I had the pleasure of attending the 2009 Triangle All-Stars Slam Dunk Challege on April 29 along with my good friend (and TCN correspondent) Langdon Morris. Langdon filmed while I sat back, wrote down the scores, and for once got to enjoy watching the likes of Josh Davis, Earnest Ross and Garrius Adams as a fan and not a reporter.

The contest, which also featured Apex's Weston Murphy, Cary's Parker Stephenson and Leesville Road's Harrison George, was an excellent one and you can watch it in its entirety by clicking here (big thanks to Josh Harrell for editing the film yet again).

A learned a few things from this event. 1- Josh Davis is very creative in his dunks. 2- Earnest Ross can throw it down much, much harder than I saw him this year when he always went for the two-hand flush. 3- Parker Stephenson can flat-out leap for a... you know the rest. 4- Harrison George may be able to throw down great dunks, but he did the same one twice in the first two rounds and that cost him. 5- Garrius Adams had been sick all week, Wednesday was his first day back in school, and it was clear he wasn't 100%. 6- Weston Murphy, while still a great player who has matched the likes of Davis and Melvin Tabb rebound-for-rebound and point-for-point during the year, is simply not cut out for a dunk contest. He missed so many, we cut his "dunk" sessions out of the video.

Before you watch, here's how the scoring evened out.

First Round: George 42, Stephenson 40, Adams 41, Murphy 35, Ross 49, Davis 45

Second Round: George 40, Stephenson 47, Adams 49, Murphy 39, Ross 48, Davis 48

Third Round: Stephenson 50, Adams 44, Ross 45, Davis 45

Fourth Round: Stephenson 0, Ross 50, Davis 50

Final Round: Ross defeated Davis 47-42 

GREENVILLE — Panther Creek's season is over.

Jack Britt ended their run with a 60-44 victory in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-A Eastern Regional semifinals at Minges Coliseum Tuesday.

Panther Creek was playing without two top starters and a key reserve for team disciplinary reasons.

CARY — It was your typical Panther Creek-Middle Creek affair.

Which is the Tri-Eight Conference's equivalent of the UNC-Duke rivalry.

A packed gym with both schools well represented and both sides fired up. Two of the top teams in the state. Panther Creek even wheeled out its marching band for the first time.

The host Catamounts shut down Garrius Adams and Tom Tankelewicz and grabbed control of the conference with a 60-48 win Friday.

Tonight's Tri-Eight game will feature two of the best teams in the state as Panther Creek and Athens Drive do battle at 7:30 p.m. The one-loss Catamounts (13-1) are ranked No. 1 in the state and the Jaguars remain undefeated at 13-0 and are No. 5.

It should be a good one, as Athens Drive already began pre-selling tickets to students on Thursday.

"There's a lot of excitement around the school," Jaguars coach Robert Clemmons said. "We're expecting a large crowd and a real electric atmosphere there."

Here are four questions that will also be the keys going into tonight's game:

I don't have much of a say in who makes the two GSK all-tournament teams
(there's one from each the three brackets; Girls, Holiday Summit Group and Randolph
Foundation Group), but I know those who do. And from all indications, it
appears we'll have four local players on the two teams.

We're down to the last day of competition at the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational, and Panther Creek's Earnest Ross is in third right now in total points scored with a chance for his team to finish third in the Summit Hospitality bracket. That's the good news.

Want even more good news? There's no seventh-place game this year, which means scoring leaders Nolan Dennis (Richland, Tx.) and Akeem Richmond (Southern Lee) are done, which means Ross is No. 1 in total points among active players.

Now, some guys may play for better teams (like John Wall, Mason Plumlee, etc.) and therefore not have to score as much. Others are the only threat on their team to do much of anything (Reggie Bullock, Tashawn Mabry). 

Ross is somewhere in between, and that's why he and his team have been able to succeed so far in the tourney.

He's one of five three-year starters for the Catamounts, which means other guys have the confidence to step up their games should opponents begin to focus on just Ross. He doesn't have Matt Wilson as a sidekick as does Ryan Kelly, or a Lakeem Jackson-type like Christ School. 

He is, however surrounded by good players who know how to get him the ball, and pick up the slack whenever his shot isn't going down.

Ross will get his chance to go for this year's scoring title, and possibly a MOP award, when the Catamounts take the floor tomorrow at 2:40 p.m. against Knightdale.

Below is a listing of those players with 30 or more points after two games. The total points is on the right, while those players who have committed are also listed with their college choice. If a player has a "0" in a column, that means he is out of the tournament.

In parentheses is what bracket that player is in, whether it's the Summit Hospitality Group (SHG) or the Shavlik Randolph Foundation (Shav) 

HOLLY SPRINGS--It didn't take long for Panther Creek to flex its collective muscle against Holly Springs, using a 16-4 run to close the first quarter and a 16-0 run to end the first half. The Catamounts didn't look back either, cruising to a 78-45.

