Are you ready for some basketball?

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?"