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Reidsville guard Breon Pass, left, adjusts his mask while Graham's Isaiah Lea gets in position to defend during a game against the Red Devils earlier this month.
Reidsville guard Breon Pass, left, adjusts his mask while Graham's Isaiah Lea gets in position to defend during a game against the Red Devils earlier this month.
Times-News
David Kehrli / Times-News, Times-News
The Graham High School gym sat mostly empty earlier this month, only 25 spectators on hand for the Red Devils’ boys’ basketball game against visiting Reidsville due to coronavirus pandemic precautions.
Under normal circumstances, the gym likely would’ve been packed to see one of the surrounding area’s top college prospects take on an Alamance County team.
Even with the restrictions on attendance, the buzz among those 25 faces in the stands was palpable, at times oohing and aahing and during breaks in the action asking the question of ‘how many?”
That’s all that needed to be asked, the topic was understood. How many points had Reidsville guard and North Carolina State signee Breon Pass scored?
At the final buzzer, the answer was 34.
“Breon is at a point now where the game is just easy for him, the game is so slow, he picks and chooses when he wants to get his shots up,” Reidsville coach Jason Ross told the Times-News. “Sometimes I feel like he can get his shot up any time he wants to. It’s just a joy to watch him play.”
That has become a typical night for Pass, who is averaging 35.3 points a game in his senior season and enjoying his final go-round on the high school hardwood before he heads to Raleigh to play for coach Kevin Keatts and the Wolfpack.
Reidsville guard Breon Pass, middle, Graham's Nick Russell, left, and Malichi Burnette watch a free throw attempt in a game earlier this month.
Times-News
David Kehrli / Times-News, Times-News
For Pass, it’s all about family. It’s what drew him to the N.C. State program, he said.
“Coach Keatts, Coach (James) Johnson, the whole coaching staff, it’s just a whole family as one,” Pass told the Times-News. “They’ve been recruiting me since freshman year, so they all feel like family to me.”
It’s also family that Pass says motivates him to “get better as a person and a player.”
His father, Curtis Pass, died unexpectedly in June 2019. He was 41.
“I have my moments sometimes, but I know that he would want me to keep playing and keep playing for him,” Pass said. “Definitely, I have my moments. It’s kind of tough not having a dad, but I know he’s watching me in heaven.
“I know my mom and my sister, they all look up to me, so I got to stay strong for them.”
The elder Pass coached the Rams for three seasons from 2016-19, including Breon’s freshman and sophomore seasons, leading the team to a combined record of 52-28 and three state playoff appearances.
“I know it’s probably an incredible loss for him not to have his father here when he was making those life-changing decisions,” said Ross, who has coached Pass since his freshman year, first as a Reidsville assistant and now as the head coach. “He has a good family, a good foundation around him and he has a good head on his shoulders. His dad told him early on what he liked, who he liked and I think he went with that.”
At N.C. State, the 6-foot, 175-pound Pass will join a program with several current players he said he already has relationships with, including freshman guards Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore.
“I feel like when I get there it’s going to be a good relationship, a good team,” Pass said. “We’re going to win some games.”
It was during his sophomore season when Pass said he began to realize he had the ability to one day play high-major college basketball.
“I really just took off and my recruitment starting getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “From there, I knew I could play on the next level.”
The confidence grew from there and Pass, who has long been able to fill up the basket, began showing strides as a complete player. Through the Rams’ first three games of 2021, Pass averaged 14.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.7 blocked shots.
“His on-court leadership, the way he distributes the ball,” Ross said of improvements he’s seen from Pass. “The way he gets his teammates involved. He could’ve pulled the trigger any time he wanted to, he was open, but the way he maneuvers the court now, he’s just turned into an all-around great player.”
It’s the person Pass has become through the trying times that’s just as impressive as his game, and what makes those around him, including Ross, thrilled to see his success.
“He’s a great kid,” Ross said. “Always smiling. ‘Yes sir, no sir.’ He just loves life. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him. It’s just a blessing to see good people do good things and go places. That’s why I’m happy for him.”
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