Does Dionte Neal have the best athletic resume in NC high school history?
- Thread starter Deana_King
- Start date
That's fine, but remember that MJ took off in the prime of his career to try to play professional baseball and made it all the way to Double A. That shows his athletic ability beyond basketball.
But now I feel as though I have to say something else. It's easy to overlook some of the great athletes in NC history. I've talked about Steve Streeter before, and he deserves a mention. He played safety and punted for UNC during his time there. He would have punted in the NFL if not for his tragic accident (he got in a car wreck on his way home from signing his rookie contract). But he also pitched every inning of every game for Sylva Webster high school when they won a state championship. You're not even allowed to do that today. Athleticism goes beyond the two most popular sports.
I mean if you want to say all around in multiple sports, I might say Rusty LaRue.
Thats cool but this is about what was accomplished in high school
I was going to mention Steve Streater yesterday with his 23-1 record on the mound his senior year and of course he went to college/NFL (drafted) for football.
Chaz is still in the League with the Seahawks after a major position change at UNC so he definitely was a solid, versatile athlete.
Trot Nixon also hasn't been mentioned yet.
It's on a high school sports site. Shouldnt be too hard to grasp the context. But, here we are.
And there are threads where people talk about D1 college football, such as the thread about whether or not Belichick will get fired from UNC. Discussions range all over the place.
Now, you said earlier that he was the "best athlete pound for pound". But how do you figure that? Just last night I was in St. Stephen's gym and there was a banner for a kid who won four state championships wrestling from 103 to 125. How do you account for someone like him, even without knowing if he did anything else in another sport?
Now I've seen Neal in two state title basketball games, against Farmville Central and then against Northwood. He's a very good basketball player and I think he'll do well at UNCG, he'll probably start there. But he'd be a role player at a higher level and his only real hope to play professionally is overseas somewhere. I don't have any ill will towards Reidsville, and I'm being as honest as possible in assessing him based on over 40 years of watching high school hoops.
Any informed person on here knows Dionte is NOT a One Sport Star. He literally dominates in 2 Sports, dominates the opposition. And yes, he Absolutely was the Best player on the Football field, because of his versatility, and that’s Hands Down to Mr DEFootball you are 100% incorrect my friend, if you came to the games you would have seen and know that.
It will be great to see what Dionte does after high school, but for me, I believe in him 100%, he is a Winner with a HUGE heart which is something you can’t teach, you either have it or you don’t, He does!
It will be great to see what Dionte does after high school, but for me, I believe in him 100%, he is a Winner with a HUGE heart which is something you can’t teach, you either have it or you don’t, He does!
You can stop with the AI crap. I use the word crap solely because it left out Wilt Chamberlain. I’m not saying Jordan isn’t the goat cause those 6 rings clearly say he is but Jordan wasn’t a one man team. He had some good help along the way. There is no definitive answer in my opinion. That list I put up are some damn good players that would make any team a winner back when they played. It’s a fun conversation though. As a State fan I always enjoyed watching Jordan in the NBA. He has caught a lot of negative talk recently over his suit with NASCAR and frankly I’ll say it right now it’s racially motivated because they don’t like Bubba Wallace for the same reason. Bubba has done some stuff I get it. But Jordan has stood his ground to NASCAR and rightly so. Those in the France family have made billions off racing while the teams struggle to make ends meet. They settled it to prevent having to show how much they make. That’s what Jordan did. Hopefully he can help lead to better changes to improve racing. But I’ll stop cause I’m way off the conversation here. But Jordan is doing great things still.
I get the misunderstanding, but this is simply a high school accomplishment discussion.
Did the 4 time state winner also win multiple titles in other sports? If he was the ace on the mound for a title winner, or the 1000 yard back on a title team, etc etc, he would 100% be in the argument.
Two things have affected his recruitment the most: size and the transfer portal. A lot of teams dont want to chance a roster spot on an undersized 18 year old when you can get an experienced 22 year old a dime a dozen. He could have gone to a bigger place than UNCG, but he choose to bet on himself with a coach that may have been a day 1 recruiter. Spend a year or two there, show what you can do against those bigger guards night in and night out see what happens in the portal.
Sage Surrat has a pretty strong case.
All conference in football and basketball all 4 years.
366 receptions for 5,926 yards - State records
2,951 points in basketball - Second in NC history
All conference in football and basketball all 4 years.
366 receptions for 5,926 yards - State records
2,951 points in basketball - Second in NC history
Dionte is getting overlooked because he is short. If you don’t meet the size they think you should be you can forget it.
Basketball has changed and few years ago Wake would have offered. Duke doesn't have a player in the rotation under 6'5. They are recruiting couple top players in 6'3 range for next year.
The Surratts put up huge numbers and were both great high school athletes. They never won it all in basketball but went something like 30-1 back to back years and lost in the title both times. Sage probably had the better overall career. Chazz dealt with an injury his senior year and missed a little time.
Since people want to be picky, I changed the wording to does Dionte Neal have the best athletic resume in NC high school history?
Thank you cause it was causing confusion for a couple of our Shelby friends!
the article is in reference to high school playing careers, not professional
Great point @Otis1144 , him being overlooked has nothing to do with his play but more so on his potential
Nice feature on Max Preps about Dionte:https://www.maxpreps.com/nc/reidsvi...2GsFH9LuvQkylpOl88mW+rVSOz0OZR/oG8V/3DnUBAAA=
Since most of our posters are a lot younger than I am let me name two of North Carolina's greatest high school athletes: Rocky Mount's Danny Talbot and Durham's Russell Hollers.
