2021 Iredell County boys basketball preview

Jay Edwards, Langston Wertz Jr.
·4 min read

Boys’ Teams to Watch

Lake Norman: The Wildcats return four senior starters, including Seth Aeschliman (14 ppg), Clay Hodges (8 ppg), Cam Kepley (11 ppg) and Christian Taylor (10 ppg), which will give them the experience to compete in the tough I-Meck 4A conference.

North Iredell: The Raiders return all five starters from an 11-15 team that showed potential last year. North Iredell junior guards Jackson Hawkins (16 ppg) and John Jackson (14 ppg) lead a team with the size and speed to move up the North Piedmont conference (NPC) standings and back into the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Pine Lake Prep: The Pride has been a consistent winner averaging 18 wins per season over the last five years. Coach Tony Dunbar gets four senior starters back, led by 6-5 forward J.T. Harper (13 ppg) and 5-10 point guard Trace Forest (7 apg), which will give Pine Lake Prep a chance to contend for the Piedmont Athletic 7 Conference (PAC 7 1A) title.

Statesville: The Greyhounds will look to win their third straight NPC title with an up-tempo pace featuring a trio of guards in senior Chris Brown (15 ppg) and juniors T.J. Miller and Messiah Robinson. Statesville will need to find consistent production inside if they are going three-peat.

Players to Watch

Seth Aeschliman, Lake Norman: 6-6 wing (14 ppg, 8 rpg) can do it on the inside or outside for the Wildcats.

Chris Brown, Statesville: 6-3 senior guard (15 ppg) will make a lot of plays in the Greyhounds’ up-tempo offense.

J.T. Harper, Pine Lake Prep: 6-5 senior forward will be a big key inside, averaging 13 points, eight board and two blocks per game as a junior.

Jackson Hawkins, North Iredell: Raiders’ 6-4 shooting guard (16 ppg) leads a balanced, North Iredell attack.

Gavin Morrison, South Iredell: 6-4, all-NPC senior forward nearly averaged a double, double last season at 14 points and nine rebounds per game.

Ketron Shaw, Mooresville: 6-4 junior forward (15 ppg) will have to put points on the board for the Blue Devils to keep compete in the I-Meck 4A conference.

Players On the Rise

Trace Forest, Pine Lake Prep: The 5-10 senior all-conference point guard (6 ppg, 7 apg, 2 spg) is back to direct the Pride offense.

Jordan Garness, Langtree Charter: The 6-3 senior will team with 6-1 sophomore Tyland Ikard on a team that will rely on an uptempo pace and shooting to make a move in the Piedmont Athletic Conference 7 (1A).

Clay Hodges, Lake Norman: Wildcats’ 5-10 senior point guard (8 ppg, 5 apg, 5 rpg) does a little bit of everything for the Wildcats, have Division II recruiting interest, according to Lake Norman coach, Grant Hodges.

West Iredell: The Warriors have won only 15 games in the last four years, but with senior guards Jace Burke (8 ppg), Qualyne Johnson (8 ppg) and Hopewell transfer, junior Nolan Cassidy, filling out the backcourt, coach Eric King and the Warriors believe they can be much improved.

Preseason All-County Team

  • Seth Aeschliman, Lake Norman, 6-6, Sr.

  • Chris Brown, Statesville, 6-3, Sr.

  • J.T. Harper, Pine Lake Prep, 6-5, Sr.

  • Jackson Hawkins, North Iredell, 6-4, Jr.

  • Gavin Morrison, South Iredell, 6-4, Sr.

Preseason Player of the Year: Chris Brown, Statesville, 6-3, Sr.

Preseason Coach of the Year: Tony Dunbar, Pine Lake Prep

Interesting Notes

  • New Mooresville head coach Armard Moore comes to the Blue Devils after serving as a North Mecklenburg assistant and J.V. coach since 2012.

  • Firt-year South Iredell head coach Melvin Nesbit takes over after serving as the Vikings’ J.V. head coach (and varsity assistant) the previous three years. Nesbit believes South Iredell can contend in the NPC. The Vikings haven’t won a conference title since 1993.

Conference Predictions

I-Meck 4A Conference

  1. North Mecklenburg; 2. Vance; 3. West Charlotte; 4. Hough; 5. Hopewell; 6. Mallard Creek; 7. Lake Norman; 8. Mooresville.

North Piedmont Conference

  1. Statesville; 2. North Iredell; 3. West Rowan; 4. South Iredell; 5. Carson; 6. East Rowan.

Northwest Foothills’ 2A Conference

  1. Hibriten; 2. West Caldwell; 3. Patton; 4. East Burke; 5. Draughn; 6. Fred T. Foard; 7. West Iredell; 8. Bunker Hill.

Piedmont Athletic Conference, 7, 1A (PAC 7, 1A)

  1. Mountain Island Charter; 2. Pine Lake Prep; 3. Union Academy; 4. Queens Grant; 5. Community School of Davidson; 6. Carolina International; 7. Langtree Charter; 8. Bradford Prep.