NEWTON, N.C. — The love of playing a particular sport is not just about individual success. It’s also about the brotherhood or sisterhood that is shared amongst teammates.
Only later in one’s progression do personal accolades begin to shape his or her competitive nature to excel.
Newton-Conover High School senior Javier Lineberger had to claw his way into a starring spot on the varsity boys basketball team. With stints off of the bench as an underclassman, that is where the hard work to prove his worth intensified.
Much akin to his time spent on the gridiron the last four years at Newton-Conover, Lineberger had to demonstrate patience to make his true mark on the program.
As a sophomore during the 2021-22 season, the Red Devils were in a place of ruin as it finished with a 3-22 overall mark.
Lineberger accrued 8.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. He shot 39 percent from the floor while connecting on 79 percent of his free-throws in just 16 games played.
The following season, he was able to turn his game up a notch as a starter.
Then, in his senior campaign during the 2023-24 season, Lineberger morphed into his final form for the Red Devils. His level of play, in addition to his teammates’ involvement, allowed the program to finish as the leader in the Catawba Valley 2A Conference standings with a 12-2 record.
It was the first time that the Red Devils had been atop the conference since the 2013-14 season. Coincidentally enough, current assistant coach Cameron Stanley was an athlete on that conference championship team.
Furthermore, Lineberger is a student-athlete that embodies the true grit it takes to hone his craft. Although he was an ancillary piece, he did not rest on his laurels and became one of the leaders of the program.
As a starter his junior season, he averaged 12.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and two steals per contest. However, he only shot 19 percent from deep and 46 percent from the floor.
Even still, there was a desire from Lineberger to get better and help his squad finally get over the hump. That is why his senior season was so special to him.
Shifting from a program that could barely get three wins to a team that finished with a regular-season conference crown in just two years time, said a lot about the commitment from the student-athletes under head coach Nick Wilson including Lineberger.
Lineberger began his athletic career at just 5-years-old. He said that his dad inspired him to pick up athletics, and that they would play football together, as well as basketball. He was really active in both as a kid, but he was driven to basketball a bit more.
Moving through the ranks in the sport and with the Red Devils varsity boys basketball team was something Lineberger knew he would ultimately do with persistence and dedication.
“I felt pretty good evolving from being a freshman to a senior because it’s really [about] growing up, knowing about the game and becoming a leader and having confidence on the court,” he said. “I [feel like I] have done that since I was a junior.”
The Red Devils made the North Carolina High School Association 2A West state playoffs during his junior season in 2022-23. It fell in the opening round, 81-55, to Trinity on Feb. 21, 2023. Lineberger finished with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in the losing effort.
Despite this showing, Lineberger knew that he and the rest of the team had the fortitude to come back the following season and take care of some unfinished business.
Newton-Conover lost some guys to graduation including Trey Stinson, Vance Sigmon, Grant Penley and Rakim Moore. It even lost a couple of players to the transfer process.
Lineberger stayed poised and hungry entering his final campaign as a Red Devil with everything to prove and didn’t let things derail his focus.
“I stayed focused by having more confidence on the court because I know I can show more for myself and showing out for the crowd,” he said. “And, what really had me focused this year is because some people left us and we had potential this year; we still ended up being 22-8 because we was focused and stayed in the gym putting in work.”
The Red Devils finished with the aforementioned 22-8 overall record while Lineberger garnered career highs in nearly every statistical category.
He amassed a career-best 18.3 points, 4.3 assists, six rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. He earned a career-high 54 percent field goal percentage while also producing a career-mark in 3-point efficiency at 37 percent.
He scored 534 points during his sophomore and junior seasons combined, and he totaled 530 points in his senior season alone.
In conference action, he averaged 19 points, 4.7 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per outing. He also eclipsed 42 percent from beyond the arc and 54 percent from the floor.
Lineberger enjoyed a handful of solid scoring performances of his career in 2023-24. In the first game of the season, he collected 23 points against Fred T. Foard on Nov. 21, 2023.
He tallied 27 points twice on the year, once against the eventual 3A state runner-up Hickory squad on Nov. 30, and the other coming in the 2A West state playoff victory over Trinity on March 1, 2024.
He obtained 26 points against rival Maiden during the Dick’s Sporting Goods Holiday Classic on Dec. 29. Lineberger also earned 28 points against another rival via Bandys in an overtime win, 92-86, on Feb. 6.
When it comes to his career-high assist margin, Lineberger said he takes pride in that part of his game, along with his defensive ability to generate turnovers.
“I always like getting my players involved, making good passes and they take good shots because, [for]me personally, you can’t go 1 on 5 in high school ball,” he said. “And, playing defense [is] the most important [thing]; we made teams struggle because [of] how we pressed, and we got better at that from last year to this year.”
Although he was a willing passer during his career, Lineberger had the wherewithal to go get his team a bucket when needed.
This led to a career-high scoring total in the heat of battle during the first round of state playoff action on Feb. 27. With the pressure to execute on the line against West Stanly on the Red Devils’ home court, Lineberger tallied a 34-point night.
Additionally, he accomplished another feat in the 80-58 playoff victory over West Stanly as he surpassed the 1,000 career-point threshold.
Lineberger and company would lead Newton-Conover to its first third-round 2A West state playoff appearance since the 2013-14 season. It ultimately lost to Randleman in a heartbreaker, 62-59, in what would become his final time playing on Newton-Conover’s hardwood.
“I am so proud of Javier from Freshman year to Senior [year,]” said Wilson of Lineberger as he coached him as an assistant his freshman year and as his head coach the next three years. “He has grown exponentially each year and became a leader on this basketball team on the floor and in the locker room. He is one of the best point guards in this area, by far in my opinion.”
There were a few guys on the roster that he developed a close bond with during his time including twin brothers Owen and Noah Cannon, as well as Zyon Chambers. He said that he would miss competing with these guys night in and night out.
“[They] showed out this year,” he said. “I’m really proud of them.”
Although his prep basketball career was officially completed at Newton-Conover on March 5, Lineberger was still awarded accolades during the month of March.
He became a two-time All-Catawba Valley 2A Conference selection, a first-time CVAC Player of the Year in 2024, along with receiving his first-ever distinction as a North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association All-District 10 Third-Team selection in 2024.
“It means a lot to me. I put [in] a lot of work to earn them, and I’m very proud of myself,” said Lineberger about earning the all-district and all-conference nods.
He wrapped up his prep basketball career with the Western North Carolina (WNC) All-Star game on March 30. To put a bow on his accomplishments, Lineberger represented Team Blue in the match-up against Team Red and finished with 12 points, two assists, as well as five rebounds.
Lineberger said he would like to move on and play ball at the collegiate level, but if it does not happen, he has other options to pursue.
