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Last month, Helms’ 6-foot-9-inch center, Landon Vaughan, became his first player to sign for basketball. Vaughan signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Lenoir-Rhyne University on April 3.

Getting serious

Despite his height, basketball was not always the obvious option for Vaughan. He also played wide receiver on the football team. During his junior season, he caught 15 passes for 119 yards.

He also set himself apart as one of the Hickory area’s elite basketball players. He averaged 19 points, nine rebounds and nearly four blocks per game his junior year.

“Coming into my junior season, I didn’t know if I wanted to play football or basketball in college,” he said. “I sat down with my dad and my mom. My dad has coached football for 20 years and he said my best bet was probably basketball.”

It didn’t take long for him to realize his dad was right.

“The first game I had as a junior, I had 41 points against Fred T. Foard,” Vaughan said. “That surprised me.”

After the 2023-24 high school season ended, he didn’t let up. During the summer, Vaughan played travel ball with Carolina Riptide through Phenom Hoops. It was his first experience playing offseason basketball on that level. He has also been working on his outside shot.

“I thought that if I wanted to play college basketball, I had to step up my game in all spots,” he said. “Shooting, taking it to the basket, getting more physical, getting bigger — pretty much everything I did my junior year I had to step it up another notch.”

He became the Trojans’ leading 3-point shooter as a senior.

“Once the school year is over and I graduate, then I’m going to stay in the gym full time this summer, three or four hours a day to get ready,” he said.

All in the family

Vaughan’s father Bill Vaughan and mother Amber Hanks Vaughan both went to Lenoir-Rhyne. Bill played football for LR and Amber was a standout basketball player who logged more than 1,000 career points at LR.

Landon Vaughan said he contacted LR in the summer of 2024. Coaches from the university came out to watch some of his travel games. He received an offer in February.

Vaughan said there were plenty of factors that drew him to LR beyond the family connection.

“I chose them because of the great program and the season they’ve had this past season,” he said.

He said the academics, the proximity to home and the athletic facilities were also major factors.

Taking nothing for granted

Helms said that while Vaughan came to the game with a few physical advantages, he has worked for everything he has achieved.

“He has been a kid who shows up at every workout, throughout the summer, in the fall, whenever he has a chance to get to the gym, he’s here,” Helms said. “He has done everything we’ve asked him to do to get better.”

Helms called Vaughan the “hardest working kid he has ever coached.” His work ethic shows in the improvements he has made in his four years at Bandys.

“When he was a freshman, he was tall and lanky and played JV,” Helms said. “Then, he had to start as a sophomore for us. We were young and inexperienced.”

This year, Vaughan led the Trojans to the 2A West Regional championship game against Reidsville. Bandys wasn’t able to get past Reidsville, but Vaughan scored 19 points against Kendre Harrison, one of the top football and basketball prospects in the nation. He blocked one of the 6-foot-8-inch Harrison’s shots.

The sky is the limit

Vaughan said he is most excited about getting onto the practice floor at LR with his new teammates. He said he is excited to be challenged by older players with more experience.

“I’ve gone to a ton of their home games,” he said. “They’ve got great character and they’re great players.”

Vaughan isn’t sure what he is going to study yet, but he is leaning toward business.

He won’t be the tallest player on the court at LR. At 6-foot-9, he would have been tied for the third-tallest player on this year’s LR roster. Seven-foot-2-inch Conrad Luczynski stands a full five inches taller than Vaughan.

“It’s going to be weird, but it’s going to be fun, too,” he said. “To be honest, I’ve never played with anybody taller than me. I’ve always been the tallest guy.”