Panther Creek's  Earnest Ross, who has signed to play with the Auburn Tigers next year, had a 9-0 run by himself in the middle of the first quarter's scoring frenzy.

Ross finished with 29 points on the night, including 3-for-3 on his free throws, four 3-pointers and one emphatic, baseline slam over a Golden Hawks defender.

"He was on tonight," PC coach L.J. Hepp said. 

At the half, the score was 41-12 Panther Creek, as Holly Springs was baited into turnover after turnover. Some coming in the half-court, others due to full-court pressure.

Super sub T.J. Fitzmaurice had three first-half steals and Ross added quite a few himself.

"At the top of our keys to the game, every game it's create turnovers," Hepp said. "We've had these guys for three years now and they've bought into that."

Also standing out was the post play of Panther Creek. In order to win a conference or state championship, Hepp knows his team has to have others raise their level of play so teams can't key in on Ross.

Forwards Marques Oliver and Aaron Toney combined for 20 points and were dominant on the boards and defending the paint.

"We need guys to play good for us," Hepp said. "Not many teams have two 6'6 guys who can score."

The Golden Hawks had few bright moments, but sophomore center Quentin Underwood did dunk over Oliver for Holly Springs' first bucket. He finished with eight points,and Terrence Walker had a team-high with nine.

The lowlight of the night on either side was the scary knee injury to Holly Springs' B.J. Gaskins.

Gaskins went up for a contested lay-up in transition and landed awkwardly with one knee behind the other as the ball bounced off the rim. Underwood tried to follow-up the miss and was knocked on top of Haskins' legs, causing injury. 

Haskins stayed on the ground after Panther Creek got the ball, causing the game to be stopped. His blood-curdling scream made the crowd go from whisper to silent. Although he put no weight on his knee as he was helped off the court, coach Thurman Jordan was sure it was not as serious as it all looked.

"It's just a bruise," Jordan said. "He's had some problems with his knee in the past and I think this one just scared him."

Q: What does this day mean for you? I'm sure it's a dream to play Division I basketball.

A: "Yes sir, actually it's a wonderful day for my family, my coach to get together. We've all been waiting for this moment to get together so I can sign. I feel real comfortable with my decision and I just think this is a real special moment not only for me but my family and my coach."

Q: What were some of the things that stood out about Auburn and playing in the SEC?

A: "I think what made Auburn different from all my other choices was coach Jeff Lebo, I really like him, with him playing at UNC and stuff like that. The campus, I really loved it down there, the stadium, the new things that are being brought to the campus, new things being brought to the college and they just showed me a great time when I went there on my official visit."

Last I checked, this is North Carolina. The state where basketball wasn't born, just perfected. It's hard to ignore three universities with nine NCAA championships all within a 30-mile stretch of I-40.

The best player of all-time was born in Wilmington and went to UNC while the best player in ACC history born was born in Boiling Springs and went to N.C. State. The best coach of all-time might be the guy still roaming the sidelines at Duke. A different NC-born player is emerging as one of the NBA's best down in New Orleans.

The two best players in college basketball this season? That conversation starts with Tyler Hansbrough, a Missouri transplant on the Tar Heels and then moves quickly to a true local guy who played his high school ball in Charlotte in Davidson's Stephen Curry.

So with due respect to Kentucky and Indiana, North Carolina has a pretty good claim as the best basketball state out of our nation's 50.

And that claim trickles down all the way to the high school level, where names like John Wall, Ryan Kelly and Reggie Bullock cause fan bases to drool over what their teams could be doing in the future.

And the talent on the high school level doesn't begin and end with Raleigh or the Triad or Charlotte or the other "meccas" of basketball in this state. 

At least not this year. This year the South Wake teams will have reason to boast as having one of the best teams in the best basketball state.

Middle Creek is announcing two of its players will sign with Division I teams today. Garrius Adams turned his summer AAU tournaments into open auditions for teams needing a talented wing player. In the end, Miami's Frank Haith won over Adams' services for next year. 

Joining him from the Mustangs is Tom Tankelewicz. Tankelewicz also proved himself during the summer, getting the attention of Charleston Southern, who he will be signing with today.

Panther Creek's Earnest Ross is going to the SEC next year to play for Jeff Lebo's Auburn Tigers.

So there's three Division I players right in your backyard. Then couple that with an Apex team that had no stars but finished runner-up in the 4-A N.C. State Championship and you've got a formidable conference race this year in the Tri-Eight.

It's basketball season folks, North Carolina-style. Are you ready for this, because if you're not.. as we like to say in these parts: "you ain't from around here, are ya?"