NC Sharpshooter Picks Spartans

According to ESPN recruiting, 2013 SG Clay Byrd (6'-1" - Connelly Springs, NC/East Burke HS) has committed to play basketball at UNCG next season. He picked UNCG over App State, Mercer and Yale.

- ESPN recruiting rated Clay as the #19 player in the state of NC.

- BasketballElite.com ranked him the 16th best guard in NC. During one scouting session this summer they wrote this evaluation ...

Impressed with his defense in one on one drills- hustles. Good lefty shooter. Boxes out and rebounds

- According to this article, Byrd averaged an astounding 25.0 points per game as a junior in high school and was named Burke County player of the year by the Morganton News & Herald.

- Clay played in ESPN recruiting analyst Dave Telep's Carolina Challenge this past spring.

Now let's move on to the videos ...

From Dave Telep's Carolina Challenge



From East Burke HS



An older video



Two videos from The Wolfpacker

Clay plays AAU basketball with Team United. You can see some of their highlights from this year's Peach Jam here.

Welcome to the Spartans, Clay !!!

Spartans Announce the Addition of RJ White

UNCG Athletics has officially announced that Randy (RJ) White has joined the UNCG basketball team as a freshman for the 2012-2013 season.

He was a two-time 4A District 9 Offensive Player of the Year award winner and a two-time All-District honoree. He averaged 16.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a senior while leading his team to the second round of the state tournament.

He is listed on the UNCG roster as 6'-8" and 280 lbs.

If you are looking for some more highlights of RJ playing with his AAU team (Dallas Mustangs) last season, you can find some here.

Randy White Joins Spartans

I'm not sure how I missed this back in July, but CBS Sport's Jeff Borzello reported that UNCG received a commitment from Texas PF Randy White (6'-8"). UNCG athletics hasn't reported it yet. So, I'm a little in the dark if this is actually true. In the meantime, here is some of the info that I could find on Randy.

- Rivals Profile.

- YouTube video from his U15 team (so this is old).


I'll post more info when I find it or if there's anything more to this story.

OOC Opponents RPI

Courtesy of RealTimeRPI ...

Bluefield State (non-D1), High Point (268), WSSU (non-D1), East Carolina (164), Virginia Tech (115), Rutgers (163), NC A&T (282), James Madison(261), UNCW (213), Wake Forest (182), NC State (50), Lees-McRae (non-D1)

UNCG Releases 2012-2013 Schedule

11/3 Bluefield State* (Exh.)
11/9 @ High Point
11/12 Winston-Salem State
11/16 @ East Carolina
11/19 Virginia Tech
11/25 Rutgers
11/28 NC A&T
12/1 Citadel
12/16 @ James Madison
12/19 @ UNC Wilmington
12/22 Wake Forest
12/31 @ NC State
1/5 @ Davidson
1/9 Lees-McRae
1/12 @ Western Carolina
1/14 @ App State
1/16 Wofford
1/20 Furman
1/24 Chattanooga
1/26 Samford
1/31 Elon
2/2 @ Charleston
2/7 @ Furman
2/9 @ Wofford
2/14 Western Carolina
2/17 App State
2/21 @ Chattanooga
2/23 @ Samford
2/28 Ga Southern
3/2 @ Elon
3/8 - 3/11 SoCon Tournament^

* Fleming Gym
^ Asheville, NC

Odom Named Basketball Advisor

The Southern Conference has named former Wake Forest and South Carolina coach Dave Odom to serve as the league's special advisor for basketball. You might remember that this position was formed during the league meetings back in May as part of the Davidson and Charleston concessions in the hopes of keeping them in the SoCon.

He will be charged with improving non-league scheduling, participation in early-season exempt tournaments, the operation of the conference tournament and member institution recruiting efforts.

That person — now, Odom — would work to enhance the league’s visibility and power ratings in basketball, commissioner John Iamarino said, with the ultimate goal of placing more teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Odom is from Greensboro and is currently the chairman of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. I think it's not surprising the UNCG appeared in the tournament last season and Elon is playing in it this year. Hopefully, he can really help with the scheduling throughout the league.

Mocs Release Schedule

Chattanooga released their 2012-2013 Men's basketball schedule today.

UTC returns home to host Appalachian State (Jan. 17) and Western Carolina (Jan. 19) before a trio on the road. Trips to Elon (Jan. 24), UNCG (Jan. 26) and Georgia Southern (Feb. 2) lead into a strong home stretch.

The regular season concludes with four key SoCon North matchups. The Mocs host UNCG (Feb. 21) and Elon (Feb. 23) before closing the year at Western Carolina (Feb. 28) and Appalachian State (Mar. 2).