Kent Daniels
Year Inducted: 2025
Kent Daniels, a legendary basketball player at Central High School before the consolidation of the Iredell County Schools, joins this year’s class based on his playing skills but also a successful, dedicated tenure as a coach in the local school system as well.
During his senior season in 1963-64, Daniels averaged an Iredell County season record 37 points per game. His single game high was 50 points against Union Grove High School. He was named All-Northwest by the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper and was Honorable Mention Prep All-America by Coach & Athlete magazine. He was a unanimous selection to the IAAA All-Conference team. He was the Most Valuable Player and Top Rebounder on the IAAA tournament championship team.
As a junior in 1962-63, Daniels averaged 20 points per game leading Central to the conference regular season and tournament championships. He started at Central as a sophomore in 1961-62 and was Honorable Mention All-Northwest and IAAA All-Conference. Daniels made the Central varsity team as a freshman in 1960-61 and that team won both the regular season and tournament titles.
Daniels was awarded a basketball scholarship to Erskine College but suffered a severe leg injury early in his freshman year that closed out his playing days. He graduated from Erskine in 1968 and later received a Master’s from Appalachian State University in 1971.
He returned to Iredell County as a teacher and coach serving 30 years in the Iredell-Statesville Schools. His first position was a return to his true roots, teaching seventh and eighth graders at Central for five years, before the advent of North Iredell Middle School.
He coached boy’s basketball at North Iredell from1985 to 2005 and his teams qualified for the playoffs in 13 of the 20 seasons. He was selected Conference Coach of the Year in 1990, 1992 and 1996. The 1990 and 1992 teams won conference tournament championships and the 1996 team won the regular season title for the Foothills Athletic Conference.
Daniels also coached girls’ tennis, was an assistant coach for the track team and had successful stints as head baseball and soccer coach for the Raiders. He coached the 1986 baseball team to the Foothills Athletic Conference championship, the first in the history of the school. As soccer coach, he was the 1989 FAC Coach of the Year. Under his tutelage, the soccer team qualified for the state playoffs in 1992, again for the first time in school history.
In recognition of his broad success, North Iredell gives the Kent Daniels Coach of the Year Award to the school’s top coach at the annual awards banquet.
