Four new teams join The Observer’s Sweet 16 high school basketball polls

Four new teams join The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 high school basketball polls this week. The Sweet 16, which began in 1984, provides the region’s oldest prep rankings.

The Observer’s poll ranks high school basketball teams in counties covered by the media outlet. It takes into account strength of schedule, the overall strength of a classification, team success within that classification, and head-to-head competition between teams ranked in the Sweet 16. It does not consider how ranked teams would fare against each other — or other unranked teams — unless those teams actually meet.

Observer-area teams are in the following counties: Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Union. It also includes York and Lancaster in South Carolina.

▪ In the boys’ poll, Lincolnton and Gastonia’s Ashbrook High are both in this week after starting the season 7-0. Ashbrook, which plays 4-1 Kings Mountain on Tuesday, is led by junior Issac Byers. He is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard averaging 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals per game.

Lincolnton, which plays 0-7 Hibriten on Wednesday, features one of the best freshman in North Carolina. LJ Smith is averaging 29.1 points, eight rebounds and three steals per game. A 6-4 guard, Smith ranks among the nation’s top 40 scorers in any grade and is tied for No. 1 among all freshman nationally.

▪ A pair of one-loss teams the gjoinirls’ poll. Northwest Cabarrus (5-1) has won two games in a row and plays 5-1 Robinson, a Cabarrus County rival on Tuesday.

Butler (6-1), from Matthews, has won four in a row. The Bulldogs’ next game is against A.C. Flora (Columbia, S.C.) on Dec. 23. Brooklyn Saunders, a 5-3 junior guard, is leading the Bulldogs, averaging 21.6 points, 6.4 steals, 5.6 assists and five rebounds per game.

▪ Charlotte Catholic also takes over the No. 1 spot in the girls’ poll. The Cougars won at previously top-ranked Independence last week, and become the third new No. 1 team this season. Independence beat preseason No. 1 Mallard Creek at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge last month.

NOTE: These are the final Sweet 16 rankings of the year. Look for the next poll on Jan. 2, 2024.