What to know ahead of the 2023-24 high school basketball season in NC (2024)

The 2023-2024 high school basketball season in North Carolina will be in full swing after Friday night.

While private schools in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association and non-football schools in the N.C. High School Athletic Association have already started playing official contests, the football-playing schools in the NCHSAA will get things started on the same night as the third round of the football playoffs.

Here is a quick guide of what you need to know before the season, with links to larger topics.

A Refresher on Last Year

Here are the schools that won a state championship last season.

NCHSAA Boys

• 4A: Myers Park def. Richmond 74-60
  • Feature: Why Scott Taylor's coaching performance for Myers Park shouldn't be understated READ HERE
  • Feature: Richmond's storybook season falls short, but another chapter awaits READ HERE
• 3A: Central Cabarrus def. Northwood 65-51
  • Feature: How did Central Cabarrus become a state champion? It's simple math READ HERE
  • Feature: Left disappointed by title loss, Northwood hopes to use it as motivation READ HERE
• 2A: Farmville Central def. Reidsville 75-63
  • Feature: Farmville Central, 'a player's program' gives credit to its athletes for powerhouse status READ HERE
  • Feature: Despite title loss, Reidsville freshmen have proven their might READ HERE
• 1A: Wilson Prep def. Eastern Randolph 84-73
  • Feature: Amidst championship success, Wilson Prep's Atkinson Jr. cherishes father-son bond READ HERE
  • Feature: Eastern Randolph's DaVonte Brooks shines on the state championship stage READ HERE

NCHSAA Girls

• 4A: Panther Creek def. Lake Norman 75-65
  • Feature: Why Panther Creek might be back in next year's girls basketball final READ HERE
  • Feature: 'Mamba Mentality' could lead freshman Kelsey Rhyne, Lake Norman back to title game READ HERE
• 3A: West Rowan def. Rocky Mount 60-50
  • Feature: West Rowan's dominant season ends with unblemished record, state title READ HERE
  • Feature: In her final game, Thiel leads Rocky Mount fightback in 3A girls basketball title loss READ HERE
• 2A: Salisbury def. Seaforth 48-39
  • Feature: Salisbury completes repeat with a much different roster READ HERE
  • Feature: Seaforth emerges: from the depths of Jordan Lake to title contender READ HERE
• 1A: Bishop McGuinness def. Chatham Charter 73-43
  • Feature: Bishop McGuinness sophom*ore Adelaide Jernigan builds legacy with second state championship READ HERE
  • Feature: Chatham Charter GBB hopes 'surreal' title run lays groundwork for future success READ HERE

See Last Year's NCHSAA Brackets Here

NCISAA Boys

• 4A: Christ School def. Carmel Christian 53-48
• 3A: Greensboro Day def. Concord Academy 58-56
• 2A: The Burlington School def. Greenfield School 78-65
• 1A: Northside Christian def. United Faith Christian 64-57

NCISAA Girls

• 4A: Rabun Gap (GA) def. Cannon School 53-43
• 3A: Concord Academy def. High Point Christian 64-43
• 2A: Grace Christian (Sanford) def. Wayne Country Day 88-63
• 1A: Northside Christian def. Crossroads Christian 57-37

The Final HSOT Top 25 Rankings from Last Season

Central Cabarrus finished as the top-ranked team in the boys' statewide Top 25, while Panther Creek led the way in the statewide girls rankings.

The 2022-2023 HSOT All-State Teams for basketball

Many of these players will be back on the court this winter.

Big Rule Changes for 2023-2024

Shooting one-and-one free throws after common fouls are a thing of the past. Now, when schools enter the "bonus", there will be two foul shot opportunities instead of the one-and-one. Additionally, the bonus counter will reset at each quarter change. Now, teams will enter the bonus after their opponent commits five fouls in a quarter.

In the past, teams had the opportunity to go to the line for the one-and-one bonus when their opponents committed seven fouls in a half. Two foul shots used to come when ten fouls were committed each half. Now, there are only two shot scenarios and they come after five fouls in any quarter.

The rule changes were approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee at its annual meeting April 24-26 in Indianapolis

Here are the other rule changes for basketball:

• Rule 2-1-3 establishes the official placement of a shot clock operator at the scorer’s table for those states utilizing the shot clock.
• Rule 3-4-5 clarifies that multiple styles of uniform bottoms may be worn by teammate, but they must all be like-colored and adhere to uniform rules outlined in Rule 3-6-2 regarding logos and trademarks.
• Rule 3-5-6 addresses undershirts and allows teams to wear a single solid color or solid black for visiting teams with dark jerseys. This provides an opportunity for schools with hard-to-find colors to have all players wear a black undershirt.
• Rule 9-3-3 was amended to allow a player to step out of bounds and return to the court if they gain no advantage. A player is penalized only if, after returning inbounds, the player is the first to touch the ball or avoids a violation.

Read more at the following link:

The Top Basketball Recruits in North Carolina

Many of the country's best high school basketball players play in North Carolina. This includes the nation's No. 1 overall girls prospect Sarah Strong and multiple 5-star prospects on the boys side. Read about them below:

Top Boys Recruits:

Top Girls Recruits:

HSOT's Preseason Statewide Top 25 & Area Code Rankings

In HighSchoolOT's preseason polls, Grace Chrsitian of Sanford is the top-ranked girls team in the state and Myers Park is the top-ranked boys team in the state.

In the preseason area code rankings for girls teams, South Central is ranked first in the 252, Bishop McGuinness is ranked first in the 336, Lake Norman is ranked first in the 704, Watauga is ranked first in the 828, Cape Fear is ranked first in the 910, and Grace Christian is ranked first in the 919.

In the preseason area code rankings for boys teams, Farmville Central is ranked first in the 252, Reidsville is ranked first in the 336, Myers Park is ranked first in the 704, Christ School is ranked first in the 828, Richmond is ranked first in the 910, and Northwood is ranked first in the 919.

New Head Coaches in NC

When you combine the boys side and girls side, there are well over 100 new head basketball coaches at North Carolina high schools. We have a list of all them at the link below:

The Impact Transfers in NC

As with any high school basketball season, player movement is set to play a huge rule in each of the two main athletic associations this season. Some public school players transferred to public schools, some private school players transferred to public schools, some public school players transferred to private schools, and both traditional public and private schools last players to a basketball-specific "academy."

Here's our list of the biggest moves:

HSOT's Player Watch Lists

HighSchoolOT released its player watch lists for each of the state's area codes. These lists are a good starting point for high school basketball fans to determine which teams that they want to see this winter.

252 Area Code

• Girls Basketball 252 Watch List: NC State commit Zamareya Jones leads a talented region
• Boys Basketball 252 Watch List: Four players from defending champ Farmville Central lead the list

336 Area Code

• Girls Basketball 336 Watch List: Many of last year's top Triad players are back
• Boys Basketball 336 Watch List: The Triad returns many of the top players from a year ago

704 Area Code

• Boys Basketball 704 Watch List: Charlotte area is stacked with high-end talent once again

828 Area Code

• Girls Basketball 828 Watch List: Top WNC programs return high-end talent
• Boys Basketball 828 Watch List: The top players in WNC heading into 2023-24

910 Area Code

• Girls Basketball 910 Watch List: Top players set to clash again this winter
• Boys Basketball 910 Watch List: The players to see from Fayetteville to Wilmington

919 Area Code

• Girls Basketball 919 Watch List: Does the Triangle have the most high-level players in NC?
• Boys Basketball 919 Watch List: The Triangle has high-level talent in every class

Key Players Returning from the 8 NCHSAA Boys Finalists

Returning players from the state champions:

Returning players from the state runners-up: