High School

Dionte Neal, Kate Sears named players of the year by NC Basketball Coaches Association

West Bladen’s Travis Pait was named boys coach of the year; the girls coach of the year is McDowell's Zach McCartha

Mike Duprez

Watauga's Kate Sears looks for a teammate during the NCHSAA 4A West Regional Playoffs.
Watauga's Kate Sears looks for a teammate during the NCHSAA 4A West Regional Playoffs. / Nick Stevens (HighSchoolOT.com)

Reidsville’s Dionte Neal was named boys player of the year and Watauga’s Kate Sears was named girls player of the year as the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association released its all-state teams.

Neal is a 5-foot-9 junior guard who helped lead the Rams to their second straight 2-A state championship. The two-sport standout averaged 22.8 points, 9.1 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.9 rebounds per game. He was also named Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year.

Sears, a 5-foot-9 senior who has committed to Virginia Tech, averaged 27.2 points, 13.1 rebounds and 9.3 assists. In addition, she was named Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year.

West Bladen’s Travis Pait was named boys coach of the year after leading the Knights to a 27-2 record and the semifinals of the 2-A state playoffs.

The girls coach of the year was Zach McCartha, who led McDowell to a 30-1 record and the 4-A state semifinals.

Here are the all-state teams:

BOYS

First team

Dionte Neal – Reidsville

Chadlyn Traylor – North Mecklenburg

Trent Steinour – Lake Norman

Kendre Harrison – Reidsville

Jackson Keith (Southern Durham)

Second team

Will James Jr. – Holly Springs

M.J. Williams – Farmville Central

Johnniyus Sharpe – (Reidsville)

L.J. Smith IV – Lincolnton

Mason Dobie – First Flight

Third team 

Rodmik Allen – New Hanover

K.J. Younger – Weddington

Tarris Bouie - Chambers

Jyi Dawkins – Ben L. Smith

Shamarius Peterkin – Mount Tabor

GIRLS

First team

Kate Sears – Watauga

Adelaide Jernigan – Bishop McGuinness

Oshauna Holland – Stuart Cramer

Gabby White – Seaforth

Caitlyn Jones – Rolesville

Second team

Dvdaya Swimmer – Cherokee

Lenise Joseph – North Mecklenburg

Jamaria Freeman – Fike

Amari Baldwin – Albemarle

Tristan Shivers – Hoggard

Third team

Whitney Rogers – Cherokee

Breonna Roaf – Terry Sanford

Jasmine Nivar – Apex Friendship

Ashanti Fox – Union Pines

Joscelyn Stamper - Cherokee

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Mike Duprez
MIKE DUPREZ

Mike Duprez became a freelance sports journalist for Scorebooklive.com several months after retiring from the newspaper business. A native of Oakland, California, Duprez moved around as a child due to his father’s service in the United States Marine Corps. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. Duprez, who lives in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, had 30 years of experience in newspapers as well as other endeavors before retiring at the end of 2021. He covers stories in both North Carolina and South Carolina for Scorebooklive.com.

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