Home Local Sports Richmond Fab 5: McNeil, Pettigrew earn top recognition as Raiders highlight All-SAC...

Richmond Fab 5: McNeil, Pettigrew earn top recognition as Raiders highlight All-SAC team

Left to right: Zion Baldwin, Javian Drake, Paul McNeil, Dakota Chavis and Donald Pettigrew were selected to the All-SAC basketball team.
Kyle Pillar — Sports Editor.

ROCKINGHAM — The exclamation point on an exciting season of Richmond Raider basketball came in the form of four players and head coach Donald Pettigrew being recognized on the All-Sandhills Athletic Conference team.

The 2021-22 team was released following the Raiders’ departure from the 4A East state playoffs on Tuesday. Two sophomores — Javian Drake and Paul McNeil — and two juniors — Zion Baldwin and Dakota Chavis — were selected.

It was McNeil’s second career selection, while Baldwin, Chavis and Drake all earned their first respective postseason roster spots.

McNeil, a five-star recruit with seven offers, earned the recognition as the SAC’s “Player of the Year.” Pettigrew was named the “Coach of the Year,” and it was the first time either one had earned the accolade.

With those selections, Richmond’s basketball programs swept the POY and COY honors this winter, with freshman Jamyia Lindsey and coach Teddy Moseley taking the awards for the girls’ season.

The Raiders went 26-2 and made it to the fourth round of the state playoffs for the first time since 1996-97. Winning the Sandhills Athletic Conference title, Richmond opened the season on a 15-game winning streak, which was the best start to a season in program history.

“They’re all so deserving and they put so much hard work in,” Pettigrew said of the four Raiders. “They all had big games throughout the year and the biggest plus is that they’re all coming back next year. I’m so proud of them.

“They each have their own personality and how they approach the game,” he continued. “Dakota is a driver and one of the best defensive players on the team. JV brings the energy, toughness and grit. 

“Zion is our double-double guy and hustles, and Paul has the right pieces around him to make him really successful.”

Paul McNeil, sophomore shooting guard

SAC Player of the Year

Now a two-time All-Conference player, this is McNeil’s first time as Player of the Year. He led the SAC, the 4A East and the class of 2024 in scoring with 24.5 points per game this season. 

He was ahead of Justin Monden in the 4A East scoring (23.9 PPG, Heritage) and Makel Smith in the sophomore class (24.2 PPG, Morehead).

The centerpiece of the Raiders’ offense, McNeil netted 680 points this season and nearly averaged a double-double with 9.7 rebounds per game. He also shared the scoring wealth with 3.8 assists per game.

On Feb. 11 against rival Scotland, McNeil dropped a career-high 41 points. He scored over 20 points in 18 games, added seven performances of scoring over 30 points and eclipsed the 40-point mark one time.

McNeil also registered a team-high 12 double-doubles, including one in all four of Richmond’s playoff games. He had 10+ rebounds in 12 games and had a season-high 19 boards against Wake Forest and Pine Forest in the playoffs. His rebounding average was third-best in the SAC.

“I appreciate all of my guys and we trust in each other,” McNeil said. “To get Player of the Year feels really good because I put in a lot of hard work and I thought I was deserving. I’m thankful for it and thankful to God for giving me this opportunity.

“I just wanted to produce my skills in every game to help the team win,” he added of his numbers. “We put the hard work in and the guys trust in me to be able to score and rebound, so I just did what I had to do. I just played my heart out for this team.”

Zion Baldwin, junior forward

Making his presence known this season in the paint and on the boards, Baldwin emerged as Richmond’s second-leading rebounder to collect his first all-conference nod. Despite missing time during the playoffs, Baldwin averaged 9.2 rebounds per game.

Baldwin pulled down double-digit rebounds in 10 games, including a career-high 20 boards against Pinecrest on Dec. 10 and Wake Forest in the playoffs. He finished his junior season with 8 double-doubles, including two in the first two rounds of the 4A playoffs.

Also able to score down low, Baldwin averaged 7.5 points per game. His highest scoring performance came against Uwharrie Charter Academy in the second game of the year with 17 points. He also notched 10+ points in 10 games this season.

