The Carolina Corner with @JustinByerly
In this weeks edition of the Carolina Corner we take a look at Samage Teel’s recruitment, JaDun Michael staying home, Javarzia Belton calling it for Southern Miss and more.
Finding the Right Fit
Playing for one of North Carolina’s top public schools’ Farmville Central High School senior guard Samage Teel had zero Division One offers going into the now canceled state playoffs.
After his performance on a team that includes North Carolina Central signee Justin Wright and NC State commit Terquavion Smith, Teel made it known that he was also a Division One player. He picked up offers from James Madison, Presbyterian and UNC-Wilmington over the past couple of weeks. In the end, Winston-Salem State was where Teel wanted to play and he committed to the Rams.
Staying Home
As Justin Young touched on earlier this week in his Meat and Three, Head Coach Mike Schrage has secured one of Elon’s biggest recruits in recent memory with our 6th ranked player in the HoopSeen North Carolina rankings, JaDun Michael deciding to stay close to home and play for The Phoenix.
Michael had offers over the last couple of weeks from NC State, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Penn State, Texas A&M and Virginia.
Michael played up this season with Team Loaded NC and was a member of the 2021 class before deciding to re-class to the 2020 class. His play at our Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions earned him a spot on our 17U All-Tournament team.
National recruiting analyst Andrew Slater had this to say about Michael, “Elon is getting a high-major athlete with straight line driving ability. JaDun Michael needs to continue to develop his perimeter skill-set, but he’s an absolute steal for Coach Mike Schrage. Landing a kid like Michael helps accelerate Schrage’s vision of building Elon into a mid-major power.”
Michael’s brother, Ji’Lil Michael signed with Mars Hill University. A Division Two school in Western North Carolina.
Belton Makes the Call
Javarzia Belton looks like he could be a tight end in the National Football League. 6-foot-8 and 283-pounds, Belton is a behemoth of a prospect. While missing most of his senior season with an injury, Belton was starting to show signs of the type of player he could be during the last part of the year.
He chose Southern Mississippi as his college destination this morning. “I feel in love with Coach Ladner and I love what he thinks my future can be. The assistants showed love and theirs fans stayed reaching out on social media’s seems like a really good place can’t wait to get there.” Belton stated about his commitment.
Belton played his senior season on a loaded Moravian Prep team that featured NC State commitments Shakeel Moore and Josh Hall.
Murphy Down to Four
One of the hottest transfers on the market is former Rice leading scorer Trey Murphy. He is down to four schools, Houston, Villanova, Pittsburgh and Virginia. Murphy led Rice in scoring this season at 13.7 points per game this past season. The Durham, North Carolina native stated today that he is just narrowing down the four options and trying to decide on his future school.
Murphy was a standout at Cary Academy before choosing Rice over scholarship offers from Tennessee Tech, Presbyterian, Navy, Army and Rider. The 6-foot-8 forward can bring shooting from the outside and the length to play in the paint.
