New Year, New Scots

LAURINBURG —“They’re starting to buy in.” No phrase better describes the new-look Fighting Scots boys basketball team. When you hear the phrase “New year, New me,” for the Scots, a better phrase would be, “New year, New identity.”

The Scots opened the 2026 year playing a brand of basketball that first-year head coach Jarvis Cobb envisioned all year.

When Cobb accepted the job back in June, his goal was to put together a team that was aggressive, fast and ferocious on the defensive end. To start the season, he got off to a 4-1 start, the best start the school has had since 2022. But things began to go astray as the Scots lost their last five out of seven games by a combined margin of 103, which put their record at 6-6.

Since then, Scotland has averaged 77 points per game while allowing 46 on the defensive end and has won both of their games by a combined 62-point margin, behind strong performances from Zaymon Gibson, Nazire’ Campbell, Collin Hill, Shylan Harrell, Maddox McNickle, Kam Prince, Tomek McFadden and Javeer Pasley, who have all upped their game. Cobb has the team playing at a level where they can beat anyone in the conference.

“It’s been great to see how they’ve been playing,” Cobb said. “The boys just needed to see that our way works. There have been some bumps in the road, but we’ve shown we can handle adversity.”

“Every player on this team has an important role. No matter how much they play, each player is accepting their role and that’s why we’re having success.”

Kam Prince has been a perfect example of embracing his role. Prince, who is 6’3”, can play anywhere from small forward to center, which has brought versatility that has been valuable for the Scots’ offense and defense. Over the last two games, he has averaged eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and one block. Together with him, Zaymon Gibson has emerged as the Scots’ true No. 1 scoring option, averaging 25 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Scotland sits third in the Tri-County Conference, with an 8-6 record behind Terry Sanford and Lumberton. They will return to action on Jan. 16 when Terry Sanford comes to Scotland High.