March Madness x Hoop State

Tracking North Carolina-Born Players in March Madness 2025

Welcome to our weekly blog tracking the performance of college basketball players born in or who graduated high school in North Carolina throughout March Madness! With the tournament heating up, we'll keep you updated on standout performances, key stats, and rising stars making an impact on the national stage.

Top Performances of the Weekend

In the ACC, Jaydon Young (Virginia Tech) drop 26 points, shooting 50% from the field and going perfect from the line in a 101-95 win over Syracuse on Saturday.

Jaydon Young (#1 VT)

Duke and UNC picked up easy wins on Saturday and freshmen Isaiah Evans (19 points) and Drake Powell (16 points) shined. Powell was extremely efficient going 5-6 from the field, 2-3 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the free throw line while Evans shot 6-17 from the field.

Dontrez Styles (NC State) continues to find his rhythm for the Wolfpack, adding 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 87-62 loss to Georgia Tech, despite a slow start for the Kinston native.

Elsewhere around the country...

Nik Graves (UNC-Charlotte) -- 32 pts (9-16 FG, 4-8 3PT, 10-11 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals in 78-76 loss to East Carolina

Chase Forte (South Dakota) -- 31 points (11-19 FG, 3-3 3PT, 6-7 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists in 92-79 win over North Dakota

Jordan Marsh (UNC-Asheville) -- 27 points (11-21 FG, 3-9 3PT, 2-5 FT), 7 assists, 5 rebounds in loss to Winthrop

Silas Demary Jr (Georgia) -- 26 points (8-14 FG, 3-6 3PT, 7-12 FT) in 67-83 win over Texas

Ezra Ausar (Utah) -- 25 points (7-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 11-14 FT), 4 rebounds in 99-73 win over Arizona State

Jaylen Curry (Massachusetts) -- 22 pts (8-16 FT, 5-8 3PT, 1-5 FT), 8 assists, 4 rebounds and Daniel Hankins-Sanford (Massachusetts) -- 19 points (7-14 FG, 2-5 3PT, 3-4 FT), 12 rebounds in 91-88 win over Rhode Island

Chase Forte (#9 South Dakota)

Top Story of the Week: Trevor Best

Wilson native and college freshman Trevor Best scored his career-collegiate points as a Sun Devil, finishing the night with 18 points on 5-8 shooting including 6-6 from the line. Best joined Arizona State University in January after graduating early from Word of God Christian Academy where he spent two seasons. He has endless potential and this early success is hopefully a sign of great things to come. He deserves it.

What to Watch this Week

updating on Tuesday...

Entering Conference Tournaments

As the tournaments kick off, several North Carolina natives are poised to make an impact. Here are some of the top players to watch:

Hoop State College Top 10

1. 

   Brice Williams (Nebraska) -- 19.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg [as of 2/28/25]

   Nebraska is an active contender for a spot in the dance. Seems they'll need 19 wins to secure their spot and in order to do that they'll look to win out the regular season and make a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament.

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   Jordan Marsh (UNC-Asheville) — 18.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.5 apg

   UNC-Asheville holds a 0-2 record in both Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2 games, a 3-3 record in Quadrant 3, and a strong 13-1 record in Quadrant 4 matchups. Which means, even though the Bulldogs are having a good season, their safest path to the dance is winning the Big South Tournament on March 9th in Johnson City, TN. Currently UNCA is second in Big South rankings, behind High Point University.

   
   

   UNCA roster also includes a ton of Hoop State talent...

   Toyaz Solomon (UNC-Asheville) — 15.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.8 apg

   Josh Banks (UNC-Asheville) — 15.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 apg

   Justin Wright (UNC-Asheville) — 11.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.9 apg

   Fletcher Abee (UNC-Asheville) — 10.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.3 apg

   Kameron Taylor (UNC-Asheville) — 8.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg

   Greg Gantt Jr (UNC-Asheville) — 4.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.2 apg

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Ketron Shaw (Maryland Eastern Shore) — 18.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.1 apg

UMES is struggling, bad, with a 5–22 overall record including 1–10 in the MEAC. Coach Hill wasn't hired until June of 2024 but was hired from Winston-Salem State University so he has solid NC ties. The late hire did result in 11 new players to the program on the roster. Two of those players are brothers and NC natives Ketron "KC" Shaw and Kyrell "Ky" Shaw. Ketron, the elder sibling, transferred to UMES after playing two seasons at Winston-Salem State University. Kyrell, a freshman guard, joined the team directly from high school.

