School: Mountain Island Charter
We continue to dive into our season previews for teams around North Carolina; next up on the list is Mountain Island Charter. This is a team that has found success over the years, including having two players that ended up playing at the next level. They lost six seniors from last season, as this year’s team will have a lot of big shoes to fill but there is talent to be found.
Looking at the roster, there will be three seniors on this team; 5’11 Cole Hart, 6’5 Jackson Pompi, and 6’3 Ashton Miller. Hart brings a lot of athleticism and speed to the floor as a point guard. Pompi works hard and brings size to the table. And Miller comes in from North Gaston, as he will add strength and a solid interior presence and range with his game.
This is also a team that will have several juniors and a sophomore to watch. 2023 6’6 O’Marion Ferguson will be one to watch and track. He has tremendous hands and footwork, as well as the ability to knock down shots behind the arc. 6’2 Jake Barber has been that hard-hat type of guy the last two season, doing a lot of the little things for this program but will be counted on more with the losses from last year. Point guard Garrett Hall looks to lead the team, bringing great strength as a guard and can attack the rim. Ben Patton is another guard that has a nice feel for the game and really sees the floor.
The lone sophomore on the team is 6’2 Caleb Nesbit, who has seen his game develop nicely over the last year, attacks the rim, and has improved his defensive capabilities.