Pirates, Tornadoes lead boys All-County selections

Whether reaching the fourth round of the state playoffs, or winning just a few games, every boys basketball team in Robeson County saw some stellar individual performances through the 2023-24 season.

The depth of this was evident by the fact 20 players from the five local high schools were given consideration for The Robesonian’s All-County Team and postseason awards.

Here is the annual celebration of Robeson County’s hardwood best.

Player of the Year

In his only season with the Lumberton boys basketball team, Dimetrious Jones proved to be a dynamic scorer who also made his Pirates teammates better, earning him Robeson County Player of the Year honors.

Jones, a senior guard, averaged 19.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the Pirates.

For more on Jones’ award-winning season, see the related story here .

Defensive Player of the Year

Using his 6-foot-9 frame to his advantage, Tyson Thompson provides stellar rim protection for St. Pauls. After an even better season than an award-winning freshman campaign, the sophomore forward has been named Robeson County Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season.

“He erases a lot of mistakes, and I think he does a really good job as far as moving his feet and just being a presence,” said St. Pauls coach Corey Thompson, Tyson’s father. “Sometimes he eliminates a lot of shots or players just miss because of his mere presence down there. … This year he led us in scoring as well too; however, his defensive presence had to step up tremendously in order for us to be competitive.”

Thompson averaged 3.4 blocks per game this season, the 11th most in the state and fourth most by a North Carolina sophomore. He also grabbed 9.3 rebounds per game, while scoring a team-high 12.6 points per contest.

“I would say the growth would be just him understanding the defensive assignments and knowing that he needs to be able to slide his feet, and at times, he’s not going to be able to block every shot,” Corey Thompson said. “He’s not someone who jumps every time; he reads the defense very well, he may take a charge. That’s one thing he does tremendously for our team.”

And good news for the Bulldogs program is that Thompson has two more years still to play.

“He’s getting stronger, he’s working out, he’s gaining more weight, getting physically stronger, and that’s really helping him out to continue developing his skills,” Corey Thompson said. “So we’re definitely excited about his growth.”

Underclassman of the Year

Lumberton sophomore guard Amare Jones did strong work as an offensive facilitator for the Pirates, creating plentiful scoring opportunities for his teammates to earn Robeson County Underclassman of the Year honors.

“If all of our players could make a jump and strides that Amare Jones did from freshman year to sophomore year — he made a big, big stride in his game and he changed the way he played,” Lumberton coach Bryant Edwards said. “He went from a ball-dominant scorer his freshman year on the JV team, to a complete point-guard mentality and created the most shots on the team for us by far.”

Playing alongside his older brother, Robeson County Player of the Year Dimetrious Jones, for the first time at the high-school level, Amare Jones averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game — but it’s the assists number of 8.4 that gets attention, ranking second in the state in the category, following in the footsteps of former Lumberton guards Jadarion Chatman and J.B. Brockington, who each had similarly high assist rates.

The Pirates have two more years of Amare Jones at the point guard position to look forward to.

“He’s going to step into a much larger role next year,” Edwards said. “He’s got a lot of work to do but we definitely look forward to a big two years from him the next two years.”

Most Improved Player

Jaiden Shephard took an even bigger step forward than Amare Jones for the Pirates, more than doubling both his scoring and rebounding averages from the season before to earn recognition as Robeson County’s Most Improved Player.

“Once (Dimetrious Jones) came on to be able to take more of the scoring load off, he was able to focus on more of what he does really well, dominate the glass,” Edwards said.

Shephard, a junior guard, averaged 14.1 points and 15.4 rebounds, up from 6.3 points and 6.4 boards in 2022-23. He also averaged 3.1 assists per game.

“We’re definitely going to develop him more to a ball-dominant ball handler next year and he’s going to play more of a wing and we’re going to try to evolve his game a little bit more,” Edwards said.

Coach of the Year

After a 15-win improvement that saw his Golden Tornadoes team reach the fourth round of the 2A state playoffs, Fairmont’s Montrell McNair has been named Robeson County Coach of the Year.

“It’s hard to describe, going from 7-18 and turning it around and going 22-6. It was a season that I’ll remember for a long time,” McNair said. “I think in the end, everybody bought in to the defense and that’s what got us over the hump. … There were games where we struggled offensively that we were still able to pull it out with our defense.”

Fairmont was 22-6 after a 7-18 campaign last season, winning a share of the Southeastern Athletic Conference regular-season championship, the Robeson County Shootout title and claiming three playoff wins including two on the road.

“It was great, the competition was great, and where we were at this year in the playoffs, I would love to be able to be there again next year,” McNair said. “We’ve already started working, just getting prepared and getting ready for another great season.”

Under McNair’s tutelage, nearly all the individual players on the Golden Tornadoes showed great improvement from the season before; McNair cited Gabriel Washington for improving defensively and running the point, Tyrek Thompson as a defender, Landon Cummings scoring and wanting the ball, Josiah Billings as a paint defender, Naishon Davis as a sixth man “difference maker” and Issac McKellar for a “complete turnaround” and learning to better maintain composure.

All-County Team

*Landon Cummings, Jr., G, Fairmont — 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 1.5 blocks

Issac McKellar, Sr., G, Fairmont — 10.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.0 steals

Josiah Billings, Jr., F, Fairmont — 6.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 blocks

Gabriel Washington, Sr., G, Fairmont — 4.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists

Naishon Davis, Sr., G, Fairmont — 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals

Tykeem Oxendine, Jr., G, St. Pauls — 7.7 points

Markeon Fletcher, Sr., G, St. Pauls — 7.7 points, 1.8 steals

*Kaedon Porter, Sr., G, Red Springs — 19.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists

*Makhi Arthur, Sr,. G, Red Springs — 15.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists

Collin Sampson, Jr., G, Purnell Swett — 15.6 points, 1.6 steals

* — denotes 2023 All-County selection

Honorable Mention

Fairmont’s Xavier Johnson and Tyrek Thompson, Lumberton’s Nate Lawson, St. Pauls’ Jamir McMillan and Theophilus Setzer, Red Springs’ Justice McMillan and Purnell Swett’s Tim Locklear, Jodi Freeman and Zach Harris earned honorable-mention selections.