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Samage Teel (Indiana State) — 17.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.1 apg

Teel is a product of Larry Williford and the Farmville Central Jaguars. Now a senior guard, he leds Indiana State in scoring after stints at Winston-Salem State and Presbyterian. He recently hit his career high in scoring, dropping 36 points and has scored over 1,500 points in his career. Unfortunately, it will take a Missouri Valley Tournament championship for the Sycamores to see the field of 68.

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Chase Forte (South Dakota Coyotes) — 16.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg

Chase Forte is playing his final year of college basketball and is thriving as a player. Unfortunately, his team hasn't shared in his success and it seems their only path to a NCAA tournament birth is to win the Summit League Conference Tournament.

6. Nik Graves (UNC-Charlotte) — 16.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.8 apg

7. Po’boigh King (NC Central) — 16.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 asg

8. Josh Scovens (Army) — 16.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.8 apg

9. CJ Huntley (App State) — 15.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.1 apg

10. Nick Dorn (Elon) — 15.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg

The Watch List

Aden Hollowaay (Alabama) — 12.0 ppg

Themus Fulks (Milwaukee) — 14.3 ppg // 3.2 rpg // 5.8 apg Daylen Berry (Charleston Southern) — 14.2 ppg // 5.5 rpg // 2.9 apg

RJ Johnson (Charleston Southern) — 13.9 ppg // 2.0 rpg // 4.5 apg

Donovan Atwell (UNC Greensboro) — 13.7 ppg // 3.4 rpg // 0.9 apg Caleb Stone-Carrawell (Loyola Marymount) — 13.6 ppg // 2.5 rpg // 1.3 apg

Jamarii Thomas (South Carolina) — 13.5 ppg // 3.2 rpg // 3.2 apg Derrick Butler (Bowling Green) — 13.4 ppg // 3.3 rpg // 1.0 apg Evan Johnson (Maryland Eastern Shore) — 13.2 ppg // 2.5 rpg // 2.4 apg Carter Whitt (Belmont) — 12.9 ppg // 4.6 rpg // 5.8 apg

Jaylen Curry (Massachusetts) — 12.8 ppg // 3.8 rpg // 3.8 apg Kenny Noland (Columbia) — 12.8 ppg // 3.6 rpg // 3.5 apg

Sebastian Akins (Denver) — 12.6 ppg // 2.3 rpg // 2.8 apg

Silas Demary Jr (Georgia) — 12.5 ppg // 3.9 rpg // 3.2 apg Dre Bullock (South Dakota) — 12.4 ppg // 3.5 rpg // 1.6 apg

Terence Harcum (Murray State) — 12.1 ppg // 2.4 rpg // 2.1 apg

Aden Hollowaay (Alabama) — 12.0 ppg // 2.1 rpg // 1.9 apg Ezra Ausar (Utah) — 12.0 ppg // 4.8 rpg // 0.9 apg

ACC Top 10

1. Dontrez Styles (NC State) — 10.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg

2. Damian Dunn (Pittsburgh) — 9.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg

3. Mylyjael Poteat (Virginia Tech) — 9.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.1 apg

4. Elijah Strong (Boston College) — 9.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.0 apg

5. Zack Austin (Pittsburgh) — 9.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg

6. Ben Burnham (Virginia Tech) — 7.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg

7. Isaiah Evans (Duke) — 7.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg

8. James Scott (Louisville) — 7.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.4 apg

9. Jaydon Young (Virginia Tech) — 7.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.4 apg

10. Drake Powell (North Carolina) — 7.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 apg

SEC Top 5

1. Jamarii Thomas (South Carolina) — 13.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.2 apg

2. Silas Demary Jr (Georgia) — 12.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.2 apg

3. Aden Hollowaay (Alabama) — 12.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.9 apg

4. Kadin Shedrick (Texas) — 8.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.6 apg

5. Dji Bailey (LSU) — 8.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg

Hoop State Original Content

Day in the Life: Aden Holloway featuring Robert Dillingham (produced by Max Schiede)

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