By Mike London
Salisbury Post
CHINA GROVE ó The list of people who have scored varsity basketball points for three different schools in the county is short.
Guard Justin Basinger is on there.
“Zinger” played for South Rowan as a freshman, West Rowan as a sophomore and Carson as a junior and senior.
Next stop for Basinger will be Davidson County Community College. He has signed with coach Matt Ridge’s program, which made a splash by scoring barrels of points last winter and winning 22 games.
“Justin’s the first from our school to go on in basketball,” Carson coach Brian Perry said. “He’s the inaugural college Cougar, and we’re excited for him.”
During his unusually mobile prep career, Basinger made lots of friends and lots of rivals.
He thanks his supporters. He thanks his enemies more. He says if he had a million dollars he’d “give it all to his haters for helping make him what he is.”
Basinger is a North Carolina fan, but there’s some Bobby Hurley in him. Lots of big 3s. Lots of emotion. Lots to get agitated and aggravated about if he’s not on your side. He can get under your skin if he’s guarding you or you are guarding him.
A lot of people don’t like me,” Basinger said with a chuckle. “Oh, well.”
Basinger had to grow up fast. He was one of a group of South freshmen elevated to the varsity for the second half of the 2004-05 season. He took his lumps, scoring 26 points in 10 games, eight against 4A opponents.
He never tasted victory.
As a sophomore, the 5-foot-10 pest played for a good West Rowan team that went 19-7. He was the eighth or ninth guy, knocked down a few key 3s for coach Mike Gurley and allowed starter Ronnie Cuthbertson to catch his breath.
The middle brother in an athletic family that includes former South catcher Jonathon and current Carson catcher Joseph, Basinger became eligible for the last seven games his junior year at Carson and averaged 15.0 points a game.
He debuted with 15 against West Iredell, dropped a career-high 30 on Northwest Cabarrus the following week and pumped in a satisfying 20 against West Rowan, even though West won the game.
Basinger rained 3s against opponents who were concerned with containing Darius Moose and Brandon Ferguson, and his surprising range gave Perry a lot to look forward to heading into Basinger’s senior season.
A complication arose when Basinger, a receiver, hurt an ankle playing football in the Cougars’ ninth game. He actually had a pretty good season ó 17 catches for 317 yards and four TDs ó but the nasty sprain cost him his last two football games and hindered the start of his senior basketball season.
With the ankle nagging at him, plus the general wear and tear from football on a small guy, it was Christmas before Basinger looked anything like Basinger on the basketball court.
“I missed two weeks of practice when I was hurt and had to beg Coach Perry to let me get in there because I couldn’t stand it on the sidelines anymore,” Basinger said. “I don’t think I ever played that well. I know I had some good games, but I never got back to feeling the same way I did my junior year.”
Basinger spent his senior season at the point after being groomed for the shooting guard role all summer. But Carson lost its projected point, Brandon Ferrare, unexpectedly, and Basinger changed positions.
“Justin kind of got shoved over to the point-guard spot as a senior because we sure weren’t planning on him being there,” Perry said. “But he handled it well, ran the team, gave up some of his offense to get the ball to scorers.”
While Basinger didn’t play as well as he had expected, he did average 10.7 points a game, scored in double figures 12 times and made the all-county team.
He scored 24 points in a loss to East Rowan and 26 in a setback at West Rowan, but the games he’s proudest of are a 51-41 home win over South Rowan and a 45-40 victory over West at Carson that shocked everyone except the people in the Carson locker room.
The all-county photo shoot might have been Basinger’s last fling with basketball, but Basinger asked Perry to send out “one more film” and it found its way to DCCC.
Ridge remembered seeing Basinger play in the Sam Moir Christmas Classic and against East Rowan. Point guard wasn’t a pressing need since Ridge had dynamo Landon Bowers returning for the 2009-10 season, but Basinger, who has a better 3-point shot than most point guards, seemed like a possible fit for the uptempo Storm.
“I kind of had Basinger in the back of my mind for a while,” Ridge said. “Then we got him down here to visit for a couple of open gyms. He seems eager to play, he’s coachable and he competes. Defensively, he puts good pressure on the ball.”
Basinger remembers he played “great” at one open gym and “terrible” at another, but he’ll get an opportunity to earn a backup role behind Bowers as a freshman.
“Justin is one of the most competitive kids anywhere around,” Perry said. “He’ll give DCCC some energy and he’ll give whoever he guards fits.”
While Perry is a Basinger fan, East Rowan coach Greg McKenzie and Salisbury coach Jason Causby also endorsed him when Ridge asked for a scouting report.
“It’s not just Justin’s coach, there are a lot of other coaches who speak highly of him,” Ridge said. “We’re excited about having him at DCCC.”
As for Basinger, he’s excited about making new friends.
If he plays like he can, he’ll also make some new enemies.
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com.