The Carolina Corner with @JustinByerly
In this weeks Carolina Corner we take a look at some big commitments over the past few days in the Carolina's, the upcoming Beach Ball Classic, and more.
Jamarii Thomas Commits
UNC-Wilmington Head Coach Takayo Siddle continues to impress on the recruiting trail. The former Gardner-Webb, UNC-Wilmington and NC State assistant knows the state and recruits it as well as anyone. Thomas picked up some offers and interest over the summer playing with Team Curry.
His recruitment took another upward turn with The Burlington School over the past month with Eastern Kentucky, UNC-Wilmington and NC A&T offering. In the end, UNC-Wilmington "felt like home" and he will have a chance to earn minutes from the get go and that was what he wanted to hear. Thomas has been considered one of our top available seniors for the past few months and saw his recruitment pick up by playing the waiting game.
PJ Edwards Is Off the Board
Liberty Heights Athletic Institute guard PJ Edwards made his commitment to UCF over the weekend. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard had offers from Charleston Southern, East Tennessee State, Southeast Missouri State and Southern Illinois before choosing to play for Johnny Dawkins.
Edwards, an Illinois native will bring his shooting and size at the guard spot to the Sunshine State. His teammate Jonas Aidoo who committed to Marquette late last week gives two high-major commitments for Liberty Heights and Head Coach Michael Wright in a little over three days.
A Look Back
Let's take a look at what the top-10 prospects from last years HoopSeenNC rankings are doing now.
#1 Josh Hall, Moravian Prep - Signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder on a two-way contract. Has yet to play in the NBA preseason.
#2 Isaiah Todd, Word of God - Signed with NBA G-League
#3 Carson McCorkle, Greensboro Day - Has played in two games for The University of Virginia, averaging 1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10 minutes of action.
#4 Shakeel Moore, Moravian Prep - Averaging 14 minutes per game for NC State while pouring in 4.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
#5 Cam Hayes, Greensboro Day - Averaging 19 minutes per game for NC State and scoring at a 11.3 point per game clip along with 5.2 assists.
#6 Ja'Dun Michael, The Burlington School - For Elon, Michael is averaging 10 minutes per contest and 2.5 points per game.
#7 Justin Thomas, Village Christian - Averaging 8.5 points per game in 17.3 minutes per game for Queens University of Charlotte.
#8 Tristan Maxwell, North Mecklenburg - Has not seen any time at Georgia Tech this season.
#9 Justice Ajogbor, Christ School - Harvard canceled the 2020-2021 season due to Covid.
#10 Josh Banks, Olympic - Averaging 11.3 minutes and scoring 3.8 points and grabbing 1.5 rebounds per game.
Beach Ball Classic
One of the longest running events in the country, The Beach Ball Classic is still planned to be happening just after Christmas at The Myrtle Beach Convention Center in downtown Myrtle Beach. You can buy tickets here.
- CALVARY CHRISTIAN – (FL)
- CANNON SCHOOL – (NC)
- CAPE FEAR ACADEMY (NC)
- CAPE FEAR CHRISTIAN
- CARDINAL NEWMAN – (SC)
- CAROLINA FOREST – (SC)
- CARVERS BAY -(SC)
- DORMAN – (SC)
- GREENSBORO DAY – (NC)
- LAKE NORMAN CHRISTIAN – (NC)
- MILTON – (GA)
- MOELLER – (OH)
- MYRTLE BEACH – (SC)
- NORTH MYRTLE BEACH – (SC)
- OAK RIDGE – (FL)
- SOCASTEE – (SC)
The Winter Jam is a new addition to The Beach Ball Classic and will feature teams playing at The Myrtle Beach SportsCenter.
- Baltimore Panthers (MD)
- Blue Ridge (VA)
- Combine (NC)
- iSchool of Lewisville (TX)
- Real Salt Lake (UT)
- Team Loaded (VA)
- West Oaks (FL)
- Winston-Salem Christian (NC)
Updated 2021 Commitment/Signing List
North Carolina
| PLAYER | HIGH SCHOOL | COLLEGE |
| AJ Allenspach | Lake Norman Christian | Army |
| Ben Burnham | Carmel Christian | Winthrop |
| Blane St. Clair | Davidson Day | Army-West Point |
| Bobby Pettiford | South Granville | Louisville |
| Bre’on Pass | Reidsville | North Carolina State |
| Brock WIlliams | Burlington Christian | High Point |
| Chris Ford | North Mecklenburg | Davidson |
| D’Marco Dunn | Westover | North Carolina |
| Dante Kisenhofer | Holly Springs | Wofford |
| Daylen Berry | Panther Creek | Charlotte |
| Dondre Watson | Bull City Prep | East Carolina |
| Dontrez Styles | Kinston | North Carolina |
| Eric Van der Heiden | Millbrook | Louisville |
| Isaiah Moore | Ben L. Smith HS | Cal Poly Pomona (D2) |
| Jaden Cooper | Wayne Country Day | Columbia |
| Jacob Morgan | Moravian Prep | Emory & Henry (D2) |
| Jamarii Thomas | The Burlington School | UNC-Wilmington |
| Jordan Wildly | Winston-Salem Christian | Iona |
| Jonas Aidoo | Liberty Heights | Marquette |
| Kadyn Dawkins | Eastern Guilford | Mars Hill University (D2) |
| Keeyan Iterje | Grace Christian | Texas |
| Kuluel Mading | The Burlington School | Howard |
| Kris Robinson | Combine Academy | Catawba (D2) |
| Lucas Taylor | Heritage | Clemson |
| Michael Dudley | Combine Academy | College of Charleston |
| PJ Edwards | Liberty Heights | Central Florida |
| Redford Dunton | Millbrook | Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne |
| Saiqone Harris | Word of God | Hutchinson CC (Juco) |
| Terquavion Smith | FarmVille Central | North Carolina State |
| Terrance Harcum | Granville Central | Appalchian State |
| Trae Benham | Concord First Assembly | Lipscomb |
| Tre Morgan | Green Hope | Barton College |
| Tyler Gill | Trinity of Raleigh | Towson |
South Carolina
| A.J. Hamrick | Westminster Catawba Christian | Charleston Southern |
| Bailey Wiseman | James Island Charter | Converse College |
| Bryce McGowens | Wren | Nebraska |
| Cesare Edwards | Hartsville | Xavier |
| Chase McDuffie | Gray's Collegiate | NC A&T |
| Cohen Gaskins | James Island Charter | Converse College |
| Ike Cornish | Legacy Early College | Maryland |
| Jacobi Wright | Legacy Early College | South Carolina |
| James Lovorn III | TL Hanna | Presbyterian |
| Janyle Pittman | Lancaster | Mars Hill |
| John Butler | Christ Church | Florida State |
| Josh Beadle | Cardinal Newman | Clemson |
| Robert McCray | AC Flora | Wake Forest |
| Russell Felton | Aiken | East Carolina |
| Timothy Barnes | Grey Collegiate | UMKC |
| Tyler Rice | Ridge View | William & Mary |
| Xavion Bennett | Goose Creek | Converse College |
Carolina's Transfer List
| Player Name | High School | Old School |
| Brandon Stone | Christ School (NC) | LaSalle |
| Ryan Schwieger | Weddington (NC) | Princeton |
| Nick Brown | Jamestown (NC) | Navy |
| Tyre Boykin | West Bladen (NC) | UM-Kansas City |
| Patrick Iriel | AC Flora (SC) |
South Carolina |
