We simply can’t wait for the high school basketball season to begin, which is why we are diving into teams and doing some early previews. There are teams all around the state that we will be looking at, as we take a look at teams and players to watch out for.
Hopewell Titans
Last Year’s Record: 15-12
Top Three Scorers Last Year (According to MaxPreps):
Quay Watson 23.7ppg
Derrick Eley 10.3ppg
Kamari Cooke 9.2ppg
This Year’s Team:
Hopewell certainly has the attention of us at Phenom Hoops this year, as it has been an interesting summer so far. The news at first that 2024 Quay Watson had transferred certainly was a big one, but he is back and will be suited up again for Hopewell. And this is a team that brings plenty of firepower back from last year’s team, so this could be a sneaky program to watch out for.
With Watson coming back to Hopewell, it gives the program their leader once again and go-to scorer on the court as he averaged nearly 24 points per game and can fill it up. We expect that to continue once again, as he should have another huge season. But with another year under the belt of 2024 Derrick Eley and a strong summer from 2024 Jullian Mack, this is a team that will have options to choose from. Eley was a strong role player for this team, being a scoring option but also being a player who can help in a variety of other ways as well. And now Mack is coming off a very impressive summer in which he showed he can be a tremendous scoring option as well; Hopewell will have plenty of weapons at their disposal.
In speaking with Coach Goodson as well, 2024 Tayari Hines was another player to watch out for as he was a strong piece last season. Furthermore, 2026 Tre Gatlin and 2024 Messiah Cage are two others that coach spoke about and should be on your watch list.
Overall, after winning 15 games last year, Hopewell is one of those teams that will bring it every game and you must be prepared for them. They have strong scoring options, good guards, and it will be fun to watch their plan of attack this season. Hopewell has the attention of Phenom Hoops early on, and that should only grow as the season gets closer.