Staff report

SALISBURY — Myles Smith had a fabulous senior basketball season for head coach Albert Perkins and the Salisbury Hornets.

Smith announced a commitment to Belmont Abbey College earlier this week.

It’s unusual for a player with Smith’s ability, with no character issues and no academic issues, to be uncommitted so late in the process, but the recruiting game is changing. Many coaches no longer recruit high school seniors, at all, preferring seasoned junior college transfers or portal transfers from other four-year programs. College coaches also like to hold on to a scholarship or two just in case unexpected transfers become available.

Smith, an athletic, 6-foot-4, 185-pound wing, averaged 23.1 points per game, as the Hornets won the Christmas Tournament and the Central Carolina Conference regular season and tournament titles before making a 2A playoff run to the fourth round. Salisbury went 26-4.

Smith’s 682-point season was one of the 10 highest in Rowan County history. He dunked spectacularly and frequently and he showed good shooting range with excellent shot selection.

North Rowan’s lightning-quick, confident guard Emari Russell, a playmaker who can score, is also a very special player. He averaged 20 points per game while leading a very good North team.

Jason Causby, the former North Rowan coach who will be guiding Cox Mill next season, will be the West assistant coach for the East-West All-Star Game this summer and will get a chance to coach Russell one last time, as Russell has been selected to play in that game.

Russell, listed at 6 feet on the all-star roster, has made college visits for football (he’s a terrific receiver) as well as basketball, although it is most likely that he signs for basketball. He’s got some offers, but he hasn’t made a final decision yet, as he searches for the best fit.

“Ten years ago, guys as good as Emari and Myles Smith would have been signed by the time the season was over,” Causby said. “But it’s much tougher out there now.”