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 Aiden McLaurin of South View High School.

We've seen a lot of players go through the high school system over the years. Plenty of guys struggle to reach their potential or simply begin to blossom at a later period. McLaurin is someone who fits the latter rather than the former. He was a pretty productive contributor for South View this past season, and showed flashes of someone who could find carve out a role at the next level. McLaurin was an unselfish, low-maintenance player with a willingness to do whatever possible to provide his team with an edge. 

His high school coach, Travis Lemanski, also had some things to say about McLaurin: 'In his senior campaign, Aiden averaged 7.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg. His upside is tremendous because he's only scratched the surface of his true potential. He was selected as our Most Improved Player from last season because of his hard work ethic and effort, which caused his game to grow tremendously from his junior to senior year. He was an Honorable Mention Patriot Athletic Conference (PAC) 3A/4A selection. He was also selected as 910 Prep Athlete of the Week by the Fayetteville Observer after hitting the game winning shot against Terry Sanford.'

There's a lot to like with McLaurin, especially given his motor and overall desire to battle from inside the paint. He's the type of player that could continue trending upward, as he's done for much of the last calendar year, and become a definite game-changing presence. Time is beginning to dwindle, so it would be wise for college coaches to give McLaurin another look before it's too late.