Prep Talk

Area hoops teams and playoff possibilities

With no more than three regular-season games remaining, area teams have only a few opportunities left to either secure a postseason berth or improve playoff seeding.

Below is a relatively comprehensive list of where the 26 area SCHSL teams stand, as well as what they need to do in order to qualify for the playoffs. So far, only one area team appears to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Complete standings were not available for four of the smaller-class regions. We'll add those as soon as they are available.

North Myrtle Beach girls move up to No. 4 in state hoops rankings

The North Myrtle Beach girls basketball team improved two spot in the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association statewide poll, released Monday.

The Chiefs, who last week defeated Socastee and St. James, moved to 18-2 overall and 6-0 in Region VII-AAA. Jude Hunt’s team is one win away from securing a playoff spot and could win the region as soon as Friday with a pair of victories this week over Wilson and Georgetown.

Two other area teams also remained in the rankings. The North Myrtle Beach boys squad (15-5 overall, 5-1 Region VII-AAA) remained No. 7 in the state following wins last week over St. James and Socastee.

Conway, St. James both ranked in preseason baseball polls

Three area teams were included in the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association's preseason top-10 rankings, released Wednesday morning.

Conway led the way, as the Tigers are the No. 5 team in Class AAAA entering the 2013 season. The Tigers were expected to be included after senior Jordan Gore signed with South Carolina and catcher G.K. Young signed with Coastal Carolina in November.

St. James grabbed the No. 6 spot in Class AAA, and Andrews rounded out the Class AA rankings at No. 10.

North Myrtle Beach boys drop three spots in state hoops poll

Three Grand Strand teams remained ranked in the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association statewide poll, released Tuesday morning.

The North Myrtle Beach boys, which fell to Myrtle Beach Friday, dropped three spots to No. 7 in Class AAA. The North Myrtle Beach girls, still undefeated in Region VII-AAA play heading into tonight's game against Socastee remained No. 6 in Class AAA.

Jeff Mezzatesta's Carvers Bay boys teams bumped up one spot to No. 4 in the Class A rankings.

Myrtle Beach defensive back commits to Marshall

Chocolate Wilson had a handful of NCAA Division-I college offers.

One college president made sure one stood out.

The Myrtle Beach defensive back committed to Marshall over the weekend after his trip to the West Virginia school. Included in the visit was some time with university president Stephen J. Kopp.

“Coming from him, it was exciting,” Wilson said Monday. “He loves football. It’s a family tradition. He looked me in the eye and told me they’d welcome me.”

Bennett to receive significant raise at River Bluff

Former Coastal Carolina football coach and current Socastee High School Athletics Director Dave Bennett will receive a significant raise when he he starts at River Bluff High School.

Bennett, who officially accepted the position last week, will be paid an annual salary of $95,782 at River Bluff, according to information released by the Lexington 1 district Friday. Bennett is making $58,711 this year at Socastee.

Bennett, who received a $925,000 buyout from CCU in March 2012 for the remainder of a 10-year contract he signed in 2007, was making $218,139 in his final year at Coastal.

David Bennett leaving Socastee for River Bluff

David Bennett has officially accepted the athletics director and head football coaching position at River Bluff High School in Lexington.

Bennett, currently the Socastee athletics director and former Coastal Carolina football coach, will remain with the Braves through at least graduation and work toward building the River Bluff coaching staffs and building the sports programs on weekends. Despite most people believing it would be a college opening that would pull him away from Socastee, Bennett said this particular high school position was too good to pass up.

“I’ve been there and I’ve done that,” Bennett said of college jobs. “I’ve been a head coach for the last 16 years. I got my first head college job when I was 33.

“I probably wouldn’t have gone to another high school. I probably wouldn’t have gone to another college.”

State wrestling rankings, Jan. 9

The South Carolina Wrestling Coaches Association/SCMat.com statewide rankings were released Wednesday, and as expected, several area teams are represented.

Waccamaw, No. 6 in Class AA/A, is the highest ranked Grand Strand team. The Warriors are led by St. James transfer John Van Slooten, who is the No. 1 wrestler in the classification in the 145-pound division. Van Slooten won Class AAA state title a year ago while still at St. James.

Other area teams appearing in this week's rankings include North Myrtle Beach (No. 8, AAA), Socastee (No. 10, AAA), Aynor (No. 8, AA/A) and Loris (No. 16, AA/A).

Golson third former Seahawk playing for football title this year

In just a few hours, millions of eyes will be focused on former Myrtle Beach and current Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson.

The redshirt freshman has helped the Fighting Irish to the national championship game, and coach Brian Kelly's team is a victory over Alabama away from the title.

However, Golson isn't the only former Seahawk whose team played for a college championship this season.

Hoops teams have one more tune-up

The learning process for Grand Strand basketball teams is just about over.

There’s really not much of a choice.

With region play just days away – and teams knowing that their playoff hopes rest on those eight or 10 games – area schools have just one or two more contests to be at their best. The brevity of the deciding region games means a loss in the second week of January could drastically alter a team’s late February playoff fate.