2019 Prospect Joey Baker is Already one in the Nations Top 25
Phenom’s Open Gym Tour
Trinity Christian (Fayetteville, NC)
By Jamie Shaw
Over the last 10 years Trinity Christian, out of Fayetteville, NC, has seemingly churned out D1 talent. Head Coach Heath Vandevender has also won a ton of games. Projected one and done lottery pick, Dennis Smith Jr is Vandevender’s most recent player.
However, after losing 8 players off last year’s team, Trinity Christian has restocked. There is elite level talent across the board. The versatility is great and the shot making skills are there. This should be one of North Carolina’s most fun teams to watch and this was indicated by the 30 or so coaches in the stands.
The likes of UNC, Michigan, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Boston College, and others were all looking on.
Make sure you watch Trinity Christian at Phenom’s Joe Miller Invitational December 27-30 in Wilmington, NC
Here are some of the Standouts.
6’5” 2019 Josh Nickelberry
Nickelberry is one of the best players in the state of North Carolina, regardless of class. He is certainly one of the most offensively talented players in his class. Nickelberry scores, at will, from all 3 levels. He is a great athlete and carries deep range and a killer mentality. He carries 10 offers and is ranked as a Top 100 player in the country. He should be getting recruited by every school in the country.
6’8” 2019 Greg Gantt
Every time out, Gantt gets better. During this open gym he showed his versatility. No matter the situation, the offense seemed to run through him. Gantt is a very good rebounder and is able to push the break and get the team into sets. He also was a great passer in the half court and showed good explosion at the rim. With only offers from Hampton and Grambling expect schools of all levels to start coming around for him.
6’3” 2019 Talton Jones
First thing you notice with Jones is his ridiculously long arms. Once the ball tips, you see that he has that thing on a string and he can really see the floor. Although his jump shot is a little funky, he makes them. He is crafty finishing in the lane, and can really break down the defense and find the right man. Jones is a fun PG, a throwback but with new age flair, he should flat out rack up numbers with this group.
**Joey Baker tweaked his ankle and did not practice
Others to Watch
6’7” 2017 Eathan Herring, 5’11” 2019 KJ Marshall