Lakeside teammates still united

Rosbie Mutcherson and CJ Marshall grew up playing basketball together, were part of a nucleus that made Lakeside basketball competitive and have decided to stick together after high school.

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In middle school and as underclassmen, Mutcherson and Marshall watched as the Panthers teams ahead of them struggled to win. In the past two seasons, the pair helped lead the Panthers to more than 20 wins.

Mutcherson and Marshall will continue their run as teammates, having earned a spot to play for Louisburg College, a two-year school in North Carolina. They hope to maintain their grades and do enough on the court to move on to a larger school.

"It's a nice school," Marshall said. "They spend a lot of time with you one on one, making sure you're staying on top of your work."

Mutcherson and Marshall landed a tryout at the school after Lakeside coach Ryan Morningstar had stayed in contact with Louisburg's staff via e-mail.

Morningstar sent the school the highlight films from his players' junior seasons and was told to stay in touch.

Mutcherson and Marshall were invited for an overnight visit, a tour of the campus and a tryout, which included games of three-on-three to warm up and later five-on-five.

"It was a lot of people from everywhere," Mutcherson said.

Both were impressed with Louisburg's commitment to academics. Marshall said he saw during his visit some of the one-on-one interaction the athletes have with instructors.

"That really caught my attention," he said. "At least you know they're trying to help us."

Their goal is to get the grades, get noticed and move on, preferably to the same school once again.

They like that Louisburg is the only junior college in North Carolina, that they will face solid competition and have the chance for the exposure they are looking for from larger schools. Mutcherson said if they had not gone to Louisburg, he and Marshall would have likely gone somewhere else and tried to walk on.

Louisburg worked out for both.

"It's a little small school," Mutcherson said. "But I liked it."