Liberty Heights Boasts NC's Top Player for Second Straight Year
Without Michael Wright, there may not have been a Jonas Aidoo. Aidoo may not have risen the rankings from unranked to become a 5-star. Rick Barnes may not have ever found out who Aidoo was. However, Aidoo did enroll at Liberty Heights for his final year of high school, to play under Head Coach Michael Wright.
Aidoo joined Wright’s program as a gangly, unranked 7-footer with a single Div. 1 offer. Through his final year of high school Aidoo gained over 25 offers. He finished the year ranked No. 24 overall in the Rivals150 and committed to be part of Tennessee’s fifth ranked 2021 class.
Wright was there to help Aidoo grow. Yes, Aidoo grew as a player with his skill set. Yes, Aidoo grew physically, but where Aidoo grew the most, was in his confidence. This is Wright’s fifth season as the Head Coach at Liberty Heights Academy; in total he has won 111 games and sent 49 of his 52 seniors to college.
With last year’s success, this season’s Liberty Heights team may be Wright’s best accumulation of talent. You see, coming off a 24-3 record, he had enough interest in the program to create two teams. On Wednesday, the day before Div. 1 coaches were permitted to live recruit, Liberty Heights hosted its annual media day which featured 18 players from 8 different states and the Dominican Republic.
Liberty Heights offers a buffet of talent for college coaches, ranging from Power-5 to Div. 3. The regimented and tight practices Wright hosts, provide a great atmosphere of both translatable skill work and competitiveness. It is a welcomed sight for talent evaluators, and coaches, because it gives you a true sense of what players can do.
The main attraction of this year’s team will be 6-foot-8, 230-pound Ezra Ausar. A skilled, and powerful forward from Atlanta, Ga., Ausar transferred to Liberty Heights from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. The second Ausar moved to North Carolina, he became the top prospect in the state, for his 2022 class. Ausar currently carries offers from UMass, Sam Houston State, and McNeese State. The explosive Ausar will have a host of SEC, Big12, ACC schools come through to watch him this season.
Shortly after this open gym, senior Elijah Jamison announced his de-commitment from East Carolina. Jamison enters his final year of high school having already scored 2,368 career points, which puts him 16thon the all-time list, ahead of players such as Reggie Bullock, Shavlik Randolph, Phil Ford, and Jerry Stackhouse. The 6-foot-3 Jamison is a strong bodied, paint touch, two-way point guard. Jamison will immediately become a hot commodity with college coaches moving forward.
Sometimes, you come across players where their recruitment is puzzling. Walking into the gym on Wednesday, you immediately take note of twins, Takai and Tajuan Simpkins. The identical twins always seem to have a group around them, and they are loud, laughing, and always talking, and that does not stop when the games play. Once the ball is tipped, this pair is around the ball, on both ends of the floor, at all times.
Last season, the New York natives played at Charlotte (N.C.) Victory Christian and this Summer they were the most consistent performers with Garner Road (N.C.) 3SSB. Both guards stand at a lengthy 6-foot-3. They are tough defenders, both on the ball and in the passing lanes. They get above the rim in transition and touch the paint in the half court. Both players can knock down a jump shot when their feet are set. Div. 2 St. Augustine’s is the only offer they carry, this is the puzzling piece.
Typically, with twins, coaches get a little timid because there are two and their size, frame, and skill sets are naturally similar. However, this is a set of twins you don’t mind having two of them. With their height, length, and explosion, they can play beside one another or stagger their minutes. The pair make winning plays. It is that simple, it is something that translates. As the season gets started, as coaches are able to start coming through the gyms and get a feel for players, it would not surprise to see numerous Div. 1 programs step forward with offers.
Junior Silas Demary is currently Liberty Heights lone ranked player, sitting at No. 137 in the Rivals150. The 6-foot-4 Demary, Jr. carries seven offers from the likes of Texas A&M, Providence, and VCU. Between travel ball and high school, Demary, Jr. is 60-2 over the last calendar year with a UAA 16u championship and an NCHSAA 4A state championship. Demary, Jr. is a rugged defender, one of the top on ball guys in the region. He touches the paint and has a sense of toughness that somehow, typically, translates to wins. He is a top 150 talent, and his recruitment will continue as such.
Ayden Ince may be the sleeper of the group. The 6-foot-6, 190-pounder comes into the season with no Div. 1 offers. That may not last very long as the wing is one of the purest catch and shoot players in the region, with range out to 28-feet. Not only is Ince a sharpshooter, but he is also a supreme athlete, with the ability to get up on the rim, with authority, in traffic.
Charlotte, Murray State, and Radford are scheduled to come in on the first day of live scouting; South Carolina, Elon, Youngstown State, Georgia Southern, and Akron will be in through the weekend. As Wright has done every season, he puts his players in college. With 18 players in the program this season, expect Charlotte (N.C.) Liberty Heights Academy to be one of the country’s most heavily trafficked gyms for coaches.