Coming into the 2018-19 basketball season there was plenty to be excited about for Columbia County fans. Lakeside returned all their key components from an Elite Eight Team a year ago, including County Player of the Year Kalen Williams, Augusta Christian star Nate Dunlop was entering his senior season with a chance to reach some scoring milestones and Greenbrier point guard Richard Crawford was closing out a career as a four-year starter for the Wolfpack. While those were the stories that I knew I would be keeping a close eye on, the incredible start for the Evans Knights is definitely the surprise of the young season.
I knew Evans would be pretty good as they returned two of the county’s top talents in Cameron Cabbarus and Christian Chambers. While those two leaders have been great for Evans, a couple of transfers have played a key role in the team’s 11-0 start. Here is a look at some of the top storylines so far in Columbia County Hoops.
Leads the Knights in scoring at 17.2 per contest. He is also among the area leaders in made three-point shots with 38. He is also chipping in with five rebounds per contest.
This junior has emerged as one of the area’s most explosive players. He is averaging 16 points per game but has been solid all around with 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals per outing.
Mincey has been a huge key for the Knights this year. This Laney transfer has given the Knights a true point guard. His ability to penetrate and kick the ball to the scorers has been a huge reason for Evans’ success. He leads the team is assists (3.6) and steals (2.3) per game.
Trask transferred over from Greenbrier and has been a monster on the glass for Coach Kenny. He leads the team with 7.7 boards per contest and provides Evans a nice scoring option in the post.
Each chip in over four rebounds per game as well, which is huge considering former Evans big man Dylan Cardwell (6’10” 235 lbs.) transferred to basketball power Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) during the off season.
The Panthers were expected to be very good this year coming off the State Quarterfinal run a year ago. Well, they have not disappointed - a 10-1 mark with their only loss coming from Carmel Christian, a basketball power in North Carolina. Lakeside has been a scoring juggernaut averaging 85 points per game, and they have scored 94 or more points five times. They have also topped the century mark in a trio of games.
Williams is undoubtedly the Panthers leader. He is averaging 22 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. What is amazing about Williams is how efficient he is from the guard position. He is shooting 66 percent from the field (41 percent from three-point range and 77 percent on two-point goals). He also boasts 56 assists to just 15 turnovers.
Briscoe, a Junior, has become one of the area’s top scorers, averaging 20.2 points a game. He has scored at least 13 points in each game this season and has topped 20 points in 8 of 11 games. Briscoe is a long-range bomber nailing 32 of 75 three-point attempts (43 percent).
Gilbert does the dirty work for the Panthers, but he has also become a nightmare match-up for most opponents. He is averaging 12.2 points per game and a county best 11.1 rebounds. He has had at least 10 boards in each of Lakeside’s 11 games this season.
King, a transfer from Laney, has been huge for Lakeside this season. He can provide a scoring punch (11.1 points per game), but his real value is on the defensive end. King is a great on-ball defender. He averages three steals per game and had eight steals versus Grovetown and sevent steals against Augusta Christian. He has 34 assists, 33 steals and only six turnovers on the season. He is a perfect complement to Williams and Briscoe.
Israel Brown and Kyree Reese have also done a nice job in their roles for Lakeside.
The story for the Lions was expected to be Nate Dunlop and not much else. Well, Dunlop went down with an injury and missed five games and that opened the door for freshman Ahmad Hunt to step in. Hunt has been one of the best surprises of the young season. The talented 9th Grader is averaging 16.7 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.7 steals on the season.
More importantly, when Dunlop missed five games with his injury, Hunt averaged almost 22 points per contest. Dunlop is still the leader of this team and in the five games he has played, he is putting in nearly 25 points per game. Expect that number to go up for Dunlop who already has offers from Augusta University and American University.
Do not sleep on the Pack. They are only 5-8 but they have played an extremely tough schedule which should prepare them for Region play. The Pack have losses to Evans, Glenn Hills and Baldwin. That trio is a combined 29-3 on the season.