Through the first few weeks of the regular season, Seaforth junior Jarin Stevenson leads all county boys basketball players in both points (24.7), rebounds (10.0) and blocks (3.7) per game.
The 6-foot-10 forward — ranked the No. 1 player from North Carolina in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports — has helped lead Seaforth to a 3-1 start to the season entering Thursday’s game against Western Alamance.
As a sophomore in 2021-22, Stevenson averaged 20.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. The Hawks finished the year 12-10 overall and ended the season with a 63-35 loss to Goldsboro in the first round of the state playoffs.
The only other Chatham County boys player averaging more than 20 points per game currently is Northwood junior Drake Powell, who isn’t far behind Stevenson at 22.3 points per game heading into the Chargers’ Tuesday night game against C.E. Jordan. He’s also averaging 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 60.5% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range so far this winter.
Powell, a 6-foot-6 wing committed to UNC who is ranked as the No. 7 player in North Carolina in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, helped lead Northwood to a 3-0 record entering Tuesday night. Also contributing for the Chargers this season has been junior Frederico Whitaker Jr., who currently leads the county in assists per game with 6.3.
This year’s Chargers expect to be among a handful of teams vying for a 3A state title at season’s end after falling in the fourth round of the state tournament last season.
The county leader in steals per game so far this season is Chatham Charter sophomore Beau Harvey, who has racked up 4.9 per game in Chatham Charter’s first nine games of the season. If he keeps the same pace and the Knights play as many games as they do last season (34), he will wind up with 166 total for the season, which would be 47 more than he had as a freshman in 2021-22.
Harvey is also averaging 11.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, and his 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio is also the best mark in the county this season. He’s a big reason Chatham Charter entered Tuesday’s game against Uwharrie Charter at 9-0 on the season. The sophomore is one of three Chatham Charter players averaging at least 10 points per game, along with his older brother, senior Adam Harvey (15.7), and sophomore Brennen Oldham (11.4)
The Knights are the reigning 1A east regional champions. Last season, Chatham Charter amassed a 33-2 record and made it to the state championship game before falling to Hayesville in overtime.
Chatham Central, Jordan-Matthews and Woods Charter have not reported stats this season. The Bears were 3-1, the Jets were 0-3 and the Wolves were 0-4 entering this week of play.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.