re also still waiting on as many as eight guys from football, and that’s just on the varsity team.” — Clint Zimmerman

Outlook: Connelly returns after an early departure from the team last season, which he ended by playing prep ball in Arizona. He was conference player of the year as a sophomore and was county player of the year as a freshman, with the 6-3 guard averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game in his last full season with FHS. Connelly has offers from NCAA Division I programs Western Carolina, Charleston, and Ohio and comes back to a Patriots team that managed a playoff win without him, albeit in the program’s third season without an overall winning record all-time, as Davidson and Kobe Johnson return off all-county and all-conference seasons.

NCSSM-MORGANTON DRAGONS

Last year’s record: 8-13 (4-10 WHC 1A/2A, 7th)

Returning starters: None

Other key players: BT Taylor, Noah Stiggins, Marveen Santiago, Zack Wan, Nate Gutschall, Bransen Pittman, Ben Ahn, Luciano Botta, Ben Ellwanger

From the coach: “Last year, we were competitive in conference play, however we lost our top seven scorers to graduation. We have a good group of juniors and a few returning players who will take on bigger roles that have been working hard to get ready for the upcoming season. Given some of the limitations that our academic schedule presents, our main focus is to play hard and compete every game. I think we have the potential to be competitive in a very talented Western Highlands Conference.” — Jonathan Browning

Outlook: Browning and company had more time to prepare for this season’s opener (which was held late Friday at Jackson Day) after being thrown into the job just a week before the 2023 regular season started. Taylor, Stiggins, and Santiago each averaged between 1.2 and 2.0 points per game, the highest numbers on the graduation-depleted Dragons. The schedule challenges that Browning referenced include weeks-long off-campus instruction, due to which NCSSM-Morganton doesn’t have a game scheduled from Dec. 10 to Jan. 13.

PATTON PANTHERS

Last year’s record: 23-5 (11-1 MF7 1A/2A, 1st); lost 2nd round 2A state playoffs

Returning starters: Nathan Waters

Other key players: Jackson Griffin, Louie Skelly, Cole Attaway, Laine Barrier, Cohen Christian, Grayson Cooper, Gavin Handley, Lawson Georges, Karson Kress, Lando Norman, Landry Duvall

From the coach: “Clearly, we’re replacing a lot of people, but we plan to come in and compete every game, playing hard and playing with a lot of physicality. It’ll be tough to replace the county player of the year who was an all-district player along with all of the experience that we lost around him, but I’m excited to get started. We will rely on some guys who have been part of this program, and I think we have some pieces coming in that will help too.” — Dax Bostian

Outlook: Jake Perry led last year’s strong PHS senior class, which keyed the program’s third regular-season league title all-time. But Waters’ return gives PHS and first-year head coach Bostian a player who got key minutes in last year’s run, and the Panthers could also be lifted by the presence of Cayden Roscoe, who’s transferred as he is currently playing football at Draughn.