The success of Central Cabarrus' Daniel Duo is a reflection of their mother Lori

Central Cabarrus’ pair of guards – twins Carson and Chase Daniel – both have obvious skill, but their knowledge of the game and their innate feel for one another is what sets them apart. They always know where the other is on the floor, what the other will do next, the right buttons to push and levers to pull in any in-game situation.

Over their 103 games together, the “Daniel Duo,” committed to play at Division II Catawba next season, has combined for over 2,500 points, nearly 1,200 assists, and over 800 steals and rebounds.

But, the twins’ efforts on the hardwood might not be the most impressive thing about them.

For anyone that has had a chance to meet the Daniels, the thing that stands out the most is the way that the mature brothers carry themselves. The brothers have that old-fashioned type of respect about them. As intense as they are on the court, they’re disarming when they step off it.

“What I think makes the twins so special is they’re like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” coach Jim Baker quipped. “They’ll come up and talk to you before the game, they’ll talk to your parents, they hug the grandmothers, they get pictures with all of the kids. But when that clock lights up, they have another demeanor about them. They just love to compete.”

The origin of the brothers’ on-court wizardry and their off-court dignity goes back to one person: Lori Mason, their mother. She raised the twin boys along with their older brother Dylan, who is 13 years older, on her own.

“She preaches character to us,” Chase said of his mom. “She likes to humble us, tell us that somebody’s always working… It shows when we get compliments about how we act or how we play, I give all the glory to her.”

“She really holds us accountable, makes us better people, better siblings, better sons, better basketball players,” Carson added.

A week ago, Lori and her sons were able to enjoy a long-awaited senior night together.

“My mom is amazing. We love her so much,” Chase said. “For her to be out there with us, it means the world to us.”

Lori played a significant role in building the boys’ love for the game.

“Their second word was actually ‘ball.’ First word mom, second word ball,” Lori recalled. “And they’ve been playing ever since.”

Lori took them to Dylan’s high school basketball games when they were just 3. She encouraged them to go out and shoot on the court during breaks like halftime. She always made sure they had a mini hoop in the living room (they always wanted to hit 3s from the kitchen, she said) and then eventually, a big hoop outside.

“I’m humble and I’ll never tell them that they’re good,” Lori said, possibly facetiously or possibly seriously. “I’ve tried to raise them to always be hungry for this game and that there’s always someone out there that’s better than you and could want it just as bad as you.”

Those that have followed Central Cabarrus over this historic run right might recognize Lori as the team’s bookkeeper. She’s been doing it for all four of her sons’ years as Central Cabarrus, but the hobby goes back much further.

“She’s been watching us play since we were 3, 4, whatever it was,” Carson said. “She’s always been on the sideline doing stats since we were super young.”

Lori has not missed a single game in the boys’ lives. Her primary objective is to support her sons, but she also loves the role that she’s carved out for herself.

“I’m definitely a math girl, I love the stats,” Lori said. “For me, it’s more impressive seeing the other side of the stats versus all of the points. I like to see the rebounds, the assists, and the steals.”

By now, Lori and Bronwyn Glover (the mother of D.J. Kent, another Central Cabarrus standout) have a perfect system at the scorers’ table. Lori does the official book, while Bronwyn keeps pace with all of the non-scoring stats.

“I was texting with Bronwyn the other day that I’m worrying more about replacing those two,” Baker joked. “They’re pretty detailed. They get it done.”

Between Lori, Brownyn, and a number of others, Central Cabarrus has a pretty robust operation of team moms and dads.

After a 90-49 win over Northwest Cabarrus in the semifinal of the South Piedmont Conference tournament, the twins now have an overall win-loss record of 100-3 in their career and would have hit their 100th win even earlier had their freshman season (2020-2021) not been shortened by the coronavirus pandemic. The Vikings won 12 of their 14 games that season..

As sophomores, the twins turned heads as Central Cabarrus blasted off to a 30-1 overall record that year. As juniors, the Daniels led Central on a perfect 32-0 overall, 3A state championship-winning campaign.

Now at 26-0 as seniors this season, the twins and the Vikings look prime to repeat.

“It starts with the twins,” head coach Jim Baker said of the team’s overwhelming success. “It’s their mindset. They hold each other accountable. The twins will get on a JV or a varsity player if he’s late, if he’s not there, but they’ll do it the right way. I’d be shocked if both of them are not coaching one day. They love to compete and they’ve got an unbelievable basketball mind.”

That family atmosphere surrounding the Vikings’ basketball program is something that helped both Lori and the boys make it to this point. For the most part, this core of players, their families, and coaches, have been together since way before high school.

Being a single mother of any number of children is never an easy scenario. Doing it for twins doubles the complications. Lori’s parents and other family members have been a big help raising the boys, but the game of basketball has helped as well.

“It takes a village,” Carson said. “[Our basketball coaches] have been with us since probably third, fourth grade. I’ve known them my whole life. I’ve built that trust with them. I love them.”

“Every single one of them are just like they are my father,” Carson continued. “They care for us. They do anything we need, rides, just help. They’re always there for us.”

While the village has helped bring the boys along into the exceptional young men and players that they are, Baker mostly credits the head of that village.

“They’re special men. Their mom has done an unbelievable job with them. She’s raised them the right way. They’re the most polite kids,” Baker said. “If every kid in our country was raised like them two, our country would be in really good shape, that’s for sure.”