Dave Telep instructed the top players in the state to look around them as they gathered in March for the start of his Carolina Challenge camp at Cary Academy.
He told them that for several years, North Carolina's reputation for producing top high school basketball prospects had diminished. As they prepared to play at a camp that included most of the best 80 players in the state, Telep told them that was changing.
North Carolina hasn't had a McDonald's All-American since Chris Paul in 2003, but that drought almost certainly is ending because elite players are emerging at the state's high schools.
"I don't know how to explain it,"
said Christ School coach David Gaines, who helped Telep at the Carolina Challenge. "It's absolutely the truth. As a North Carolinian, we take pride in that."
Much of that talent will be on display this weekend at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, which will start tonight and continue through Sunday in Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh. Over the past several years, the top AAU teams in the nation competing in the tournament have invariably featured out-of-state players.
Greg Oden and Tyler Zeller from Indiana, and West Coast standouts Kevin Love and Brandon Jennings have led teams to 17-and-under championships in recent years.
Now in-state players are coming to the forefront in the tournament for the first time in years. Point guard John Wall of Raleigh, who plays for D-One Sports, is rated the top player in the Class of 2009 by rivals.com.
Mason Plumlee is from Indiana but plays for Gaines at Christ School in Arden, near Asheville, and is making a serious push for McDonald's All-American in 2009 as well.
A 6-foot-11 forward known for his perimeter skills, Plumlee was most valuable player of the Jam Fest in Pittsburgh after leading the Indiana Elite to the 17-and-under title.
Though North Carolina commitment Reggie Bullock of Kinston won't play in Gibbons' event because of tendinitis in his quadriceps, he recently led the CP3 All-Stars to the championship of the Southern Invitational in Charlottesville, Va. Telep, the national recruiting analyst for scout.com, rates Bullock as one of the two best shooting guards in the Class of 2010.
"The state as a whole is experiencing kind of a renaissance of prospects,"
Telep said.
North Carolina has a long history of producing top prospects even though it doesn't have a city approaching the population of basketball hotbeds such as New York and Baltimore-Washington.
David Thompson brought his legendary athletic ability and a 1974 NCAA title to N.C. State from Shelby. James Worthy of Gastonia and Michael Jordan of Wilmington helped North Carolina win the 1982 NCAA championship for Dean Smith.
Wake County alone had three McDonald's All-Americans in 2001-02 with Anthony Richardson, Shavlik Randolph and Eric Williams.
All-Star Sports recruiting guru Bob Gibbons, who runs the Tournament of Champions, can't come up with a reason for the state's slump, except for the cyclical nature of recruiting. But he said the slump is ending.
Standouts in the Class of 2010 include N.C. State commitment C.J. Leslie of Raleigh and Tashawn Mabry of Rocky Mount. The Charlotte area has some top Class of 2011 players in Bernard Sullivan of North Mecklenburg High and Vance's Marquis Rankin and Jacoby Davis.
"I think there are bright days ahead,"
Gibbons said.
The Tournament of Champions still will feature elite players from outside North Carolina. Derrick Favors of the Atlanta Celtics and Juice All-Stars standout Lance Stephenson of Brooklyn are among the top prospects in the Class of 2009.
This year, though, the home state standouts won't be overshadowed.
"As a state, we look really good, '09, 2010 and through 2011,"
Telep said. "It's going to help the ACC area, and there are enough good players to help the other conferences as well."
