ASHEVILLE, NC - This travel season has been nothing short of different for all of us involved. From the players, coaches and referees to the college coaches and companies like us at HoopSeen that run events and evaluate prospects all year long.

At HoopSeen, we held five events at Suwanee Sports Academy, kicking things off with our Tip-Off, followed by HoopSeen/BetheBeast Always Live Showcase, our Georgia Cup series, our Atlanta Jam and this weekend’s Best of the South. While it hasn’t been ideal, we had a chance to see some of the best players this region has to offer and have updated our rankings for the class of 2021 in North Carolina.

OUR UPDATED 2021 NORTH CAROLINA RANKINGS

Looking Inside The Top 10

The basketball factory that is Kinston, North Carolina again sports the top-player in the state for the class of 2021 in North Carolina commit Dontrez Styles, a 6-foot-7 small forward.

D’marco Dunn who recently released a top-7 that includes North Carolina, Arizona, Clemson, Texas, Vanderbilt, Louisville and Georgia. The 6-foot-4 guard helped lead Westover High School (NC) to a shortened season state co-championship.

NC State commitment Terquavion Smith moves up to the third slot. The 6-foot-3 guard was impressive in our HoopSeen/BetheBeast Always Live Showcase showing his scoring ability that will translate over to the next level for the Wolfpack.

Making one of the biggest jumps from 12th to 4th is two-sport standout Breon Pass from Reidsville HS (NC). The 6-foot playmaking guard has picked up offers from high-majors NC State and Georgia Tech. Also a standout on the gridiron, Pass holds high-major offers as a wide-receiver.

Pennsylvania native Daniel Nixon who recently transferred to play at Winston-Salem Christian comes in at the 5th-spot. The 6-foot-7 forward holds offers from East Carolina, Georgetown, Iowa, Ole Miss, Wichita State and Temple.

Louisville commitment Bobby Pettiford lands at 6. Fellow Louisville commit Eric van der Heijden is right behind at 7. 

Another big-jump in the rankings belongs to The Burlington School’s Jamarii Thomas. The 5-foot-11 guard for Team Curry was as good of a guard as we saw at our HoopSeen/BetheBeast Always Live Showcase. Thomas goes from 17th to 8th.

Heritage High School’s Lucas Taylor, who shined at our HoopSeen North Carolina Fall Preview lands at #9 and since that event almost a year ago has picked up offers from Arizona, Connecticut, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Arizona State and Ole Miss.

Rounding out the top-10 is Panther Creek High School guard Daylen Berry. The 6-foot-3 guard picked up two offers in August from St. John’s and Florida international University.

OFF THE BOARD

Currently in our top-30 there are 13 players that are committed to college programs.

#1 Dontrez Styles to North Carolina

#3 Terquavion Smith to NC State

#6 Bobby Pettiford to Louisville

#7 Eric van der Heijden to Louisville

#15 Brock Williams to High Point

#16 Keeyan Itejere to Texas

#17 Terence Harcum to Applachain State

#20 Chris Ford to Davidson

#21 Ben Burnham to Winthrop

#22 AJ Allenspach to Army

#24 Redford Dunton to Indiana-Fort Wayne

#26 Trae Benham to Lipscomb

#28 Jaden Cooper to Columbia