My All-Underrated team

Here at the R&L, we do our all county teams in every varsity sport. For basketball specifically, there's also the Holiday Classic all tournament team, selected by the coaches.

What I'd like to do is present my completely unofficial "All-Underrated team," two five-player teams compromised of good, solid basketball players that perhaps aren't as well-known as say: Keyrra Gillespie, Kasey Haynes, Paul Larsen, Santana Morrison, Tyrece Scott or Quan Rucker.

Again, this is completely my opinion and is based off what I have observed this season from the games I've seen and conversations throughout the year with coaches.

BOYS
A.J. Barringer (South Iredell): Barringer is young, but has developed nicely this season. He has a great jump shot, is a hard worker and is clutch at the free throw line. He's come off the bench to hit some big shots for the Vikings, and his 17 points were the lone bright spot in a 99-55 loss to Cherryville.

Spencer Cook (Lake Norman): First of all, it must be noted that Cook looks a bit like Kurt Rambis with his goggles. Not the clean-shaven Rambis as a coach, but this Rambis in his playing days. He plays like him too, which is a good thing. Cook's very valuable to Lake Norman in coming off the bench to spell starters Nathan Bowers and Paul Larsen. He has a very good understanding of post play, and likes to bang inside for the rebounds.

Chris Patterson (Mooresville): Patterson has only played basketball for a few years, but he has earned a starting spot for the Blue Devils as a junior. Despite his clumsy-looking shot, Patterson is one of the deadliest outside shooters in the county. But he also isn't afraid to take it to the hoop, and has emerged as a legitimate scoring option this season.

Ryan Sharpe (North Iredell): His scoring fluctuates between four and 12 points a game, but Sharpe is a rebounding machine. A lanky post player, he uses his freakishly long arms to control rebounds most players couldn't get. He also gets good position underneath and knows how to box out.

Adrian Sloan (Statesville): Sloan has improved more than any player I've seen this season. He's an unselfish, big forward with decent range and can make teams pay when they play a 3-2 zone to stop Statesville's shooters.

GIRLS
Jordan Daywalt (Statesville): Daywalt may play harder than any other girl in the county. She does a great job playing back in Statesville's full-court press, and is usually the first one to hit the floor going after a loose ball. She also consistently pulls down tough rebounds against bigger opponents.

Shakira McLaughlin (Mooresville): It's almost cheating to put McLaughlin on an underrated list because she's so talented. But she's underrated because not too many people know about the freshman guard on the southern end of the county. McLaughlin is a big reason why the Blue Devils have played much better basketball this season, and there have been multiple games where she's recorded double-digit points and at least five assists, rebounds and steals.

Caroline Moffett (Lake Norman): Moffett doesn't score a ton of points, but she more than makes up for it with smart play and great defense. She's one of the best in the county when it comes to using both her left and right hand properly, and she's a fearless one-on-one perimeter defender.

Elizabeth Walden (West Iredell): Granted, I've only seen West Iredell play twice, but Walden stood out both times. West's post players fill up the stat sheet, but Walden plays a big role in getting them the ball and hitting open jumpers when the posts are double-teamed.

JoBeth Wright (Lake Norman): Wright would start for any other team in the county, but is typically a reserve on the incredibly deep Lake Norman squad. Wright, a post, does everything well. She has good range, but also rebounds well and plays tough defense. She's also an emotional player, and carried the Wildcats back into the game when they trailed Statesville in the Holiday Classic finals.