CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In 2018 the Cox Mill Chargers already had Wendell Moore Jr., a top college prospect.
Then, fellow Cabarrus County native Rechon "Leaky" Black decided to transfer back to the area, and joined the team.
"Made my life a little easier," former Chargers coach Jody Barbee said. "On and off the court both of them were great kids. Their basketball IQ was so impressive."
The players are now set to face off in the Final Four. Black is a senior forward at North Carolina, while Moore is a junior forward for Duke.
But back then they were teammates.
"It was a dream come true as a coach to be able to coach those two nd especially in a public school setting," Barbee said. "Very rare do you ever have that in a public school setting."
Barbee says it was like coaching a pair of rock stars, and the Chargers became the area's hottest hoops ticket.
"In Cabarrus County, if you didn't get in the gym before five o'clock you were not getting in," Barbee said.
And it wasn't just fans.
That season it wasn't rare to see big name college coaches like John Calipari at practice to recruit the pair.
And of course Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski showed up too, and ultimately landed the duo.
"A little bit of pressure there," Barbee said. "You've got to two of the greatest coaches of all time and they're sitting in your gym as you're running practice."
Moore and Black led the team to the 3A state championship, and now one of them could have a National Championship by Monday.
"I'm really proud of them," he said. "It makes your heart smile, because they're two great kids and they deserve every bit of it."