At the beginning of each new year, Phenom Hoops works to assemble a series of articles centered around unsigned senior prospects. Last season, over one hundred players from North Carolina went on to play at the Division I, II, III or NAIA levels, and that number looks likely to continue increasing with the current senior class. Typically, we take a closer look at guys who are overlooked and underrated, and today’s edition will highlight Austin Locklear of Cape Fear Christian Academy and Carolina Wolves.
After a relatively quiet start to his high school career, Locklear has really begun to establish himself as a scholarship-worthy prospect on both ends of the floor. He’s a strong, skilled, fairly balanced wing player with the ability to affect all facets of the game. Locklear is a three-level scorer with a blossoming offensive skillset, only continuing to become craftier and more decisive. He’s a quality rebounder on both ends of the floor with the ability to grab and immediately push the break in transition. Locklear can make plays with or without the ball in his hands, able to operate as a secondary creator or find his rhythm as an off-ball cutter. He’s stepped up into a leadership role quite seamlessly for Cape Fear Christian.
Locklear showed out at multiple of our camps over the summer, where we stated: “He’s a long, smart, athletic wing prospect with a very well-rounded skillset and approach on both ends of the floor. Locklear shoots the ball with phenomenal efficiency from three-point territory but also mixes it up regularly with midrange pull-ups and attacking the basket. He communicates well and seemed to rise to the occasion whenever his team needed. Next in his development process is working on his craftiness as a passer, as it will make him even tougher to contain on offense. Coach Deshazior on Locklear: “Austin was the camp MVP. He made a lot of big buckets. It didn’t matter if it was off the dribble, catch, or in transition. His ability to rise up and shoot over defenders was his best quality. He’s a strong off-guard and athletic in the open court. Austin must improve on his ball-handling if he wants to take his game to the next level. Also being able to make plays for others can be an area for improvement.” Locklear was undeniably impressive during camp and will be a prospect for college coaches to watch closely over the next calendar year.”
At this point, Locklear should be starting to see an uptick in his recruitment. He’s already quite useful on both sides of the ball but genuinely seems to get better each time he touches the floor. There’s a lot to like about his demeanor, leadership, and well-rounded game but college coaches ultimately hold the cards to his future playing career. We’ve seen Locklear dominate at our Phenom 150 camp and only trend upward since then, so it’ll be exciting to see how the remainder of his high school journey wraps up.