Each Monday we hold a round table where we give our guys are given the platform to give their “High School Hot Takes”.
**The Week of December 3
Jeff Bendel:
Jaden Seymour is Ranked Too Low Nationally
It seems somewhat peculiar that the 6-foot-8 athletic forward just recently cracked the top 150 on Rivals.com and still remains at #229 on 247sports.com, seeing as he’s blossomed from a high-major prospect to a high-major player. He’s starting to gradually understand his ability to dominate on every possession and it’s showing. Seymour has been the most productive all-around performer for Northside Christian throughout the early stages of their season and shows no signs of slowing down. Personally, I think he’s minimally vaulted himself into top-75 status, based on the other prospects nationally ranked within this range. It’s glaringly obvious that he’s a big-time talent, so we’ll be watching to see how much longer it takes folks to realize just how special Seymour could become.
Jamie Shaw:
Jackson Gabriel Will Become North Carolina’s All-Time Leading 3-Point Shooter
Gabriel, a senior at Lincoln Charter, comes into this season already with 319 made threes for his career, that is good for 3rd place All-Time in North Carolina history. So far he is 319 of 669 which is good for 47.7% in his three years of high school. Akeem Richmond of Southern Lee HS currently has the All-Time record with 448. In order for Gabriel to break that he will need to make 94 more, from the start of the season, an average of 4.9 made per game. So far this season Gabriel is 35-62, which is averaging 5.8 made per game.
The 6’2” Lees McRae commit has been a prolific shooter his entire career, he currently sits at 354 made 3s. All he has to do for his senior season is keep pace with what he has been doing and he should be able to create some distance between himself and Richmond’s record.
Miles Masercola:
High School Hot Takes: Landon Sutton and KJ Garrett are THE Most Underrated Backcourt in North Carolina
Both Landon Sutton and KJ Garrett bring a different style of play to the table each and every night. Garrett does a great job at blowing by his defender, collapsing the help and finding shooters, or dumping down to one one of the bigs. Sutton is an absolute marksman, capable of running your team and creating for himself off the bounce, but they have really started to figure out how to play together, and frankly I don’t see them getting enough love from Media and College Coaches alike. Sutton poured in 37 against my #1 team in the state regardless of classification Trinity Christian (Yeah, I just snuck another hot take in there, make of it what you will.) in a close loss at the Phenom National Showcase. They beat Northside Christian a team full of High Major talent, with Garrett, and Sutton both in double figures in the 49-47 win. I hope they start to get that recognition soon, it’s about damn time.
Rick Lewis: 6’5 2020 Jaden Springer (IMG) may be one of the most complete players in the country.
Standing a strong, sturdy, and lengthy 6’5, Jaden Springer may be one of the most complete basketball players in the country. He has a unique blend of strength, power, explosiveness accompanied by a smooth/fluid game. Springer is young for his grade but has the poise and maturity of a seasoned veteran. In speaking with his teammates at IMG, they gave the greatest compliment as a player. They stated how “Jaden Springer was a great teammate and they all enjoyed playing with him.” Springer can score from all three levels and is vastly underrated as a passer. Simply put, Springer makes his teammates better.