Sweet 16 at 40: Find out which Charlotte boys’ players just missed our all-era list

Earlier this week, The Charlotte Observer honored the best boys’ high school basketball teams, coaches and players of the Sweet 16 era in celebration of the 40th anniversary of its high school poll.

Since 1984, hundreds of outstanding players, coaches and teams have come through the region and been covered by the media outlet. Here are 10 coaches and players who nearly made the cut, plus a few of the best players who left Mecklenburg County early.

(1) Ray Henderson, East Mecklenburg, class of 1999: Henderson, a 6-9 center, was a first-team pick on The Observer’s All-Mecklenburg County team after averaging 13.2 points, 14.1 rebounds and 4.5 blocks. As a junior, Henderson averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds, seven blocks and two assists.

After his senior season, Henderson, a top 100 national recruit, played in one of the state’s premier all-star games, the Charlotte High School All-Star Classic. He also played for the Georgia Elite USA Team in the Cadet World Basketball Championships in France. Henderson played in college at Clemson.

(2) Reggie Love, Providence Day, class of 2000: Love, a 6-5 forward, was first-team All-Mecklenburg County as a junior, when he averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and shot 54 percent from the field. He led the Chargers to a second straight NCISAA 2A state title and was named N.C. Independent Schools’ state player of the year.

As a senior, Love helped the Chargers back to the championship game. He averaged 20.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and was again named the N.C. Independent Schools’ state player of the year, an award he shared with Charlotte Christian’s Chris Meeks. Love repeated on first team on The Observer’s All-Mecklenburg County team but also was named first team among the newspaper’s larger all-regional selections. Love played football and basketball in college at Duke.

(3) Jamarius Burton, Independence, class of 2018: Burton, a 6-5 point guard, was all-conference at Berry High as a sophomore. But after transferring, he missed his junior season after having ACL surgery on his knee in the fall of 2016. His cousin, then-New Orleans Saints lineman Andrus Peat, set up Burton to have his surgery performed by renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews.

Burton was back by June 2017 and became the star of an Independence 2017-18 season that ended with the school’s second 4A state championship. Burton averaged 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals. He was MVP of the Patriots’ state final win and played in college at Pittsburgh.

(4) Steph and Seth Curry, Charlotte Christian, classes of 2006 and ‘08: As a senior in 2006, Steph Curry, then a 6-foot guard, repeated as MVP of the regional bracket of the Bojangles’ Shootout, then the No. 1 post-Christmas tournament in North Carolina.

Steph Curry made The Observer’s All-Region second team as a junior and a senior. He averaged 18 points per game in his career and left Christian with more than 1,400 career points, then a school record. As a senior, Steph Curry was part of a 33-3 Knights team that reached the NCISAA 3A state finals. He played in college at Davidson.

Seth Curry, a 6-1 guard, averaged 22 points, four rebounds and four assists per game as a senior in the 2007-08 season and made the all-state team. Seth Curry led Christian to a championship win over reigning NCISAA 1A state champ Victory Christian at the same Bojangles’ Shootout holiday event his brother had once starred in. Seth Curry was a first-team All-Observer regional pick in 2008 and eventually played in college at Duke.

(5) Byron Dinkins, East Mecklenburg, class of 1985: Dinkins, a 5-11 guard, is the only person to show up on our All-Anniversary player and coaches’ lists. He won multiple state championships as a coach at Northside Christian and Carmel Christian. But in high school he was a star himself.

In the 1984-85 season, the first year of The Sweet 16 era, Dinkins led Mecklenburg County in scoring at 25 points per game. He also averaged four rebounds. He was one of the top three scorers in North Carolina and was The Observer’s Mecklenburg County player of the year. Dinkins, who was a sixth man as a junior in high school, played in college at Charlotte.

(6) Jobey Thomas, Independence, class of 1998: Thomas made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 65 seconds to help his team rally past Richmond Senior, 82-80, to win the school’s first championship 27 years ago. Thomas, then a junior, finished with 16 points and was named championship MVP.

Playing on a team with Virginia Commonwealth recruit Scott Lilly and Tennessee-bound football All-American DeAngelo Lloyd, Thomas led the Patriots at 13 points per game.

In his senior year, Thomas had a career-high 33 against a Durham Mount Zion team led by a future NBA player named Cory Hightower. He was named Southwestern 4A player of the year over West Charlotte All-American Jason Parker by the league’s coaches and was also a first-team All-Mecklenburg County pick by The Observer.

Thomas averaged 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds as a senior and made 48 percent of his 3-point attempts. Thomas played in college at Charlotte.

(7) Ebuka Izundu, Victory Christian, class of 2015: Izundu, a 6-10 center, led his team to the NCISAA 1A state championship game as a senior. He averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. He initially committed to Charlotte, but was granted a release after the 49ers and coach Alan Major agreed to part ways.

After that, Izundu became one of the hottest recruiting targets in America, along with Kinston’s Brandon Ingram, who later signed with Duke. The Observer ran a headline in April that read “Izundu now target of recruiting war,” as Power 5 schools including Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas sent coaches to watch him work out in Charlotte. The week Izundu committed to Miami in May 2015, his high school coach told the newspaper that college coaches from Wichita State, South Carolina, Florida, Texas Tech and Connecticut had all called, wanting to get Izundu on campus for a visit.

(8) Matthew Fisher-Davis, Charlotte Christian/Butler: After a solid freshman year at Butler, Fisher-Davis averaged 12 points per game as a sophomore at Charlotte Christian and earned all-conference honors. As a junior, he repeated as an all-conference pick, but didn’t make any of The Observer’s postseason teams. He averaged 17.4 points per game.