Updated College List
| Player | High School | College |
| Ambaka Le Gregam | Concord First Assembly | Presbyterian |
| Ahmil Flowers | Grimsley | High Point |
| Anthony Allen | Independence | Lees-McRae |
| Armon Muldrew | Panther Creek | Lenoir-Rhyne |
| AJ Thompson | Athens Drive | Brunswick CC |
| Axel Holm | Lincoln Charter | Piedmont |
| Ben Bryson | West Henderson | UVA-Wise |
| Brady O'Connell | Ravenscroft | Old Dominion |
| Cam Hayes | Greensboro Day | NC State |
| Carson McCorkle | Greensboro Day | Virginia |
| Cheick Traore | Concord First Assembly | Youngstown State |
| CJ Huntley | Davidson Day | App State |
| Daniel Ransom | Vance | Western Carolina |
| Dean Reiber | NW Guilford | Rutgers |
| Demarcus McLaurin | Laney | UNC-Pembroke |
| Djimon Bailey | Greenfield School | Wake Forest |
| Evan Joyner | Piedmont Classical | North Carolina A&T |
| Garrett Hein | Concord First Assembly | Furman |
| Georges Lefbevre | Cape Fear Academy | Vermont |
| Issac Parson | Kinston | Winston-Salem State |
| Isaiah Todd | Word of God | Michigan |
| Jackson Threadgill | Davidson Day | Charlotte |
| Jaden Seymour | Northside Christian | Wichita State |
| Ja'von Anderson | Moravian Prep | Francis Marion |
| Jadyn Parker | West Brucswick | North Florida |
| Jaden Scriven | Fayetteville Christian | Lees-McRae |
| Jadun Michael | The Burlington School | Elon |
| JaJuan Carr | Pender | UNC-Wilmington |
| Jason Sellers | Page | Averett University |
| Jaylon Gibson | Grace Chrisitan | Wake Forest |
| Javarzia Belton | Moravian Prep | Southern Mississippi |
| Jalen King-Joiner | Piedmont Classical | Lees-McRae |
| Jay Hickman | Northwood Temple | Mars Hill |
| Jaquan Mosley | Kinston | Pitt CC |
| Jeremiah Dickerson | Dudley | Paine College |
| Josh Banks | Olympic | VCU |
| Josh Massey | United Faith | Western Carolina |
| Ja'Dun Michael | The Burlington School | Wichita State |
| Ji'Lil Michael | The Burlington School | Mars Hill |
| Josh Hall | Moravian Prep | NC State |
| Josh Hall | Ravenscroft | Navy |
| Josiah Shackleford | Word of God | Brunswick CC |
| Justice Ajogbor | Christ School | Harvard |
| Justin Wright | Farmville Central | NCCU |
| Justus Shelton | Mountain Heritage | Mars Hill |
| Kaleb Scott | Holly Springs | Georgia State |
| Kalib Matthewa | Henderson Collegiate | Queens |
| Keishon Porter | SW Edgecombe | Radford |
| Kennedy Miles | Williams | Western Carolina |
| Kurtus Taylor | Neuse Christian | Wingate |
| Lane Harrill | Cherryville | Mars Hill |
| Logan Botts | Forestview | Newberry |
| Marcus Elliott | Holly Springs | UNC-Wilmington |
| Myles Hunter | Carmel Christian | Youngstown State |
| Myljael Poteat | Burlington School | Rice |
| Nic McMullen | Smith | Murray State |
| Nick Farrar | Apex Friendship | NC State |
| Nolan Dorsey | Millbrook | New Mexico |
| Randy Johnson | Charlotte Latin | Holy Cross |
| Reggie Raynor | Northwood Temple | UNC-G |
| Reggie Walton | New Life Christian | Mars Hill |
| Ricky Council IV | Southern Durham | Wichita State |
| Saiquone Harris | Word of God | Hutchinson CC |
| Samage Teel | Farmville Central | Winston-Salem State |
| Shakeel Moore | Moravian Prep | NC State |
| Slate Hinton | SW Edgecombe | Wake Tech |
| Soloman Tucker | Northside Christian | Army |
| Stephen Minor | Winston-Salem Prep | Queens |
| Trayden Williams | North Meck | Robert Morris |
| Trent McIntyre | Piedmont Classical | UNC-Pembroke |
| Tristan Maxwell | North Meck | Georgia Tech |
| Tyre Boykin | West Bladen | UMKC |
| Tyler McKinney | Asheville Christian | Lincoln Memorial |
| Tyler Parton | AC Reynolds | William Peace |
| Tyrece McNeal | Hunter Huss | Fayetteville State |
| Zacc Sledge | SW Edgecombe | Sandhills CC |
| Zavian McLean | Village Christian | Columbia |
| Zach Shumate | Salem Baptist | Newberry |
| Zack Austin | Moravian Prep | High Point |
