Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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24 UCW NOVEMBER 14-20, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS EARL VAUGHAN JR., Sports Editor. COMMENTS? EarlUCWSports@ gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Hoops and Dreams a STAFF REPORT Expectations were high at E.E. Smith last year when Alex Scruggs transferred to the Seabrook Road school from Trinity Christian School to join the Golden Bull basketball team. After taking Smith to the fourth round of last year's North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A state playoffs and with the Wake Forest commit returning for her senior sea- son, there's no reason Smith coach Dee Hardy shouldn't be even more optimistic about the 2018-19 season. "She has such a lovely personality and blends in anywhere she goes,'' Hardy said. "It was pret- ty smooth sailing.'' Scruggs led Cumberland County Schools in scoring with 28.3 points per game last season. She was also among the rebounding leaders with 11.7 per game and tops in 3-point field goals with 55, almost 20 more than the second-place finisher. "This season, my expectations have to be (for me) to be an overall better player than last year and make my teammates better,'' Scruggs said. Scruggs said she feels she needs to be tougher this year, especially driving to the basket and rebounding. "I think public school (basketball) is a lot more aggressive and fast-paced than private school,'' she said. Smith has added some new faces to the team this year. Kendall Maccauley transferred from Freedom Christian along with Daireanna McIntyre from Seventy-First. They join holdovers Keonna Bryant, Trinity Dixon and Kayla Parson. "We'll look to them for guidance and matu- rity,'' Hardy said of the three Smith returnees. As for competition from the rest of the Patriot Athletic Conference, Hardy expects Pine Forest to be a major threat with the addition of Northwood Temple transfers, cousins Ciara and Kendal Moore, who led Northwood to the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association 1-A basketball title last year. "Terry Sanford has a lot returning and I look for them to be strong,'' Hardy said. The Bulldogs are again led by versatile athlete Lindsay Bell. Hardy expects a test from South View and veteran coach Brent Barker. "They always have something,'' she said. Smith begins the season with a difficult challenge, facing 3-A East Regional finalist Havelock on Nov. 24. Optimism soaring for E.E. Smith girls basketball by EARL VAUGHAN JR. The second annual Hoops and Dreams Showcase is sched- uled Nov. 23-24 at Methodist University's March Riddle Center. The event will feature top local and national high school basket- ball teams. Tickets will only be sold on-site on a first-come, first-served basis. Local teams taking part include Trinity Christian, Northwood Temple, Village Christian, Fayetteville Academy, New Life Christian, Freedom Christian and Cape Fear Christian. Some of the out-of-area teams taking part include Word of God Christian from Raleigh, Charlotte Independence, Greensboro Smith, Morrisville Panther Creek, Greenfield School, Farmville Central and Asheville Christian. Some of the top committed players scheduled to appear are Josh Nickelberry of Northwood to Louisville, Greg Gantt of Trinity Christian to Providence and Justin McKoy of Panther Creek to Penn State. Dee Hardy Darren Corbett Alex Scruggs Yates Johnson Bulldogs rebuild after successful 2018 season by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Senior leadership, togetherness and a commitment to zone defense helped carry Terry Sanford's boys to a share of the Patriot Athletic Conference regular-season title with Overhills last year. For a repeat to occur in 2018-19, head coach Darren Corbett is going to have to find some new faces as graduation hit his Bulldogs hard. "We are leaning heavily on Yates Johnson,'' Corbett said. "Yates is a rising junior who started every game last year but one.'' Johnson was the Bulldogs' third-leading scorer last year behind departed starters Gabe Hardison and Holt Walker, averag- ing 9.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and hitting 24 3-point goals. A newcomer will be Northwood Temple transfer Jay Hickman, like Johnson a junior. He'll join a couple of returnees from last season, Dante Bowlding and D.J. Herz. Corbett said Hickman, a 6-foot-1-inch guard, has gotten interest from some Division I schools including East Carolina. Corbett expects Johnson to score a few more points this season but won't be calling on him to carry the entire load. "He's a big asset to us as far as his intensi- ty level and work ethic he brings every day,'' Corbett said. Johnson said he's worked on his 3-point shooting and finishing at the rim. "I need to be a leader like I was last year, just in a big- ger role,'' he said. Corbett expects Westover and Overhills to provide major challenges again this sea- son. "Pine Forest was really good last year and Cape Fear is good as well,'' he said. "If we can establish ourselves early, we can be competitive.''