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Sanford N.C. — Ahead of the Nov. 1 season opener, �ڰ�������’s basketball team has standout players, versatility, and depth according to coach Bradley McDougald. 

McDougald has especially high hopes this season for second year player Ma’kyi Butler, a 6’5 small forward with potential Division I prospects.

“He’s what I call a stat stuffer,” McDougald said. “Scores, rebounds, and passes.” 

Butler, a business administration major and Grace Christian School graduate, has lived in Sanford since fifth grade. He dreams of traveling the world playing professional basketball overseas and is interested in starting his own business. In the near future, he has his eyes set on winning a conference tournament with his teammates. 

“It’s just like one big family here,” Butler said. “Everybody is close.” 

McDougald also pointed to three promising first-year players that have joined the team: Jeremiah Henson, Alan Griffin, and Reid Albright.

Albright, who plays point guard, said leadership is the skill he is working on most this season.

“Point guard is supposed to know where everybody is supposed to be, telling them what they are supposed to do, and a lot of times, if something goes wrong, it can always be the point guard’s fault,” he said. 

McDougald said he has about six players on the team that can each comfortably play any of positions one through three: point guard through small forward. That’s versatility. 

Last year’s team was very talented, he said, but not deep. Now he’s got four to six players that he can confidently substitute into the game for members of his starting five. 

This team, he said, does not have to be coached on energy and effort.

“We are going to be able to play fast,” he said. “We are going to be able to play tough.” 

How to watch:

Fans can check out �ڰ������� basketball in-person, or through �ڰ�������’s student channel 4CNC, which will broadcast the home games.   

 The channel is available on Charter Cable 193 in Lee, Chatham and Harnett, on , or by downloading the 4cnc app on FireTV, AppleTV or Roku. Game commentary for 4CNC is provided by �ڰ������� alumni Dylan Hargis and Keyon Jones.

Roster:

Head Coach: Brad McDougald

Assistant Coach: Jared Gunter

Players: Reid Albright, Chris Bell, Jaden Best, Justin Brown, Ma’kyi Butler, Alan Griffin, Jeremiah Henson, Amir Muhammad, Chris McDuffie, Savion Pepper, Jacoby Smith, Antoine Strickland Jr, BJ Temple, Jani Vanholten, Chris Whitaker

Schedule:

�ڰ�������’s regular basketball season runs from November to late February October and kicks off Nov. 1 with an away game against Forsyth Tech.

The first home game of the season is Nov. 22 against Catawba at 6 p.m. Home games take place in �ڰ�������’s gym, located in Powell Hall on �ڰ�������’s Lee Main Campus in Sanford. Schedule updates and scores available at .

November
Nov. 1 – at Forsyth Tech, 3 p.m.
Nov. 7 – at Southwest Virginia CC, 6 p.m.
Nov. 12 – at Davidson-Davie CC, 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 – at Johnston CC, 6 p.m.
Nov. 19 – at Louisburg College, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22 – Catawba Valley CC, home, 3 p.m.
Nov. 24 – at Fayetteville Tech CC, 7 p.m.

December
Dec. 2 – Guilford Tech CC, home, 7 p.m.
Dec. 5 – Bryant & Stratton College, home, 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 – at Cape Fear CC, 3 p.m.
Dec. 13 – at Cleveland CC, 3 p.m.
Dec. 14 – at Catawba Valley CC, 1 p.m.
Dec. 27 – Sandhills CC, home, 5 p.m.
Dec. 28 – Wake Tech CC, home, 5 p.m.

January
Jan. 3 – Caldwell CC, home, 3 p.m.
Jan. 5 – Louisburg College, home, 7 p.m.
Jan. 7 – Davidson-Davie CC, home, 7 p.m.
Jan. 14 – at Mount Olive JV, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 – at Bryant & Stratton College, 3 p.m.
Jan. 25 – Pitt CC, home, 3 p.m.
Jan. 28 – Johnston CC, home, 7 p.m.

February
Feb. 4 – at Sandhills CC, 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 – Forsyth Tech CC, home, 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 – Cleveland CC, home, 3 p.m.
Feb. 15 – at Pitt CC, 3 p.m.
Feb. 21 – Southwest Virginia CC, home, 3 p.m.
Feb. 22 – Fayetteville Tech CC, home, 3 p.m.
Feb. 25 – at Guilford Tech CC, 7 p.m.