Black Knights line-up named All-Conference
Robbinsville – The Black Knights were no slouch in providing the fanbase with a historic season of their own.
The non-stop thrill ride included five overtime victories; a perfect 13-0 record at home (in fact, Robbinsville has not lost a home game since Jan. 7, 2022, a 51-44 loss to Hayesville. The Knights have won 17 straight on their court); the program’s first outright Smoky Mountain Conference regular-season and tournament crowns in decades; and reached the Sweet 16 of the state playoffs, finishing the monumental storm 23-6 overall.
Needless to say, head coach Jake Beasley had probable cause to argue any of his starting line-up for a spot on the coveted All-Smoky Mountain Conference list.
All five made it.
Senior point guard Brock Adams, junior small forward Donovan Carpenter and junior shooting guard Xander Wachacha each received a spot on the All-Conference team, while senior Bo Rattler and sophomore forward Bryce Adams were included as honorable mentions.
Brock scored his 1,000th point on the final offering he delivered from the charity stripe during Robbinsville’s third-round loss at Eastern Randolph. He averaged 15.6 points per game (PPG), 5.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds this year, and ends his career as a 3-time All-Conference player.
“To score 1,000 points is a huge accomplishment for anybody,” Beasley said. “That is not something easy to achieve, especially with COVID removing 10 games or so from the season. It speaks to the work he’s put into it for years and leadership-wise, he will definitely be missed.”
It was not uncommon to see the final scoreline for the Black Knights and notice the presence of four players in double-digits on scoring. Bryce Adams and Carpenter both were keenly aggressive on the glass – as well as inside jumpers – and if Wachacha heated up outside, he was almost impossible to cool off.
Carpenter finished the run averaging 15.6 PPG, 8.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists; Wachacha, 13.7 PPG, 4.8 assists and 2.6 steals; and Bryce Adams, 10.8 points and 9.6 rebounds.
“In my own personal opinion, Bryce should have also been All-Conference,” Beasley stated. “For him to average
almost a double-double in this conference is quite the achievement.
“With two All-Conference players and an Honorable Mention coming back, we definitely have built a good foundation on what’s to come. I think we’ll be just as good next year as we were this year, especially with the younger kids coming up from the JVs – who had a great year – plus kids like Quinn Jumper and Nathanael Shope played a lot of varsity minutes.
Rattler was afforded the team’s Coaches Award last season. He was known for hitting clutch 3’s throughout his farewell, averaging 7.1 PPG and 2.4 assists.
“We felt like Bo gave us a really good spark coming in off the bench last year,” Beasley explained. “Coming into this year, we relayed the message to him that he would not be coming off the bench – if he did what he was supposed to do. He really bought into it and has been a phenomenal teammate.
“Between he and Brock, plus Caleb (Draper) and Austin (Crisp), I couldn’t ask for a better group of senior leaders. All four of them will be tremendously missed; hard shoes to fill.”
Brock Adams and Rattler have both been invited to play in Saturday’s 1A West/Midwest All-Star Game, which is being held at Bessemer City High School. The boys’ exhibition tips off at 6:30 p.m.
Undoubtedly, Robbinsville could see itself well represented at the 2024 showcase.
“It’s been a phenomenal year,” said Beasley. “I couldn’t be more proud of the boys; they put in the extra work. There’s kids staying for an hour and a half after games to work from the shooting gun. That’s not a requirement; that’s them asking to get better.
“They want it.”