After probably being the most popular private school team in North Carolina last season, Durham Academy was forced to shift in a different direction with the departures of Nik Graves and MJ Rice. Although the general public isn’t necessarily talking about their unlikely success, it certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Cavaliers opened their season with two convincing wins before suffering their first loss. So, how is this possible with the loss of multiple key components. While it starts with their quality coaching and unselfish play, it’s simply impossible to ignore the nightly production and leadership from Toby Harris and Cole Sinclair.
In looking at the Brandeis commit, Harris likely appears disarming and unassuming to most—which seemed to heavily influence his recruitment over the past summer. However, the 6-foot-7 wing/forward prospect has entered the season with something to prove. After being widely tabbed as a shooter for the last six months, Harris continues to showcase a dynamic, versatile offensive skillset with the IQ, length, and craftiness to effortlessly overwhelm opponents. He’s also an underrated athlete and defender with the necessary toughness to outwork bigger assignments. Through three games this season, Harris is posting nightly averages of 19.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 3.7 BPG while still shooting over 40% from beyond the arc. He’s essentially raised his production across the board while maintaining efficiency and ranking first or second on the team in every major statistical category. The sample size for the high school season is currently small, but it looks almost guaranteed that dozens of college coaches are going to regret their half-hearted pursuit of Harris.
While Harris’ situation is well-documented at this point, Sinclair is another noteworthy prospect who should absolutely have more attention from college coaches. There’s no doubting his leadership and production, yet one thing always seems to come to mind regarding the sturdy guard: three-point shooting. For anyone who has watched Sinclair throughout his progression should already know that he’s an elite shooting threat—both off the catch and bounce. He’s capable of initiating offense and setting up others, but seems to overwhelm opponents more with his nonstop flurry of perimeter jumpers. As the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, Sinclair is averaging 23.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.0 SPG while shooting an insane 63% from three-point territory. At this point, his recruitment should be beginning to take off. Sinclair’s IQ and effortless shooting ability should make him an appealing asset to all types of programs, which should start to resonate sooner than later for scholarship-holding coaches.