Both Danny and Russell were All State in THREE sports: Football, Basketball, and Baseball. I had the great fortune to see both of them play at Carolina.
Russell graduated from Durham High in 1957. He played outfield on the UNC team that went to the College World Series in 1960. Russell and I both served in the U S Army at Brooke Army Medical Center at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio at the same time. He was the coach of my BAMC basketball team that won our championship. A Morehead Scholar at UNC he passed away in 2021. An attorney, he served as County Attorney for Montgomery County for 50 years.
Danny graduated from Rocky Mount High in the early 1960s and was one of the most heavily recruited athletes in the country. He played all three sports at Carolina. I did not know him personally but he was simply outstanding as an athlete. Danny was the ACC Football Player of the Year in 1966 as the Tar Heel's quarterback and was on the UNC baseball team that went to the CWS in 1966 went on to play professionally. He passed away in 2020.
Both Danny and Russell were All State in THREE sports: Football, Basketball, and Baseball. I had the great fortune to see both of them play at Carolina.
Russell graduated from Durham High in 1957. He played outfield on the UNC team that went to the College World Series in 1960. Russell and I both served in the U S Army at Brooke Army Medical Center at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio at the same time. He was the coach of my BAMC basketball team that won our championship. A Morehead Scholar at UNC he passed away in 2021. An attorney, he served as County Attorney for Montgomery County for 50 years.
Danny graduated from Rocky Mount High in the early 1960s and was one of the most heavily recruited athletes in the country. He played all three sports at Carolina. I did not know him personally but he was simply outstanding as an athlete. Danny was the ACC Football Player of the Year in 1966 as the Tar Heel's quarterback and was on the UNC baseball team that went to the CWS in 1966 went on to play professionally. He passed away in 2020.
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7 catches for 70 yards and a TD isn't completely shutting anyone out, but compared to his numbers coming in you could say that.
Without doing lots of research, I would guess Neal ranks up there with the most accomplished.
I grew up in Wilmington at the same time as Jordan and his teams never made it past the second round. Understand that “back in the day” every team didn’t make the playoffs- usually only 2 from a conference and sometimes just one. As far as a baseball player, had he not been who he was he would have never been given a shot in baseball. Jordan was a good baseball player but he was not the best baseball player in Wilmington during his highschool years.
I believe Trot Nixon has 2 baseball championships and runner up. In football he doesn’t have any, although if not for a complete refereeing debacle (Southview) probably would have played for one.
Neal benefits from playing in a smaller class. Much more difficult to dominate in the higher classes over a high school career. I really like watching him play though, and he seems humble. You can probably put his numbers up against anyone depending on the results from this year.
I grew up in Wilmington at the same time as Jordan and his teams never made it past the second round. Understand that “back in the day” every team didn’t make the playoffs- usually only 2 from a conference and sometimes just one. As far as a baseball player, had he not been who he was he would have never been given a shot in baseball. Jordan was a good baseball player but he was not the best baseball player in Wilmington during his highschool years.
I believe Trot Nixon has 2 baseball championships and runner up. In football he doesn’t have any, although if not for a complete refereeing debacle (Southview) probably would have played for one.
Neal benefits from playing in a smaller class. Much more difficult to dominate in the higher classes over a high school career. I really like watching him play though, and he seems humble. You can probably put his numbers up against anyone depending on the results from this year.
In basketball he’s played private and larger class teams and more than held his own. 2a in basketball is much tougher than people think . You’re going through, drake Powell and some high major guys
I agree he is an awesome player and can hold his own but can he lead a 7A or 8A team to several straight championships in both sports. Unlikely. Without the state championships this thread wouldn’t exist.
I can’t disagree. Will say in basketball I don’t think anyone in 7a or 8a would’ve wanted us the last few years. . This year we likely couldn’t win either but still very competitive. We are missing one more scorer.
They had senior night the other evening. When presenting Neal it was acknowledged that he made the "A" honor roll throughout his high school years and was a member of The National Honor Society. Whatever his athletic future is I do seriously doubt you will see him bagging groceries anywhere.
Ridiculous comment….,
Would you like to place a wager on your above prediction??
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Some of Dionte’s Basketball Accomplishments:
3 Consecutive State Championship Appearances
2 Consecutive State Championship Wins
2024 - 2025 Gatorade POY
Most Points Scored in Rockingham County History
1st player in NC history to reach 1000 assists…….
Wow!!! all of this and still counting!!!
Good Luck the rest of the way Dionte!!
Go Rams!!!
3 Consecutive State Championship Appearances
2 Consecutive State Championship Wins
2024 - 2025 Gatorade POY
Most Points Scored in Rockingham County History
1st player in NC history to reach 1000 assists…….
Wow!!! all of this and still counting!!!
Good Luck the rest of the way Dionte!!
Go Rams!!!
Really good article on another prep site. Neal keeps stacking up the stats. These are not meaningless “show off” stats, they have been accomplished as part of winning teams.
Good for him. It’s a bit of a shame the height monster mauled him. I will be rooting for him in college.
Good for him. It’s a bit of a shame the height monster mauled him. I will be rooting for him in college.
Walkertown plays "in your face" basketball. No quit in them. They will go deep in The State.