Karl Barkley hits winner on back-to-back nights in North Carolina

It would be hard to have a more exciting 24-hour period than Karl Barkley of North Mecklenburg (Huntersville) had last week.

On Tuesday the senior hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Vikings a 60-57 win over West Charlotte. The next day, Barkley again hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, this time lifting the Vikings to a 69-68 win over Mooresville. Both shots came off assists from point guard Shivaughn Wiggins.

"Shivaughn (Wiggins) drove, and I just rotated into the open, and he found me wide open, again," Barkley told the Charlotte Observer after the second game-winner. "When I took that shot, there was no doubt in my mind it was going in. But it is still hard to believe."

Coach Duane Lewis set the tone after the Vikings beat West Charlotte, a team that had won all 13 of its previous games against in-state competition by at least 11 points.

"We expect to win games," Lewis told the Observer.

That confidence rubbed off on Barkley in the Mooresville game.

"(Lewis) told us we were going to win (with eight seconds left). When you believe, like that, in each other, good things are going to happen."

SIMMONS LEADS UNBEATEN SMOKY MOUNTAIN
Smoky Mountain (Sylva) remains the only unbeaten team in Class 2A thanks to Jackson Simmons. The senior had 26 points, 24 rebounds and five blocks in the Falcons' most recent game, a 55-53 win over West Henderson (Hendersonville) that pushed their record to 15-0.

"It was a tough win. But at the end of the day, it's a win," Simmons told the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Simmons' performance was just enough to top another incredible individual performance from West Henderson guard Jordan Bell (34 points), who hit eight 3-pointers and scored all of his team's points in the final three quarters.

Simmons had another monster game the previous week, recording 24 points and 26 rebounds in a 79-53 win over Pisgah (Canton) as UNC men's coach Roy Williams looked on. Simmons has said he will walk on to UNC next season.

TROUBLE ABOUNDS IN CHARLOTTE
Barkley not withstanding, the basketball news in the Charlotte Observer this week has been less about what happened on the court, and more about the action off the court.

First, the Observer reported on Tuesday that four players on Waddell (Charlotte) had been removed from the team after an incident that took place during the Upward Classic Holiday Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C.

By allegedly lying to a hotel clerk, one of the Waddell players obtained a key to the room of Olympic coach Ty Baumgardner, whose team was also at the tournament. The four players then stole two video cameras and a watch from the coach's room, allegedly.

Waddell was 12-5 before the players were removed.

The next day came news from North Stanly (New London), where the father of a boys basketball player was charged with assaulting the team's coach.

The coach was not seriously injured after the incident, which occurred in the locker room area after North Stanly lost to Philip O. Berry Academy of Technology (Charlotte) 90-38. The player, who was charged with obstructing an officer, had been a starter earlier in the season but did not play against Berry.

The girls game wasn't immune, either. On Friday, the parent of a starter on the Butler (Mattthews) girls team was arrested after fighting with a school resource officer in the aftermath of Butler's 71-56 win over rival East Mecklenburg (Charlotte). The mother and player were also involved in the altercation. No punishment has been announced yet for that one.

SIGNING DAY NEARS
Wednesday is National Signing Day, when high school seniors can finally sign a binding Letter of Intent, and the suspense surrounding one of the country's most sought-after recruits will finally be over.

Anson (Wadesboro) linebacker Stephone Anthony, ranked fourth on MaxPreps' list of the Top 100 recruits nationally, is expected to use signing day to announce where he'll play next year. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior has visited Clemson, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech.

The day is expected to be more routine for the other four players in the MaxPreps Top 100 that reside in the Tar Heel state, since they've already announced their intentions.

That group includes No. 36 Jeoffrey Pagan (Clemson), No. 67 Christian Lemay (Georgia), No. 80 Marquise Williams (UNC) and No. 93 Kris Frost (Auburn).

Harold Gutmann covers the state of North Carolina for MaxPreps.com. He lives in Durham and can be reached at haroldgutmann@gmail.com.