LUMBERTON — In recent years, the Robeson County Shootout boys has been championed by teams that have excellent guard play, and that same reason is why this year’s boys tournament seems to be the deepest in recent years as most teams have experienced and talented backcourts.
Three of the six teams from Robeson County have starting backcourts that are solely seniors, while Lumberton has a mixed bag in the backcourt, and St. Pauls and Fairmont both start juniors in the backcourt. All of which would be vital parts if any of the six teams from Robeson County were to come out as champions of the tournament this weekend.
In what seems like a straight trade for players in the offseason that was really two players transferring to opposite schools, Purnell Swett and South Robeson have benefited mightily from the changes. Zack Carter went from South Robeson to Purnell Swett, while Kylerr Page did the opposite and now leads the Mustangs backcourt.
Carter’s presence gives more speed and an all-around scoring lift for the Rams that are off to a hot start. Fellow senior guard Darriante Parker, whose nickname is “Speedy,” said that Carter gives opponents double trouble when going up against the Rams.
“They play me off just driving, but Zack can shoot, drive and he can control the pace just like I do,” Parker said. “Most teams have one guard and the other is like a backup, but we are like the same the way I see it.”
Parker is averaging 22 points a game, while Carter is scoring more than 13 points a game coming into the tournament as two parts of the Rams’ three-headed attack. Parker also is averaging more than three steals a game, which feeds Purnell Swett’s fast breaks.
“They have so much quickness and tenacity,” Purnell Swett coach Jeremy Sampson said. “Speedy is quick with the ball and Zack attacks the rim like a 6-foot-6 kid, and he’s 5-foot-11. They play hard and sometimes I have to tell them to slow down a little bit, but they go hard all the time. I’d take that duo over a lot of backcourts and I’m very happy to coach them.”
Page has taken his versatile skill set to South Robeson, and has thrived. The senior is averaging 13 points a game this season.
“The thing about this team this year is everybody knows their role,” Page said. “We have noticed that if we don’t play as a team, there is no South Robeson. But when we play as a team, South Robeson should be the best team in the county.”
He and fellow guard Daniel Murray are both scoring in double figures, and on Monday against Red Springs Murray proved he can be deceptive as a scorer. The Mustangs also have seen underclassmen Syn’cere Southern and Shykeem Smith leave an impact in the backcourt.
“This is the best backcourt I’ve had yet,” South Robeson coach Ryan Bullard said. “Sometimes you can have too much talent on a team, but they’ve learned to share the ball and I’ve got some guys that are coming off the bench to contribute.”
Red Springs is the other school with seniors starting the backcourt, based around Keagan Brayboy, who can play multiple positions on the floor, but is the main ball handler and scorer for the Red Devils. He is averaging 12.5 points, four rebounds and more than three steals a game through six games. He is joined by other seniors Jaylen Mack, Jayshawn Carthen and Jaylon Woods.
“We stress defense. If we can get going on the defensive end, it will lead to easy buckets on the offensive end,” Mack said. “We are all just trying to gel together to get that chemistry going.”
The backcourt for Lumberton is based around junior Jordan McNeill, but the duties that most guards have as far as scoring, assists, steals and ball handling is a team-wide essential for the Pirates. Senior forward Kwahsek Breeden is the tallest player for the Pirates, but is second on the team in steals and is one player that head coach Matt Hill trusts if he were to lead the break.
“Our backcourt is smart and have been in situations like this with experience on varsity,” Breeden said. “We trust everybody on the team with the ball.”
McNeill has moved over from shooting guard to be what many would consider the point guard in an offense that features two other guard types. On top of his 17 points per game, McNeill is second on the team in assists at three a night. Sophomore Jadarion Chatman leads the team with 3.7 assists a game, and senior Chris Kelly is averaging more than two assists a contest.
“We do it by committee. We’ve worked on our ball-handling skills so much over the last three years that I’m comfortable with Johnny Wholestaff bringing the ball up,” Hill said. “We believe in our guys and we believe the guy that is open will get the job done. That kind of confidence in each other gives the person that’s got the ball in their hands the confidence to do what we need to do.”
Guards that are a year older and a year wiser is what St. Pauls is leaning on this season in Caleb Henderson and Emonta Smith. As both junior guards have went, so has the Bulldogs in the early goings of this season.
“My backcourt is evolving. You never know from one game to the next who is going to lead us in scoring,” St. Pauls coach Corey Thompson said. “The backcourt is young of course but they are getting better. As they improve, we improve.”
Erikison Emmanuel also has been a key contributor in the backcourt for the Bulldogs.
A staple for Fairmont in the past has been its backcourt, and for the first time in several years, the Golden Tornadoes’ guards are one of the more inexperienced groups in the tournament. But they are growing. Juniors Valentino Cruz and Tyrese Bradley are growing up on both sides of the ball, and are showing signs of being the pesky backcourt that Fairmont has featured in recent years.
“We’ve stayed patient. We’ve had to continually work on things and have had to do a little more repeating now,” McNair said.
That group has the help of one of the taller frontlines in the county to back it up, and with teams starting to key in on senior forward Jayvon Morris because of his scoring ability, more should be expected in the future for the young guards.
