Idlett to Continue Basketball Career at Montreat

The next stop on Elijah Idlett's interesting college basketball journey is Montreat College, an NAIA school located east of Asheville, NC.

The 6-foot-1 guard helped lead the Sandhills Community College basketball team to the NJCAA Division III National Championship in Rochester, MN in March. He finished second on the team for the season with a scoring average of 14.5 points per game, making 49.8 per cent of his shots from the field and 80.7 per cent of his free throws.

The product of Cary High School was also second on the team in rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots.

Idlett began his college basketball career at Finger Lakes CC in Canandaigua, NY and was a redshirt player for the Flyers during the 2018-19 season. He made the trip to the NJCAA national tournament that year, also held in Minnesota.

The Flyers finished in fifth place and he and the other returnees were inspired to return to complete the job. This year's squad was ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season and finished with a record of 34-2.

Idlett will join a Montreat team coached by Garrett Jones that is a member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference that also includes St. Andrews and Bluefield College. The Cavaliers finished 24-9 last season after being eliminated in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament.

"Elijah is one of my all-time favorite players at Sandhills Community College," Flyers Head Coach Mike Apple said recently. "Anybody who has watched him probably knows why. He's the ultimate competitor. He always plays hard and he's not just in it for himself, but for his teammates.

"I talked to the Montreat coach for about 30 minutes one day. There is no doubt he is going to make their program better by being a part of it. I'm happy for Elijah and his family."

Elijah is the son of Thomas and Eric Idlett.

by Charlie Bergmann

photo by Donna Ford