CHAPEL HILL — Dubbing this season its “road to revenge,” the Richmond Raider basketball team will get its chance to wrap up some unfinished business and contend for a state championship starting on Tuesday.
After keeping teams and fans waiting, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its finalized playoff brackets late Saturday night.
The Raiders earned the No. 2 seed in the 4A East, setting them up with No. 31 Purnell Swett High School in the first round.
In a season full of numerous program records being broken that also saw the return of North Carolina State University commit Paul McNeil Jr., sixth-year head coach Donald Pettigrew said the next three weeks are what the Raiders have been working toward since last March.
Less than a month after suffering a fourth-round upset loss to No. 5 Cleveland High School in the 2021-22 4A state playoffs, a run that hadn’t been done in 25 years by No. 1 Richmond, the Raiders got back to work in the gym.
Eight months of offseason preparation paved the way to the Raiders’ success so far in 2022-23, which will see Richmond enter the playoffs with a 23-2 overall record.
That mark tied for the best winning percentage (.920) in the 4A East alongside No. 1 seed New Hanover High School (23-2).
“We are a year older and we’re more experienced in a lot of areas,” Pettigrew said. “Making it to the fourth round last year was new for me as coach and new for the guys. That’s not an excuse, but we’ve been trying to learn how to win as a team down the stretch.
“This year we’ve spent time getting the guys prepared, pushing them mentally and physically every day at practice. That fourth-round experience is really going to help. We’ve been talking all year about getting to this point this season to compete for a state championship.
“No one wants to feel that way again like we did in the fourth round. Our guys and coaches know what’s at stake and we’re going to take it one game at a time.”
The Raiders made a perfect sweep through regular-season Sandhills Athletic Conference play, earning a 12-0 record, the first undefeated conference slate in the program’s 51 seasons.
As a tune-up to the playoffs, Richmond defeated Hoke County and Scotland high schools to clinch its second consecutive SAC tournament title last Friday. It marked just the second time in program history the Raiders won the regular-season title outright, followed by the tournament crown.
McNeil Jr., along with a host of multi-year starters, headlines a Raider team that’s averaging 78.1 points per game this season. In its 23 wins so far, Richmond has won by a margin of 29.7 points per contest.
The Raiders have 12 wins of 30 points or more, five victories of 40 points or more and their two largest wins were 51 and 52 points, respectively. Currently, the team is riding a season-long 16-game winning streak.
According to MaxPreps, McNeil Jr. is the leading scorer in the 4A East, netting 23.9 points per game. He’s played just 18 of the team’s 25 games this season (transfer and eligibility), and is ranked 8th in assists (4.4 per game) and 11th in the region with 8.7 rebounds per game.
Dakota Chavis, a senior three-year starter for the Raiders, runs the floor as the starting point guard. This season, Chavis has averaged 6.0 PPG and is a facilitator with the basketball, dishing out 4.3 assists per game, ranking him 9th in the 4A East.
Also a catalyst on defense, Chavis has been a part of the Raiders’ rise into the spotlight the past three seasons and hopes to go out in style.
“Our expectations for this playoff run are to end it with a state championship,” Chavis said. “Our offense is good and it will come, but I believe the only thing that will hold us back would be defense and rebounding. If we up our defense to another level, and box out and rebound, we can win a championship. We have to go all out.
“As a senior during this run, I’m just appreciating everything and not taking it for granted,” he added. “I know if we lose it’s my last high school game. I want to be the best leader and point guard I can be for my team on this run and help us win a state title. I’m going to leave it all out on the court.”
Jullien Cole, who transferred to Richmond from Pinecrest last summer, has added offensive and defensive depth on the court for the Raiders. Averaging 15.8 PPG, Cole gives Richmond another weapon from three-point land.
With his 58 made triples this season, Cole is 5th in the 4A East and shoots an impressive clip of 40 percent from downtown. McNeil Jr. is just behind him with 55 made three-balls (ranked 8th, 39 percent).
The two Raiders are also amongst the 4A East’s leading turnover machines, with Cole averaging 2.6 steals per game (10th) and McNeil Jr. swiping 2.4 steals a night (13th).
Senior Zion Baldwin, a two-year varsity starter, has played out of position as Richmond’s post player, averaging 7.3 points per game to help the team win.
An explosive player during transition and breakaway jams, along with rebounding (6.6 boards per game), Baldwin said this year’s chemistry and the team focusing on the idiosyncrasies of the game are what could lead to an historic postseason run.
“Our bond is way closer than it was last year and we always encourage each other to do better and that helps the team build chemistry,” Baldwin said. “We know that we fell short last year and we never want to feel like that again.
“So everything we didn’t do last year, we made sure we did this year, especially the little things. I’m looking forward to the ring we’re going to get after we win the state championship.”
A deep bench provides the likes of junior Javian Drake (11.4 PPG, 3.2 APG), who is an elusive guard capable of driving the lane or hitting the outside shot. Junior shooting guard Jamarion Wall (7.9 PPG) has gotten hot late, especially from beyond the arc.
The lone freshman on the team is starter Jayden Hamilton, a player Pettigrew said doesn’t always have his efforts recorded on the stat sheet. With his speed and shifty defense, Hamilton “has shut down some of the best shooters” the Raiders have faced this season.
Other guys looking to help make an impact are juniors Dylan Lampley, Toby McInnis and David McNair, along with recent junior varsity call-ups Keyonta Davis, Davion Ingram, Amer Morrison and Terande Spencer.
When the No. 2 Raiders take the floor on Tuesday in the opening round, they’ll face No. 31 Purnell Swett, a team they’ve defeated twice this season.
Having won the last eight games against the Rams (12-13) dating back to Jan. 25, 2019, Richmond earned wins of 81-45 and 92-58 in the first and sixth games of this season.
Purnell Swett, which is a former conference opponent of Richmond, is coached by Jeremy Sampson. The Rams finished tied for third in the United 8 Conference this season and have averaged 53.1 PPG while allowing 61.8 points against.
Pettigrew acknowledged that advancing in the state playoffs isn’t a guarantee, so he’s preached the philosophy of “one game at a time” to the Raiders.
“We’re not concerned about who’s next. We just need to do what we do and take care of what we can control,” Pettigrew said.
“Defense is where we need to be locked in, along with rebounding and boxing out. If we play a full 32 minutes, value every possession and limit our mistakes, we should be able to win.”
Tip-off against the Rams is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Should the Raiders win, they would host the winner of No. 15 Sanderson and No. 18 Chapel Hill.
In order to advance, Pettigrew said there’s one more thing the Raiders need — continued support.
“Man, our fans have been amazing all season and we appreciate them so much,” Pettigrew closed. “I hope they’ll continue what they’ve been doing because it’s been amazing.
“To hear them cheering us on, we feed off that energy. We’re so thankful for the support from our community and hope to see a lot of fans pack the gym on Tuesday.”
Note: All stats used in this article were taken from MaxPreps.
