Today, the bracket play for the annual Hoopstate Championship officially begins with two highly intriguing matchups. Each year, this event serves as a battle to determine who ultimately comes out victorious as the top independent program in North Carolina. The field features Quality Education, New Life Christian, Winston-Salem Christian (National and Regional), Combine Academy (National and Regional), Piedmont Classical, NC GBB, Word of God, and 1 of 1 Academy. Following Moravian Prep winning the first championship in 2020, Combine Academy has taken home back-to-back titles over the last two seasons. However, it seems like this event could be more competitive this year than ever before. This article will preview the first-round matchups, moving on to Word of God versus NC GBB.
Word of God (3) vs. NC GBB (6)
In the fourth game on the slate, Word of God will face off against NC GBB. Starting with arguably the most talented roster in North Carolina, the Holy Rams have continued to perform at an extremely high level despite some personnel turnover. Numerous guys have stepped up following the departure of multiple key pieces. Going through their roster, you'll find a team full of next-level players, including Justin Monden, Trevor Best, Jamal Brown, Isaiah Coleman, Zion Collins, Zion Gardner, Mayar Wol, Antonio Hurns, Mekhi Grant, and their two newest additions in Jayden Quaintance and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn. Though multiple guys from this group have already pledged commitments to play in college, they still have a ton of pieces worthy of being recruited.
On the other side, NC GBB has enjoyed a quality year despite a variety of moving parts in the offseason. They have a healthy mix of college-level juniors and seniors, primarily led by guys like CJ Alston, Caden Bell, Isaiah Otyaluk, Jajuan Nicholls, and Jalik Nicholls with others like Louis Couch, William Bostic, Kevon Riley, and Xavier Whitaker also providing meaningful minutes. Since early December, this group has gone 25-4 with three of their four losses coming by six points or less. They've only gotten better and better as the season has progressed, so it'll be interesting to see who comes out victorious in this contest.