As a senior, Fisher-Davis returned to Butler, was a first-team All-Mecklenburg County pick and signed to Vanderbilt. He averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and was named a top 100 national recruit.

(9) Kevin Reid, West Charlotte, class of 1986: A 6-4 forward, Reid led West Charlotte to a 29-0 record and an 4A state title in ‘86. It was the first state title for a Mecklenburg County boys’ team since South Mecklenburg won in 1976. Reid was named Tri-County 4A conference and The Observer’s player of the year in Mecklenburg County.

Reid had a team-high 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds in the state championship win over Raleigh Broughton.

After graduation in the summer of ‘86, Reid scored a game-high 21 points, plus eight rebounds, two steals and two assists to lead the West to a 102-95 win at the East-West all-star game in Greensboro. Reid played in college at Winston-Salem State.

(10) Kenneth Wylie, North Mecklenburg, class of 1988: Wylie, a 6-5 forward, was a two-time, first-team, Observer All-Mecklenburg County pick. Wylie averaged 16.4 points and 10.2 rebounds as a junior. As a senior, in 1988, he was the media outlet’s player of the year in Mecklenburg County. Wylie averaged 25.1 points and 8.7 rebounds during his senior year. He shot 54.7 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from the 3-point line. He also led the Vikings with 87 blocks.

Wylie led the Vikings to a 4A Western Regional berth as a senior and helped the team to a state finals appearance as a junior. Wylie signed with Charlotte for college.

Those who left early

There are many players who likely would have made our lists but left Mecklenburg County to finish their high school careers elsewhere. Here are a few who stood out to us:

Junior Burrough, West Charlotte/Oak Hill (VA), class of 1991: Burrough was The Observer’s Mecklenburg County player of the year in 1990 when he averaged 22.4 points and 12.2 rebounds as a junior. Burrough, who was second-team All-Mecklenburg as a sophomore, played his senior year at Oak Hill and later played in college at Virginia.

Jeff McInnis, West Charlotte/Oak Hill (VA), class of 1993: McInnis was MVP of the 4A state championship game as a sophomore, when he was the best player of the state’s best team. He averaged 22 points, six assists and was a first-team All-Mecklenburg County player. He played his final two years at Oak Hill, where he was ranked as high as the No. 2 point guard in the nation by multiple recruiting services. McInnis eventually became an all-ACC player at North Carolina.

Jae’Lyn Withers, North Mecklenburg/Cleveland Heights (Ohio), class of 2019: In April 2018, Withers moved up to No. 54 in the Rivals.com national rankings for players in the class of 2019. As a junior he averaged 20 points, 10.1 rebounds and was a first-team Observer all-regional player and made the all-state team. Withers transferred to Cleveland Heights (Ohio) High for his senior year, where he averaged 19.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. He played in college at Louisville and North Carolina.

Anton Hubert, Independence/Charlotte Christian, class of 1993: In February 1992, Hubert, then a junior, had 27 points against McInnis’ powerhouse Oak Hill team (McInnis had 19 points, 10 assists). In a rematch in Charlotte, Oak Hill won 108-75, but Hubert poured in 34 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals and teammate Todd Fuller, a future NBA center, had 33 points.

Hubert had transferred to Charlotte Christian and repeated his junior year in the 1991-92 season, when he averaged more than 24 points per game and made The Observer’s All-Mecklenburg County first team. Before his senior year, in 1992-93, however, Hubert decided to graduate early — he had enough credits to do so — and left for Graceland University (KY). He eventually got homesick and came home. Hubert later played college basketball at Kansas State.

Allerik Freeman, United Faith/Olympic/Findlay Prep (NV), class of 2013: Freeman, who began his career at United Faith, transferred to Olympic before his junior year. He rose as high as a top 10 national recruit and made the N.C. all-state team as a junior at Olympic, when he averaged 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the 2011-12 season. He announced a transfer to Findlay Prep (Las Vegas) in May 2012.

As a senior in Nevada, Freeman helped Findlay Prep to a 35-1 record and No. 3 national ranking by USA Today. Freeman eventually played college basketball at N.C. State.

Jaden Springer, Rocky River/IMG (FL), class of 2020: At Rocky River, Springer averaged 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in two seasons. He was named to The Observer’s all-regional first team as a sophomore, when he led the Ravens to the N.C. 4A Western Regional championship game, where they lost to Burton and eventual state champion Independence.

Springer transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his final two seasons, where he developed into a top 20 recruit and was named to the 2020 McDonald’s All-American game. He averaged 18.6 rebounds, 3.9 rebounds as a junior and 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists as a senior. Springer played in college at Tennessee.

Justin Gray, West Charlotte/Oak Hill, class of 2002: Gray left West Charlotte after his sophomore season and played his junior year at Oak Hill. Before he left, Gray was considered a top 10 in-state recruit. Gray played his junior year at Oak HIll. Before his senior year began, Gray briefly came home, re-enrolling at West Charlotte. But he eventually went back to Oak HIll for his senior season. At the time he went back, Gray — who had committed to Wake Forest — was the No. 2 ranked senior in the state behind Raleigh’s Shavlik Randolph, according to recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.

As a sophomore at West Charlotte, Gray averaged 14 points and four assists for a 27-7 West Charlotte team that reached the N.C. 4A quarterfinals. He made The Observer’s All-Mecklenburg second team. Gray is now head coach at Coastal Carolina.