“It really means a lot to me to be all-conference,” Baldwin commented. “I put in a lot of hard work this season, and even when we’re not playing games or practicing, I’m in the gym hustling to get better to be the best that I can be.

“My role was to help on defense and get rebounds, which was a big part of our success. I was able to help the team get second-chance opportunities and I was also able to help score when we needed it.”

Dakota Chavis, junior guard

In his second full season on varsity, Chavis continued to be a spark plug for the Raiders on both ends of the floor, helping him to his first postseason accolade. A driver and a defensive specialist, Chavis was known for picking up the tempo when the team needed it.

Chavis’ statline consisted of 9.5 points per game, 3.3 assists per game and he averaged 3.2 boards per contest. He finished the season with 266 points scored. Chavis’ best offensive output came in a game against Union Pines on Jan. 7, when he netted a career-high 20 points.

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In 15 other games, Chavis managed to surpass the 10-point mark. Able to use his speed and strength, Chavis scored from inside the paint and complimented that with an outside shot. Also not afraid to send the extra pass, Chavis dished out a career-high 11 assists in a win over Hoke County, one of his two double-doubles this winter.

“When Coach told me that I was all-conference, I felt really good and I thought that we all earned it this season,” Chavis said. “I was able to score, but I think I helped out a lot on defense, rebounding and doing everything I could to help the team.

“I can drive the ball, but the game works better when you can make the extra pass,” he added. “If I could make the right pass to the open shooter, I’d do that so we could put up more points.”

Javian Drake, sophomore guard

Fans who have seen Drake play in his first varsity season know his role is to be the hype man for the Raiders. Described as the team’s “alpha dog” by Pettigrew, Drake came up big for Richmond by serving as a scorer, a defensive threat and an agitator to opposing teams.

As one of two point guards used this season, Drake averaged 12.6 points per game, which was fifth-best in the SAC. He had a career-high 23 points against Southern Lee on Feb. 3, and netted his only other 20+ point performance against Pine Forest in the playoffs (22 points).

Using his ability to slide past defenders and an effective three-point shot, Drake scored 15 or more points in 11 games. Drake also averaged 2.4 assists per game and 2.3 steals per game.

“This really means a lot to me,” Drake said. “I don’t think I’d be all-conference if Jalen David was still here because he was such a good teammate and this season would have been better with him.

“I felt that it was my job to be the energy guy because I’m already small, so that extra hype coming from me was able to feed other players on the team. The best part of this season was breaking records and having a lot of success with the guys.”

Donald Pettigrew, head coach

SAC Coach of the Year

The 2021-22 season was Pettigrew’s fifth year as the Raiders’ head coach, and in many ways he restored success at his alma mater. The team’s 26-2 overall record, and 11-1 mark against SAC opponents, were both the best records during his tenure.

This season was the second time a team coached by Pettigrew reached the 20-win mark (20 wins in 2019-20). He currently has a 78-46 overall record as the Raiders’ head coach.

After ending the regular season as conference co-champions with Pinecrest, the Raiders won the SAC tournament, which helped give them the No. 1 seed in the 4A East playoffs.

Although the Raiders fell short of their goal of winning the state title, Pettigrew and company had an historic winter. 

The team set a single-season record with 26 wins, had the program’s best winning percentage (92.3%) and set the program record with the fewest regular-season losses with one.

Other notables included the most wins to start a season (15), tying the record for the most consecutive wins (15), winning its 13th career conference title and eclipsing the 2,000 point mark as a team for just the fifth time.

“The reason why I got Coach of the Year is because of the team,” Pettigrew said. “It’s all about the boys and I appreciate how hard they work. This is a special group and we’ll continue to get better.

“We’re disappointed that we didn’t win the state championship, but we talked and we’ll get back to it in a couple of weeks.”

Announced this week, there will be an alumni basketball game called “Jay’s Jamboree” on April 2. 

The benefit event will raise money in memory of former Raider basketball player Jalen David, who would have been a senior this year. All proceeds will go toward the Jalen A. David Scholarship Foundation.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.