Bryce Adams
The 2023-24 basketball season officially wrapped up after this year’s state champions were determined over the weekend of March 15-16.
With the schedule in the rearview mirror, the Smoky Mountain Conference formally announced its annual All-Conference honorees. Robbinsville High ended up with eight players receiving the distinction: Bryce Adams and Donovan Carpenter for the Black Knights, as well as Liz Carpenter and Aubrie Wachacha for the Lady Knights.
Additionally, Darion Ledbetter and Kenyon Swimmer both were named as honorable mentions for the boys; Suri Watty and Abby Wehr were afforded the mentions for the girls.
Black Knights
Adams and Donovan Carpenter were a pair of inside forces Robbinsville heavily leaned on this year. Adams averaged 14 points per game; Donovan, 16. On the glass, Adams had a median of nine rebounds per game; Donovan finished with an average of 10 RPG.
“Both players are tremendous young men and have been a huge asset to our program,” said Black Knights head coach Jake Beasley. “We wouldn’t have the success from the last two years without either of them.”
Adams will collaborate with Ledbetter and Swimmer for the 2024-25 run, as the trio embarks on its senior year and looks to lead another solid line-up in a bid for Smoky Mountain Conference gold.
“Bryce should again be one of the best players in the conference,” Beasley said. “I do think with some fundamental work and a few kinks wrinkled out, we have the potential to be really, really good next year – with what we have coming back and some key pieces coming up off the JV team.”
The Black Knights were in a dogfight to defend their divisional title this year, ultimately dropping crucial matchups late to finish third in the standings. Robbinsville ended the year 16-8 (6-4 in conference action), falling 72-63 in the first round of the playoffs to North Stokes.
Lady Knights
Difference makers for Robbinsville, head coach Lucas Ford had plenty of praise to heap on both his respective small and power forwards, Carpenter and Wachacha.
“Both of them really grew a lot at the end of last year, both maturity- and basketball-wise. You could see that carry over into this year,” Ford said. “They both had a very strong presence inside. They brought a lot of stability; when
things were good, we played very, very good and a lot of that was because of the contributions of those girls.”
Out of the four on the list, only Wachacha graduates. Returning to aid the cause next season alongside Carpenter are Watty and Wehr, both a pair of multi-sport juniors.
“They also played big roles last year and that rolled over into this year, no doubt,” said Ford. “Their IQ of the game this year was so much higher. When Suri gets hot, watch out; Abby is our utility player, because she did it all – anything we asked of her – and never complained.”
The Lady Knights finished with an almost-identical mark as the boys, going 16-9 (5-5) to place third in the conference rankings. Robbinsville’s girls were also eliminated from the postseason in the first round, but at the hands of divisional foe Hayesville, 49-45.